CTV Advertising Strategies:

Insights from CTV leaders at Dentsu, Horizon Media and more

SECURE YOUR SEAT

Madewell stages an Instagram flash mob

You know when your Instagram feed lights up with a million photos of an event that all your friends are simultaneously attending and photographing and posting? Well, that’s the type of flash mob experience clothing retailer Madewell wanted to recreate in its recent “Flashtagram” campaign — a photo takeover of Instagram featuring Madewell jeans.

“Since denim is at the core of our brand identity and we have such great relationship with our favorite Instagrammers, it seemed like a no brainer to marry the two,” said Somsack Sikhounmuong, the head of design for Madewell. “From there, the Flashtagram was born.”

Screen Shot 2014-02-19 at 3.56.54 PM

At noon on last  Friday, a group of 500 Madewell employees, bloggers, and editors from Allure, NYLON, Elle, Marie Claire, among others, posted their best denim shots with the hashtags #denimmadewell and #flashtagram.

Screen Shot 2014-02-19 at 3.57.05 PM

 

The result was more than 1,600 posts to the #denimmadewell hashtag, more than 160,000 likes from the posts on Friday, and 8.50 million impressions in total. Madewell’s Instagram account has 151,000 followers.

Screen Shot 2014-02-19 at 3.57.15 PM

 

This is the first campaign effort by the retailer on Instagram. Other than gifting a few pairs of denim, none of the campaign was paid. The effort is reminiscent of a similar takeover by Uniqlo on Pinterest two years ago, though the Uniqlo campaign was internal-only.

It must be noted, however, that not everyone was thrilled by being inundated with denim:

 

https://digiday.com/?p=65431

More in Marketing

Retail media’s mid-2025 reality: Why advertisers are going all in on full-funnel

Retail media’s meteoric rise may finally be leveling off — and that’s forcing advertisers to take a harder look at what they’re getting for their money.

TikTok might be working on a standalone U.S. app, but marketers aren’t sold on the idea – yet

TikTok is developing a lifeboat for its American business, but media buyers are wary of advertising implications.

Bold Calls for the back half of 2025

Now’s a good moment as any to take stock —and make a few bold calls about what’s coming next.