Founded in 1971, any mom over 35 once bought bejeweled accessories at Claire’s as a child in the 1990s. But in 2018, as mall foot-traffic shrank and the company’s sales dwindled, the brand was forced to file for bankruptcy. The outlook was bleak and Claire’s closed dozens of mall locations.

Claire’s desperately needed to revitalize its brand. And that meant connecting with a new, untapped tween audience in totally unique and relevant ways. So, Claire’s got creative and ripped up its old playbook, instead taking a whole new approach to research, media, marketing, and engaging a new audience.

There would be no more cookie cutter media plans. Instead, the brand would need to lead the charge on reaching a key overlap found in both Gen Z + Gen Alpha and engaging them with deep and immersive online experiences. For today’s tweens… this was no longer their mama’s Claire’s (literally!).

If Claire’s used to be about glamour and glitz at your local mall, it was now about glam-inclusivity, glittery-fun, and pushing boundaries in unexpected ways – everything Gen ZAlpha wants from both the real and digital the world.

Claire’s would lead the charge in the Metaverse with a focus on creating engaging, immersive experiences fans couldn’t resist. The brand developed some of the first Gen ZAlpha characters that would represent this core group using store merchandise to showcase an inclusive, playful environment where people are free to be their true selves while overcoming anxieties. Several of these characters are even being adapted for various TV series and movies – always with a focus on empowerment and mirroring the real-life trends and issues Claire’s consumers face.

It’s all about meeting today’s tweens wherever they might be – and wowing them with the Claire’s experience, whether it’s on Roblox or TikTok.

Evolving into this new brand spirit, Claire’s built a wholly-new brand campaign inhabiting all the environs Generation ZAlpha obsesses over, including:

• A female-focused gamers campaign on Twitch (turns out girl gamers LOVE bold accessories)

• Partnerships with empowering female influencers from outside the beauty vertical (i.e MeganPlays)

• A novel TikTok Internship Program (essentially sourcing and empowering the world's future creators)

• A custom holiday “Mini V” issue of V Magazine (featuring… you guessed it: Claire’s products)

• And finally debuting... ShimmerVille (a whole new digital world on Roblox where fans meet online to play, connect and shop in totally new ways)

Claire’s fans sit at the intersection of both physical and digital spaces – so it’s critical to find them online and use platforms like Roblox to create a ‘phygital’ bridge that drives community, brand love, and – most importantly – encourages fans into physical stores once again.

Chasing the ever-changing tastes of tweens is perilous, but Claire’s deep immersion in youth culture crushed and fans went wild for a taste of this legacy brand!

• 147% Lift In Organic Searches

• 1.3MM Brand Engagements

• 14.5MM Rewards Program Subscriptions (they Doubled!)

• 1.1MM Incremental Store Visits

• 26% Spike in YoY Sales

By letting Gen ZAlpha lead the conversation about Claire’s online, the brand has also reached the #1 spot in its competitive set on TikTok. All leading Claire’s to become the only “legacy” brand recognized in Fast Company’s list of the “100 Most Innovative Companies.” Can’t say we’re surprised!