DOWNLOAD CHICO'S FAS CASE STUDY
- Delivered a $4 to $1 return on ad spend throughout the year.
- Search program made more effective from the online display ad program
Chico's FAS, Inc. is a portfolio of women's lifestyle brands that includes Chico's, White House|Black Market, and Soma Intimates. It offers branded, sophisticated, casual-todressy clothing, intimates, complementary accessories and other non-apparel gift items. In addition to the more than 850,000 unique monthly visitors to the three Chico's FAS brands, the company also operates over 1,100 specialty stores and a robust catalog business. With a new director of e-commerce marketing on board, Chico's FAS looked for an online display advertising partner to help drive awareness for its three brands, each of which had new offerings for the marketplace, and to help it drive transactions.
Chico's with an updated clothing line, White House|Black Market as a destination for more than merely black dresses, and SOMA needing to gain attention as an intimate apparel offering for women. As the holiday season was right around the corner, Chico's FAS wanted any prospective display ad partner to drive as many transactions as possible across the three brands. And, with the dramatic uptick in site visitors during the Q4 holiday shopping season, Chico's FAS wanted to make sure that a superior online experience was delivered — adding rich images, maintaining a fast site to satisfy customer expectations and maintain brand integrity.
To date, Chico's FAS has recognized a return on ad spend averaging $4 for every $1 spent. Akamai has helped Chico's FAS reach its customers with the right message at each stage of the purchase funnel. Akamai has developed ad campaigns to help Chico's FAS advertise not simply to people who have visited its sites in the past, but also to everyone deemed in-market for its apparel offerings. Akamai has been able to work within narrow windows of opportunity and shifting budgets during peak sales periods, helping Chico's FAS gain new customers and incremental sales. Additionally, Chico's FAS has noticed a direct correlation between its display ad program managed by Akamai and the effectiveness of its branded keyword terms — with a 15% improvement overall in its search marketing program.
"Akamai has helped us meet our advertising ROI goals in all different times of the year – and especially during peak holiday and promotional periods. Their talent in dialing spend up or down based on what we're looking to accomplish has been a major help for Chico's FAS."
-Jenn McClain, Director of eCommerce marketing, Chico's FAS
