Coach and Spotify are launching a new global cultural partnership in a move to create experiential marketing activations designed to appeal to Gen Z.
“At Coach, self-expression lives in style. At Spotify, it lives in music,” said Joon Silverstein, chief marketing officer of Coach, during a panel at Spotify Beach, during Cannes Lions. “Together, we’re going to be building something that goes beyond both – turning those things into real connections, including experiences people can share together in real life.”
The music brand and fashion brand came together based on the insights that Gen Z craves connection.
“This partnership makes complete sense because both of our brands have been fortunate enough to earn a role in the daily lives of Gen Z already,” said Bridget Evans, global head of ads business marketing at Spotify. “So with Coach that is through what they’re wearing and self-expression and self-identity. Whereas with Spotify, we really play a role in people’s lives, specifically Gen Z, because we’re kind of like that soundtrack to everything they do. So we’re a part of their lives during the big moments that they’re experiencing as well as just the ordinary, everyday ones.”
The partnership will be centered on bringing together fashion and music to connect with Gen Z both on platform and IRL. “This really represents a deep collaboration built on a shared belief in the power of self-expression, connection, community,” added Silverstein. “One of the things we learned from our Gen Z consumers is that they don’t think about identity in terms of categories. So what they wear, what they listen to, the communities they’re part of, it’s all part of the same personal story. And that’s why this partnership feels so natural.”
Unlike the old luxury playbook, which is to define aspiration from the top down and telling consumers what to want, Coach is focused on creating space for people to explore their identities, express the many sides of themselves and connect with people who have shared values. Silverstein said that this thinking is behind everything they do at Coach from their spring campaign “Explore Your Story” to their partnership with the WNBA Coachtopia.
“We used to talk a lot about the attention economy. And I think today we’re living in the connection economy,” said Silverstein. “The brands that win will be the brands that don’t just reach people, but the brands that bring people together.”
As a brand the company takes a consumer-centric approach and talks to young people across global markets “not asking what they buy, but learning about who they are, how they live, what inspires them, what holds them back, who they’re trying to become,” added Silverstein. “We’re working hard to earn a real place in their lives. And one of the things we’ve learned is that they’re not looking for just product. They’re looking for connection and belonging.”
Coach has learned that consumers don’t think of identity in categories like music, fashion, sports, creators.
“They’re moving fluidly across all of it and building identity as they go,” said Silverstein. “When we think about our job as a brand, it’s not to tell people who to be…we think a little bit less with the terminology fandom, but really thinking about all our many diverse communities around the world and how we increasingly co-create with them so that it’s not about telling our story… it’s about helping them tell theirs.”
Coach takes inspiration from artists including Australian singer-songwriter Troye Sivan, who began as a YouTuber in 2007. “One of the things that I learned from trying to kind of curate this community online was that people are smart and you have to treat them as such and I think people can feel immediately when something is inauthentic,” said Sivan on the panel, where he discussed his growth from posting videos on YouTube to building a career as a musician.
“At every step of the way I’ve asked myself, what do I think is actually interesting to me and actually cool to me? And have been lucky enough to have this incredible community of people who have kind of followed along for the whole thing,” he added.
