How Victoria's Secret Gets Away With Marketing To Teenagers
Victoria's Secret taped its fashion show this week, and as usual, there was a large segment dedicated to teens.
But the models who wear the brand's Pink line are costumed differently from the grown-ups.
The typical Victoria's Secret Angel for the brand's core line looks like this:
The adult costumes are feminine and risque.
Contrast the typical Victoria's Secret costume with one featured for Pink:
These costumes are colorful, and almost child-like. The models are usually more covered-up than the adults.
This year's Pink show prominently featured balloons:
Smiley faces:
And hearts:
While the brand says Pink is geared toward college-age women, an executive admitted last year that many core customers are teen girls.
"When somebody's 15 or 16 years old, what do they want to be?" Chief Financial Officer Stuart Burgdoerfer said at a conference. "They want to be older, and they want to be cool like the girl in college, and that's part of the magic of what we do at Pink."
The strategy makes sense. Teens girls have shown that they're obsessed with having cute lingerie and parents are willing to shell out.
It's also likely that customers who start shopping the Pink line will remain loyal to the Victoria's Secret brand for much of their lives.