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Late last week, shopper Candace Payne posted a Facebook video of herself wearing the new Star Wars Chewbacca mask she'd bought at Kohl's.
The video, shows Payne laughing wildly as she wears the mask. It's been viewed hundreds of millions of times, breaking a Facebook Live record and earning Payne the nickname "Happy Chewbacca Mom."
For Kohl's it was the perfect opportunity to really deliver on the brand’s social mission.
Kohl's reacted quickly by creating its own video response within 24 hours of Ms. Payne's hilarious debut. The real-time moment marketing strategy resulted in record social engagement.
Representatives from Kohl’s met up with Payne at her house, where they gave her a bunch of free Star Wars toys, more Chewbacca masks and $2,500 worth of Kohl’s gift cards. Kohl’s, further reveling in the good publicity, recorded the moment and uploaded it to Facebook.
Payne herself seems to represent the core Kohl’s shopper: suburban mothers of young children looking for bargains, making her more relatable to fellow customers than Hollywood actresses.
“Kohl's you guys sure did the right thing to come out and treat her and her family!!,” reads a top-voted comment on Facebook. “Wow!! Way to go Kohl’s!!! I don’t really shop there but I’m guessing I will have to give you another look!!,” reads another.
The free advertising is welcome for Kohl’s: the mid-tier department store disappointed investors badly earlier this month when it reported a 3.9% decline in comparable sales in the first quarter.
Now Digital content engagement around Kohl's brand has increased by 101%.
"Kohl's relevant and timely response not only contributed to a spike in positive brand sentiment for the retailer, but demonstrates that they are in touch with how people are engaging online with their brand," said Assaf Henkin, senior VP of brand intelligence at Amobee.
Anyone hoping to buy the talking Chewbacca mask for themselves are out of luck. The item has sold out at Kohl’s and other retailers, including Walmart and Toys R Us.
