E-Paper
How Sydney Sweeney earned a jeans brand $400 million in a day: Behind the insane American Eagle rally
After American Eagle launched its most expensive campaign yet, starring Sydney Sweeney, the company's market cap rose by $400 million in just a day.
If there was any doubt regarding the power of celebrity endorsement, Sydney Sweeney has dispelled that twice this year. First time was when she managed to get a company to sell her bathwater as soap (and boy did the product fly off the shelves). This time around, it was more conventional. The young actor came on board as an ambassador for American Eagle, an apparel brand, as they launched their new line of denim. The result was a stock market rally so insane that American Eagle became a $2-billion company overnight.
Sydney Sweeney's American Eagle collab
On Wednesday, American Eagle announced that they had roped in Euphoria star Sydney Sweeney for its fall campaign. Titled “Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans,” the push is not just cheeky wordplay. It marked the retailer’s most expensive campaign so far, landing right before the critical back-to-school shopping rush. American Eagle CMO Craig Brommers told Marketing Dive, “This is our Super Bowl.”
American Eagle's stock prices soar
As soon as the announcement was made on Wednesday, the excitement spilled over from social media to the stock market. A day-long stock rally for American Eagle Outfitters Inc. at the NYSE saw the share price of the retailer rise by a stupendous 17.65%. It went from just over $10 to almost $12 by the time the market closed. This took American Eagle's market cap beyond $2 billion for the first time in months. Trade estimates stated that the company earned over $400 million in valuation in the course of a single day. And at the back of it was the Sydney Sweeney-led campaign.
Of course, the company and the market saw a reality check on Thursday as the share price dipped by 4% to settle at $11.52. However, American Eagle's market cap is still above what it was on Tuesday, and by hundreds of millions of dollars.
American Eagle’s campaign with Sydney Sweeney
As per Marketing Dive, the campaign stretches across just about every platform imaginable. There is a 3D billboard in Times Square featuring Sweeney waving to pedestrians in head-to-toe denim. In Las Vegas, a 360-degree video display at the Sphere gives the star even more screen time. On Snapchat, fans can try on jeans virtually through a new AI-powered feature.
Sydney has helped design a limited-edition pair of jeans for the line, called The Sydney Jean. They are styled by her longtime collaborator Molly Dickson.
