Leading Teen Retailer's In-store and Online Marketing Campaign to
Reach Millions of Young Customers Across the Country
PITTSBURGH--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 9, 2008--American Eagle
Outfitters (NYSE: AEO) today announced its partnership with Declare
Yourself, the non-partisan, non-profit youth voting initiative. As the
exclusive apparel retail partner, American Eagle has created a spring
and summer awareness campaign that includes a significant in-store and
online presence, direct mail and targeted e-mails designed to reach
millions of customers in their teens and twenties.
A focal point of the AE campaign will be an iconic VOTE T-shirt
that will be sold on ae.com(R) and in hundreds of AE(R) stores across
the country beginning May 23 through June 24. For each T-shirt
purchased, American Eagle Outfitters will donate $5 to Declare
Yourself to support the organization's year-round voter outreach
initiatives.
"The 2008 presidential election is important for AE customers,"
said Kathy Savitt, executive vice president and chief marketing
officer, American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. "For many, it's their first
opportunity to influence who leads their country, and we are honored
to play a role in inspiring these customers to register and vote."
Beginning today, customers can visit 77E(TM), AE's online
entertainment channel on ae.com, to register to vote, reserve their
VOTE T-shirt, and view exclusive celebrity video content with some of
Hollywood's brightest young stars. The full campaign will kick off on
May 23 online and in-stores.
"We are pleased to have such a strong election year partnership
with American Eagle Outfitters," said Norman Lear, founder of Declare
Yourself. "AE's influence with young people is unparalleled. We look
forward to using that powerful influence to get record numbers of
young people into the voting booth this year."
In addition to the core campaign, American Eagle has partnered
with Seventeen magazine to create a custom version of the VOTE
T-shirt, which is featured in a four-page spread in the May issue of
the magazine (on newsstands April 8). Lauren Conrad, Audrina Patridge
and Whitney Port from MTV's "The Hills" are photographed wearing these
limited-edition pink-and-white women's tees, which are available to
customers online only at www.ae.com/declareyourself. Customers can
also view exclusive, behind-the-scenes footage from the Seventeen
photo shoot, in which the girls talk about the importance of voting.
For more information, visit www.ae.com/declareyourself.
American Eagle Outfitters designs, markets and sells its own brand
of laidback, current clothing targeting 15 to 25 year-olds, providing
high-quality merchandise at affordable prices. The original collection
includes standards like jeans and graphic Ts as well as essentials
like accessories, outerwear, footwear, basics and swimwear. American
Eagle currently operates 858 stores in 50 states, the District of
Columbia and Puerto Rico, and 75 AE stores in Canada. American Eagle
also operates ae.com(R), which offers additional sizes and styles of
favorite AE(R) merchandise and ships to more than forty countries
around the world. The American Eagle(R) brand also includes a
Dormwear(R) collection, aerie(TM), which is available in 39 standalone
stores, American Eagle stores and at aerie.com. The collection
includes bras, undies, camis, hoodies, robes, boxers, sweats, leggings
fitness apparel and personal care for the AE girl. Designed to be
sweetly sexy, comfortable and cozy, the aerie brand offers AE
customers a new way to express their personal style everyday, from the
dormroom to the coffee shop to the classroom. 77E, a new multi-channel
entertainment platform, features original and user-generated content
on ae.com, in AE stores, on television, and on Web sites such as
YouTube, MySpace and Facebook. For more information, visit www.ae.com.
MARTIN + OSA(TM), a concept targeting 28 to 40 year-old women and
men, offers refined casual clothing and accessories, designed to be
valuable, irresistible, inspiring, authentic and adventurous. MARTIN +
OSA currently operates 20 stores. For additional information and
updates, visit www.martinandosa.com.
The company plans to launch a children's apparel brand, 77kids by
american eagle(TM), offering on-trend, high-quality clothing and
accessories for kids age two to 10. 77kids will debut online at
www.77kids.com during Fiscal 2008, with brick-and-mortar stores in the
U.S. planned for 2010.
Declare Yourself
Founded by Norman Lear, Declare Yourself features a powerful,
multi-tiered platform aimed at engaging Americans 18-29 to vote,
including media partnerships, celebrity spokespeople, the sports
arena, and most importantly mobile and Internet technology. Declare
Yourself's campaign blankets the landscape of popular culture, as well
as universities and high schools, with a simple, clear message:
REGISTER AND VOTE!
In addition to its partnership with American Eagle Outfitters,
Declare Yourself is enlisting an unprecedented array of partners for
the 2008 election, including Cricket Wireless, MySpace, Yahoo!,
Google, Clear Channel, Comedy Central, Spike TV, Harper Collins,
Starbucks and Voto Latino. Easy registration is available through
www.DeclareYourself.com or by texting VOTE to 55355 on your mobile
phone.
CONTACT: American Eagle Outfitters, Inc.
Beth Barney, 412-432-4500
barney@ae.com
SOURCE: American Eagle Outfitters, Inc.