How Fashion Brands Are Putting Real Communities at the Centre of Campaigns

Our coverage points to two approaches to community-led casting: broad participation across universities and a focused partnership with a specialist institution. The distinction matters because each builds relevance in a different way.

Urban Outfitters Builds Recognition Across Campus Life As we reported in August, Urban Outfitters’ All Together Now campaign featured 76 students from more than 10 universities. The retailer’s announcement identified dancers, drum majors, creators, football players and members of its Me@UO community among the cast.

Students in Urban Outfitters’ All Together Now stadium campaign. Courtesy of Urban Outfitters The breadth is the strategic feature. Different campus identities give viewers several ways to recognise themselves in the campaign.

The cast also connects the seasonal message with an existing community platform, rather than requiring the brand to invent a new group for every launch. The campaign’s shopping destination carries the same All Together Now identity into an assortment of campus essentials…