Lululemon IMC Campaign
Agency: Viral Visions
Members: Ellie Fulcher, Grace Lade, Jack Wiehn, Kendal Isackson, Thomas Schneiderwind
12/16/2024
Executive Summary
For our IMC campaign, our goal is to show why Lululemon is worth the investment, showcasing the unique luxury the brand brings to its customers. While some may shy away from Lululemon due to the high prices, our campaign will focus on breaking down this misconception by emphasizing the quality, commitment, and lifestyle experience the brand delivers.
Using strategic social media content, we aim to communicate Lululemon’s dedication to premium quality and its role in wellness journeys. As a luxury brand, Lululemon stands apart, and we want to reinforce its identity as a premium choice for those who value both functionality and fashion.
Additionally, we’ve identified the ideal target audience. Individuals who will not only appreciate the quality of Lululemon but also benefit the most from incorporating these products into their active lifestyles. We hope our message will resonate with this audience. We can ensure our campaign has a meaningful and lasting impact.
Research Objective
To understand Lululemon’s consumers’ thoughts and behaviors.
We wanted to understand Lululemon's consumers better while learning how they interact with the brand. Through research and understanding of these things, we learned the strengths and weaknesses of Lululemon.
Secondary Research
We conducted research through Nexis, MRI Simmons, Prizm and the Lululemon Website.
Primary Research
Members of the Viral Visions Agency conducted 3 in-store customer interviews and an interview with a Lululemon store representative to observe and identify their attitudes and thoughts towards Lululemon. We asked those individuals questions about their attitudes towards Lululemon as a brand and their personal thoughts and experiences using their products.
Brand Analysis
Founded in 1998 in Vancouver, Canada, Lululemon started as a brand committed to crafting stylish and dependable athletic clothing for women. The company’s first product, black stretchy yoga pants, set the foundation for Lululemon’s success.
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Founder Chip Wilson attended a yoga class, where he noticed a lack of fashionable and comfortable workout wear for women, and he was inspired to come up with a solution. The first storefront opened in 2000, and the brand quickly gained momentum with its combination of chic and functional designs. Lululemon was a pioneer of the athleisure movement, offering versatile items that could transition from gym workouts to everyday activities like running errands. Lululemon went public in 2007, raising $327.6 million in its initial offering. As of January 2023, the brand operated over 650 stores worldwide and reported a 30% revenue growth, bringing in over $8 billion in fiscal year 2022. Looking ahead, Lululemon has set a goal of reaching $12.5 billion in revenue by 2026 as it continues to expand its brand and product offerings globally (MarcomCentral, 2024).
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For active and trendy millennial women who are on the go or around the home, Lululemon is the brand of trendy top quality active wear that offers a unique and innovative solution for clothing that can be worn at home, at the gym or at the office. Lululemon has become the go-to choice for high-quality activewear, particularly among women. Customers who purchase and wear Lululemon often feel a sense of belonging to an elite group of athletes (Eightception, 2024). The brand focuses on high-quality products, creating a strong community culture that connects with its audience, while also being committed to making a positive environmental impact. Lululemon takes care of both its customers and the planet by supporting various initiatives, research, and advocacy aimed at improving global well-being.
In terms of innovation, Lululemon was a trailblazer in the athletic wear industry, being the first to introduce fabrics designed to wick away sweat, activity-specific designs, and even pants with pockets (Eightception, 2024). The brand keeps customers engaged by constantly releasing new styles, colors, and technologies. In 2024, Lululemon launched an expansion to its footwear offerings, including its first men’s collection with plans to continue to drop more men's models in the future (Lululemon, 2024).
Digital Communication Audit
Lululemon’s social media is highly effective, amassing nearly 10 million followers across Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and X (formerly Twitter). Their content appeals to conscious individuals and wellness enthusiasts, as they often feature user-created posts and stories of real people’s fitness journeys.
Lululemon typically collaborates with micro and mid-tier influencers, especially fitness and wellness figures, to make genuine connections and enhance credibility. They were also the official outfitter for Team Canada in the Summer 2024 Olympics and Paralympics, solidifying their connection to active lifestyles and strengthening their brand identity in the sportswear industry.
Although they have many successes, Lululemon has room to grow by broadening its appeal to men through more male-focused influencer partnerships. They could also do better in expanding into international markets to grow their reputation. These steps could help them tap into new demographics and continue building their online presence.
Media Strategy Breakdown
From October 2023 to September 2024 Lululemon advertised with Broadcast, Digital, Radio, Print Digital - Search, and Out of Home. Well over half of that budget was spend on broadcasting and 0.7% was spent on Print advertising.
Annual Total Media Budget:
$5,221,496
Budget Breakdown 10/23-9/24
Broadcast
Radio
Out-Of-Home
Digital
Digital - Search
Competitive Analysis
Strengths
- They are known worldwide and do very well with their advertisements.
Weaknesses
- Sizing is not the best
-Not as luxurious.
Strengths
-Good quality
-Universally known
-Diverse product line
Weaknesses
-Customer service
-Vague brand definition
Strengths
-Same luxury experience as Lululemon
Weaknesses
- More expensive than Lululemon for the same quality
- Known for not always having the best customer service.
Target Audience
Our primary target audience is upper-middle-class, career-focused white women who are between 25 and 35 years old who earn over $120,000 annually. They are likely to be homeowners, married, and often have children in the household. Our secondary target audience would be 18-to 24-year-old white women who are in college and hold a full-time or part-time job.
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Lululemon's primary target audience is high-earning, college-educated women on the upper end of the upper-middle class, known as "Up-and-Comers." These busy, career-driven women are balancing work, social commitments, relationships, and self-care. Many are climbing the corporate ladder in management roles, starting families, and enjoy luxury experiences like frequent travel, trend-following, and shopping. Their lifestyle includes eating organic, shopping at places like H&M, and streaming music on Spotify, making them ideal customers for Lululemon's active, trend-forward products.
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Lululemon's secondary target audience includes college and high school students who work part-time while taking classes, often using their parents' money to make purchases. These students seek trendy, activewear brands and balance academics, part-time jobs, and social lives. They value popular brands, enjoy luxury experiences when possible, follow trends, and share a lifestyle that includes organic foods, shopping at stores like Target, and streaming music on platforms like Spotify, aligning well with Lululemon's activewear appeal.
Meet Jessica Rhule
Consumer Insights
Overall, I think that Lululemon customers are satisfied with their purchases, but they could expand on their sizes a little more and expand on product offerings. One area they could work on expanding would be their footwear. Most of Lululemon’s consumers are willing to spend a little bit more on these products because they are of such good quality, and if not, the customer service does a great job at making sure it is worth the money. The consumers are more likely to choose one of the competitors when it comes to footwear, though, and that is something Lululemon can work on.
Lululemon could also work on its sizing to be more inclusive to everyone. If they had smaller sizes, it could appeal to the younger generations who would love to wear the brand, and if they added bigger sizes, it would help the plus-size community feel more appreciated, and they would be willing to spend the money on something that fit them and made them feel confident.
This brand is a luxury brand, and people know that, and they will be willing to spend the money if they feel that they are offered everything they could ever want, and if it makes them confident. Lululemon has a very loyal fanbase, and just by making a few more corrections, they could expand that fanbase.
S.W.O.T. Analysis
Strengths
Strong brand recognition
Brand loyalty
Product quality
Opportunities
Expansion on sizes and styles
Social media promotion
Global Expansion
Become more sustainable
Weaknesses
High price point
Limited product range
Not a strong online store
Threats
Supply chain issues
Lots of competition with other emerging athletic brands
Counterfeit and knock off products.
Creative Campaign Strategy
Be All In
Indulge In Luxury
The target audience for our campaign is active and trendy women who are 25-35 years old. These are people who are upper-middle-class, career-focused and have graduated college. They are likely to be homeowners, married, and often have children in the household. To reach this audience our strategy is to highlight our unmatched quality and satisfaction guarantee. We want to inspire them to pursue excellence with effortless elegance. This campaign will celebrate the ambition and achievement of an elevated lifestyle—where every moment, from fitness to daily living, is infused with refined luxury. Our tagline “Indulge in Luxury” is meant to show consumers that luxury can be experienced in all aspects of life.
Proposed Budget
Starting in December 2024 to December 2025, Lululemon will increase its previous budget by 12%, resulting in a new annual total media budget of $5,848,075. This increase will allow for more funds for creative, media and sales promotion. The budget includes boosting social media and online presence and implementing more in-person PR strategies. But Lululemon will continue to put the majority of its budget towards broadcast media.
Annual Proposed Total Media Budget:
$5,848,075
Future 12 Months Media Breakdown
Media, Public Relations, and Promotions
Our PR team will be promoting this event on Instagram and TikTok. This is an in- person event that will be a collaboration with LifeTime Fitness. We will invite people to come to our event for free yoga, goodie bags of Lululemon apparel, and to connect with the community. The PR team will be promoting this event and making sure the event gets enough publicity. The PR team will also reach out to influencers to come to the events and post it on their social media. We chose Lifetime Fitness because they are also a more luxurious gym and we want to show people why it is worth it to spend your money on nicer items.
Budget for this event:
For this event, we will be using the budget from the “out of home” category. This category has a budget of around $119,000. Since this event is using social media and is an event held outside of a Lululemon store and in collaboration with another brand, it would come from the “out of home category”.
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Lifetime Fitness and Lululemon
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This will be a PR event where there will be free yoga classes, free goodies bags of Lululemon apparel, and a good opportunity to connect with the community.
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This event will be held May 9th-11th, 2025.
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This event will be held in California. This event will be held in Cuvier Park in La Jolla, California. We chose La Jolla because there is a Lifetime and a Lululemon in the same area and we chose it because California has a lot of people and a lot of influencers to help promote the event as well.
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Viral Visions will be hosting this event because it will help more people want to come to a Lululemon-sponsored event and get to meet people similar to them. This event will inspire them to learn more about Lululemons brand and allow them to see why these luxury clothes are worth it. You are just not buying expensive clothes. You are buying clothes that will last and provide you with a new sense of community.
Campaign Evaluation
Evaluation Technique
Our technique to do this includes more social media posts, a PR event, and more activity on the webiste.
Results
Our desired result would be 20% more followers on social media, 15% more clicks on the website, and 10% increase in sales.
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References
Lululemon. (n.d.). All Lululemon stores. Retrieved December 10, 2024, from https://shop.lululemon.com/stores/all-lululemon-stores
Life Time. (n.d.). Locations. Retrieved December 10, 2024, from https://www.lifetime.life/locations.html
City of San Diego. (n.d.). Cuvier Park (The Wedding Bowl). Retrieved December 10, 2024, from https://www.sandiego.gov/park-and-recreation/parks/regional/shoreline/cuvier
We also used Nexi Uni and Claritas 360
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This is a class project completed for Research and Strategy Development / ADPR 283 at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. It was not commissioned by a client and was developed solely for academic purposes.