Hasta La Creative!

It was the laugh heard round the world. Late last week, shopper Candace Payne posted a Facebook video of herself wearing the new Star Wars Chewbacca mask she’d bought at Kohl’s, and viral stardom ensued. But rather than just chuckling and moving on, Kohl’s reacted quickly by creating its own video response within 24 hours of Ms. Payne’s hilarious debut. The real-time marketing strategy resulted in record social engagement for the Menomonee Falls, Wisc.-based retailer.

“We have a two-way conversation with customers on social media all the time, so we were prepared,” said Nancy Carruth, senior VP-marketing for the 1,167-unit chain. “The most important thing is how nimble the team is, how they act with speed and really stay connected to the conversation.”

In Kohl’s two-minute video, the retailer visits Ms. Payne and her family to give them each a Chewbacca mask, along with $2,500 in Kohl’s gift cards and 10,000 points in its Yes2You loyalty reward program. The retailer, which has 38 million customers in its loyalty program, used the #AlltheGoodStuff hashtag, which is part of its current marketing campaign, for the post.

Continue reading at AdAge.com