International Women’s Day, marked annually on March 8, is a global event dedicated to celebrating women’s rights and achievement. The United Nations highlights equality as the global theme for 2020: “I Am Generation Equality, Realizing Women’s Rights.”

International Women’s Day was recognized and celebrated around the world. For example, in the lead-up to the event this year, United Nations Women Australia held breakfast meetups across the country from February 28 to March 6, providing a forum for women from different backgrounds to empower, inspire and motivate each other. In France, parades were held in multiple cities—including Bordeaux, Lyon and Paris—to mark the occasion on March 8, hosted by organisations such as motorbike association Toutes en Moto.

This report follows the Coresight Research International Women’s Day Preview, where we discussed how brands and e-commerce companies in China treat the event as another shopping festival. In this report, we highlight how retailers across the globe capitalized on International Women’s Day 2020 by launching themed products and marketing campaigns to increase brand exposure and boost sales.

E-Commerce Platforms Partner with Brands To Launch International Women’s Day Collections

Collaborations have been formed this year between apparel brands and e-commerce platforms, enabling them to launch new products that are themed around International Women’s Day—targeting consumers who may be looking to raise awareness of women’s rights campaigns.

Amazon worked with fashion brand Diane von Furstenberg to launch the “InCharge” line of T-shirts. The apparel range was specially designed for International Women’s Day and will be available exclusively on Amazon for the whole month of March, which is coined as Women’s History Month.

[caption id="attachment_104938" align="aligncenter" width="550"] Diane von Furstenberg’s “In Charge” T-shirts on Amazon
Source: Amazon[/caption]  

This collaboration is also a part of Amazon’s wider campaign “Amazon x InCharge,” through which the e-commerce platform is featuring and promoting women-owned businesses, their products and stories. Fashion brand N:Philanthropy has also been showcasing its products on Amazon.com, including T-shirts, sweatshirts, jogging pants and dresses.

[caption id="attachment_104939" align="aligncenter" width="550"] Diane von Furstenberg and other female entrepreneurs pictured on Amazon.com (left) and N:Philanthropy products on sale on the platform (right)
Source: Amazon[/caption]  

E-commerce retailer Net-a-Porter worked with 20 brands and female designers to launch T-shirts for International Women’s Day, which have been available exclusively on the platform since February 28. Participating designers include Alexa Chung, Jimmy Choo and Stella McCartney, each of which has been responsible for arranging the manufacture of their T-shirt design, as well as setting the price.

The designers put their own interpretation of women’s empowerment and strength into their pieces. For example, Stella McCartney’s International Women’s Day T-shirt highlights the theme “sisterhood,” according to the brand. It is priced at $295, which is at the higher end of the scale compared to other designers’ pieces—Copenhagen-based fashion brand Rotate Birger Christensen’s limited-edition T-shirt is priced at $65 on Net-a-Porter, for instance.

[caption id="attachment_104940" align="aligncenter" width="550"] Net-a-Porter’s International Women’s Day page (left) and Stella McCartney’s limited-edition, themed T-shirt (right)
Source: Net-a-Porter[/caption]  

Net-a-Porter claims that all of the profit from sales of the themed T-shirts will be donated to Women for Women International, a nonprofit humanitarian organization that helps women living in war-affected areas to rebuild their lives.

Brands and Retailers Launch Women’s Empowerment Marketing Campaigns To Raise Their Profiles

Brands and retailers from fashion and beauty categories have rolled out marketing initiatives that are associated with existing rights campaigns, in order to take advantage of the consumer traffic around these topics.

Footwear brand UGG partnered with HERproject—an initiative that inspires women in the workplace—to launch a video series entitled POWERDBYHER. Featured personalities include three-star Michelin chef Dominque Crenn and artist Claire Tabouret, who discuss their definition of success and the challenges they have faced in their careers—while wearing UGG-branded footwear, such as the Fluff Yeah sheepskin sandal and LA Cloud low sneaker.

UGG has committed to donating $60,000 to HERproject, which has worked in more than 750 workplaces across 14 countries to support women and boost their confidence, wellbeing and economic potential.

[caption id="attachment_104941" align="aligncenter" width="550"] Chef Dominque (left) and Claire Tabouret wearing the Fluff Yeah sheepskin sandal (right)
Source: UGG YouTube channel[/caption]  

Swedish skincare technology company Foreo asked women in the UK to celebrate one another via its ‘pay it forward’ scheme, from March 1 to 8. The brand invited participants to nominate women who have had an impact on their lives, who then receive a Foreo Luna Mini 2 facial cleansing device. Although Foreo emphasized an emotional message behind the campaign to give away “unlimited” numbers of its Luna product, the brand is benefitting from its International Women’s Day promotion through enhanced exposure and increased potential for future sales by expanding its customer base. In order to enter a nomination, consumers had to post on social media—either Facebook or Instagram—tagging the brand and using a specific set of hashtags. They were also required to complete a form that divulged personal contact information, enabling Foreo to target these consumers in future marketing activities.

[caption id="attachment_104942" align="aligncenter" width="550"] Foreo Luna Mini 2
Source: company website[/caption]  

Shapewear brand Shapermint added an equal sign to its signature logo to show support for the Generation Equality theme of International Women’s Day this year, which has the social media hashtag “EachforEqual.” The new logo is being displayed on the company’s website and social media platforms from March 4 to 9. Shapermint also ran a marketing campaign featuring women from different generations and backgrounds, who use their forearms to strike an equal-sign pose.

[caption id="attachment_104943" align="aligncenter" width="550"] Shapermint marketing images feature women striking an equal-sign pose
Source: Shapermint.com[/caption]  

J. Jill, a US womenswear brand, worked in partnership with Bottomless Closet to hold an “Each for Equal” conference on March 5 that focused on this year’s theme of equality. Bottomless Closet is a New York- based nonprofit organization that provides work-appropriate, used clothing and supportive services (e.g., interview coaching, resume editing) to men and women entering or re-entering the workplace. The conference invited a group of trailblazing women who have overcome challenges to take a top spot in their respective areas: Lindsay Shookus, a producer on the Saturday Night Live television show; Rebecca Allen, founder of her eponymous new footwear brand; and Precious Williams, a motivational speaker and former client of Bottomless Closet, to name a few.

[caption id="attachment_104944" align="aligncenter" width="350"] J.Jill and Bottomless Closet held a conference celebrating International Women’s Day
Source: Company website[/caption]  

Shopping Malls in China Creatively Engage with Consumers During Coronavirus Outbreak

With the coronavirus outbreak ongoing, fewer consumers are visiting shopping malls in China, so mall operators looked to engage with consumers online, using International Women’s Day as the hook. Chinese shopping mall The Summit, located in Suzhou, Jiangsu province, launched an International Women’s Day campaign on its WeChat official account to offer consumers a free makeup tutorial. The shopping mall invited beauty guru Shen Ting to do the tutorial on March 8, which was also recorded for consumers to view again at a later date by joining a specific WeChat group.

[caption id="attachment_104945" align="aligncenter" width="350"] The Summit’s poster advertising its makeup tutorial by beauty influencer Shen Ting
Source: The Summit WeChat official account[/caption]  

Key Insights

E-commerce platforms in Europe and the US partnered with brands to launch International Women’s Day-themed products. Fashion and beauty brands also capitalized on the event by launching women’s empowerment marketing campaigns, in order to increase exposure and expand their customer base while supporting female empowerment.

In China, consumers are not visiting shopping malls much due to the ongoing coronavirus outbreak, so shopping malls are looking to engage with female consumers online using International Women’s Day as the hook.