In today's fast-moving environment, a fixed 'long-term playbook' is unrealistic. The effective strategy is to set durable goals and objectives but build in the expectation—and budget—to constantly pivot tactics based on testing and learning.
In a world demanding short-term results, brand marketing isn't a separate luxury. It is a critical investment that builds top-of-funnel awareness, ensuring that lower-funnel performance tactics have a sufficient audience to convert and ultimately work harder.
Instead of just creating an 'athleisure' line because it's popular, Hanes identified specific problems—like chafing—that consumers experience during movement. They then designed products with features like anti-chafe panels, directly linking innovation to their core brand promise of comfort.
When post-COVID innerwear sales slumped, Hanes didn't just run a discount. They commissioned research, discovered consumers were hoarding old items for 'emergencies,' and used this insight to create a 'time to refresh' campaign, manufacturing a purchase trigger for a low-frequency category.
Hanes finds online video and CTV highly effective in retail media networks, traditionally seen as performance channels. This highlights the need to cover the full purchase journey, using brand-building video to feed the conversion funnel and make all media work harder.
For a massive brand like Hanes, a collaboration with a niche retailer like Urban Outfitters isn't about massive sales volume. Its primary value is marketing—generating 'brand heat' and cultural relevance. This is strategically distinct from a new category launch, which is a pure volume play.
Hanes found 90% of women knew about period underwear but only 30% had tried it due to confusion. Instead of a typical brand campaign, they launched a direct, educational effort answering uncomfortable questions ('Do you feel wet? Can you wash it?') to close the awareness-to-adoption gap.