TOM JARROLD
© TOM JARROLD

GLOBAL BRAND EVOLUTION


BACKGROUND


By 2014, Coach had embarked on an ambitious transformation to reinvigorate growth and evolve from a leading accessories brand into a modern global fashion and lifestyle house.

CHALLENGE


Elevate Coach's fashion credentials, attract a new generation of consumers, and redefine its expression across product, retail and marketing. I was hired to help drive this process.

STRATEGY


Elevate Coach’s luxury expression while reasserting its rich New York heritage and craftsmanship, sparked by digital innovation, breakthrough collaborations, and a pioneering approach to social and influencer marketing. A specific mandate was given to attract younger Gen Y and Gen Z audiences to the brand.


Below: visuals outlining the marketing strategy and investment:

LUXURY EXPRESSION / COACH 1941


Coach 1941 became the fullest expression of the brand’s new luxury positioning; a more elevated, fashion-driven collection that brought Coach firmly into the global fashion conversation. This shift was amplified through a significant investment in world-class creative talent; photographers, stylists, models, and image-makers, creating a level of fashion authority and aspiration that was new for the brand.

CRAFTSMANSHIP / HERITAGE CAMPAIGN


A global heritage campaign celebrated the codes that had defined the house since 1941 – exceptional leather, craftsmanship, quality and enduring American design.


DIGITAL INNOVATION / VR LIVESTREAM


Fashion’s first VR livestream fashion runway experience opened the NYFW Fall 2016 runway to a younger, global audience.


SOCIAL INNOVATION / PIONEERING MICRO-INFLUENCER STRATEGY


Long before micro-influencers became an industry standard, Coach built a global network of emerging creators to generate authentic Coach content at scale, augmenting influence beyond traditional celebrities and major fashion voices with a new generation of culturally relevant storytellers.


In the first year, 300+ emerging creators from around the world delivered greater collective engagement than the brand’s traditional tier-one and tier-two influencers.

COLLABORATIONS / DISNEY X COACH


The most successful collaboration in the brand’s history, Disney x Coach brought together two iconic American brands – injecting pop culture, playfulness and a youthful energy into Coach’s evolving luxury expression.


IMPACT


By fiscal Q4 2016, Coach had returned to positive comparable-store growth in North America—a 26-point improvement from the beginning of the turnaround—with Coach brand sales rising 11% for the quarter. The momentum continued through 2017, with positive North American comparable-store sales in every quarter.


Just as importantly, the brand was becoming desirable again. Coach elevated its fashion positioning, reduced its reliance on promotion and wholesale distribution, established Coach 1941 on the runway, and reasserted its heritage as America’s original house of leather.


The transformation helped establish a foundation Coach has continued to build upon. A decade later, the brand has returned to the center of fashion and culture, winning a new generation of consumers and delivering record growth—evidence of the enduring power of the repositioning that began during this period.