OVERVIEW
Type: Brand Campaign
Brand: Men’s Wearhouse
In-Market Dates: January – December 2019
Target Audience: Brides and Grooms
BUSINESS PROBLEM
Men’s Wearhouse had a perception problem. Consumers — particularly younger ones — saw the brand as a literal warehouse crammed with “lots of not-so-stylish suits” that catered to older tastes. Most brides and grooms did not believe that their “father’s store” carried fashionable, trendy, and well-fitting menswear that would help them achieve their unique wedding vision.
INSIGHT
Until recently, the formalwear industry’s marketing efforts had been slow to reflect the changing wedding landscape, including today's couples' diverse faces, identities, cultures, and traditions. While weddings are emotional and unique, formalwear advertisements (including Men’s Wearhouse’s own) came across as impersonal and uniform. This was a paradox because weddings are meant to be the ultimate form of personal expression for two individuals who were about to embark on a new life together.
No matter what kind of couple they were, soon-to-be-weds all aspired to the same ideal: a wedding that will reflect their unique love and a day to be cherished forever.
SOLUTION
When other brands were only beginning to recognize that diversity and inclusion were more than just buzzwords, I realized that Men’s Wearhouse had the opportunity to evolve its advertising, own an aspirational point of view, and appear more credible relevant to modern-day weddings.
Armed with both creative intuition and empirical customer data, I led the strategy and execution of ”Wed Your Way,” the brand campaign that positioned Men’s Wearhouse as the formalwear destination for ALL couples planning a wedding.
”Wed Your Way” was a wholly overhauled strategic and creative approach across all channels and customer touchpoints. Notable firsts for the brand included:
1) Realistic and authentic imagery and art direction that focused on capturing emotional and personal wedding moments — a shift away from the stiff and staged traditional wedding poses that were ubiquitous in most formalwear ads at the time
2) Inclusivity and diversity in content, messaging, and talent casting to show that Men’s Wearhouse celebrated and accepted all types of weddings — including multiracial and LGBTQ couples
3) Product offerings beyond the traditional black tuxedo — thus opening prospective customers’ eyes to an endless world of personalization and customization possibilities that would fit any wedding style or theme
RESULT
The ”Wed Your Way” campaign was well-received, both internally within the company and externally among brides and grooms. Not only was customer feedback very positive and supportive, but improved business results vs. the previous year quickly overcame any lingering internal doubts about the new brand direction. In the first quarter after “Wed Your Way” launched, we began to see lifts in business comps and channel KPIs. After years of consecutive negative declines, the 2019 season was off to a tremendous and encouraging start for Men’s Wearhouse’s wedding product division.
Side note: the “Wed Your Way” campaign was so effective that it quickly inspired several regional competitors to mimic our art direction and messaging. As the saying goes, imitation is the best form of flattery.