JCPenney‘s newest marketing campaign looks like a slam dunk.
Seizing upon the rapidly growing popularity of women’s basketball, the retailer launched “Inside Lane,” a marketing campaign featuring five elite collegiate and professional women’s basketball athletes.
“Women’s sports are really analogous in a way to JCPenney. They’ve been part of our culture forever, but both have been a little undervalued,” said Marisa Thalberg, chief customer and marketing officer for Catalyst Brands, the parent company of Brooks Brothers, Aéropostale, Lucky Brand, Nautica and Penney’s.
The five women’s basketball players participating in Penney’s “Inside Lane” campaign are:
- Gabriela Jaquez, a senior at UCLA which won the Women’s NCAA championship this year. She was drafted into the WNBA by the Chicago Sky. The WNBA draft was held Monday at The Shed at Hudson Yards in Manhattan.
- KK Arnold, from the University of Connecticut, which reached the final four but lost to South Carolina.
- Jackie Young, from the Las Vegas Aces, three-time WNBA champion, and two-time Olympic Gold Medalist.
- Audi Rae Crooks, from the Iowa State Cyclones known for her exceptional scoring in the paint and nicknamed “Lady Shaq.”
- Stefanie Dolson, a standout center for the Washington Mystics, 2021 WNBA champion, 2020 Olympic 3×3 gold medalist, and two-time WNBA All-Star. She won back-to-back NCAA championships at the University of Connecticut.
KK Arnold in a JCPenney outfit.
Thalberg said that by spotlighting these five athletes, “Penney’s is showing up unexpectedly, connecting to culture, but sort of zigging where everyone else is zagging.”
Rather than pursuing a megastar athlete already embedded in the popular culture, Penney’s intentionally pursued athletes who are just being discovered or not yet at the white hot center of everything.
“With due respect to Caitlin Clark, we wanted to go the other way,” Thalberg told WWD. She said the concept with “Inside Lane” is to showcase “amazing” women who exemplify diversity, from the perspectives of geography, ethnicity and body size.
Still, “These athletes might be walking through the tunnel. They might have their own swagger. They might be wearing just whatever they had in their closet. And now we can dress them in looks that are totally reflective of their personal styles. They are choosing their looks. We didn’t custom-make anything for them,” said Thalberg. The athletes will be seen in Penney’s “accessibly” priced fashion from private and national brands, starting with spring looks and continuing through the year.
Some of the athletes, Thalberg said, have personal stories of growing up shopping at Penney’s, and through social media and Penney’s websites will be conveying stories about their lives. “This is not a one-off moment,” said Thalberg. “We’re going to tap into them at moments throughout the year. ‘Inside Lane’ is not meant to feel like an advertising campaign. It’s designed to feel more grass roots.”
Inside lane is a basketball term referring to the painted rectangular area on the court extending from the baseline to the free-throw line.
Audi Rae Crooks, KK Arnold, Stefanie Dolson, Gabriela Jaquez and Jackie Young.
