For fashion-lifestyle brand Kendra Scott, in-store events are not only a major part of their marketing strategy, they're also a big part of how they give back. With 94 locations and an event manager in every store, they throw 10 to 15 events a month per store to build their brand, increase customer engagement, and give back at the local level.
To kick off this year's NRF Conference (National Retail Federation), Splash partnered with Kendra Scott for a breakfast event that gathered top retail marketers to talk shop and learn more about Kendra Scott's unique event strategy.
Hosted in Kendra Scott's first NYC store location in SoHo, these marketers were able to experience what makes Kendra Scott's events so special: custom jewelry-making at the Color Bar, ideas they can implement in their own strategy, and lots of new contacts.
During the event, our CEO, Ben Hindman, spoke with Amy Young, Director of Retail Marketing at Kendra Scott, to learn more about how the brand continues to evolve their in-store event program. See the video recap here:
Want to dive even deeper? Here were her biggest takeaways:
Aside from influencer events, media events, and shopping parties, Kendra Scott’s event strategy focuses heavily on amplifying local communities, charities, and causes. With the “Kendra Gives Back” program, local community leaders can host their own events at Kendra Scott stores, and 20% of the proceeds will go directly to the featured charity.
Not only does this program help their stores connect with their local communities and customers, it also fosters a real community of individuals who care deeply about the same issues.
This philanthropic mindset is even important during Kendra Scott's hiring process. In Amy Young's words: "Philanthropy has to be something that drives our employees, something that they’ve been involved in in a previous life or aspire to get involved with so that they can truly understand what it means to the brand."
According to Amy, in-store events are more than “putting out champagne, some macarons, and calling it an in-store event.” The Kendra Scott events team goes levels deeper to understand their core audience and their journeys in order to tap into the emotional side of their customers.
Here are some sample questions of what Amy and her events team ask themselves before every event:
In order to provide the best customer experience at every stage of the event lifecycle, Kendra Scott’s strategy centers around data acquisition and customer retention. By tracking all their event data in Splash, they’re able to see powerful insights — i.e. which customers attended which types of events, and what causes they care about — so they can more easily personalize messaging and strategy to that individual moving forward.
The brand’s investment in personalization goes even further when it comes to the actual event experiences themselves. At their events, attendees can experience the Color Bar — a custom jewelry-making station that allows customers to choose from over 50 styles (bracelets, necklaces, earrings, rings) and over 30 different stones.
As an in-demand retailer, Kendra Scott has a lot interest from potential event partners ranging from influencers, to brands, and charities. But, as many event marketers know, partnering up can be risky if you don't choose the right ones.
When deciding on partners, Amy Young takes it seriously. She vets them with face-to-face conversations, and will only partner with those that align with their core pillars (family, fashion, and philanthropy).
In 2019, they’re planning to get even more specific about partners (to avoid any chance of a partnership that’s not mutually beneficial). Amy Young says, "When it comes to event partners, we’re really making sure that there’s an obvious connection between the customer and the brand we’re partnering with. And if it’s something that we think our shopper would love, then we try to explore that relationship."
