Inside: Shein Campus Ambassador Program, a brand visibility strategy

Shein Campus Ambassador Program collaborated with college students to create brand awareness and build a community through New Year parties.

Last December, Shein, an international B2C fast fashion e-commerce platform, executed a new year's campaign with college students across the country. As a part of the Shein Campus Ambassador Program, 100 college ambassadors were selected to represent the brand while hosting new year parties for their college friends.

Shein started the Campus Ambassador Program in Mumbai with 30 ambassadors in 15 colleges and slowly extended its scope to Pune, Delhi, and Bangalore. Last year, within the duration of three months, Shein India selected 100 ambassadors and executed 100 parties in four cities.

With about 2000 attendees, the campaign was able to garner 800 #PartyWithShein posts on Instagram.

As a brand, Shein majorly caters to students as their target audience. This was the key insight behind roping in students as ambassadors. Having spent three years in the Indian market, the brand has carefully studied the buying behaviour of its existing and potential customers. Leveraging the influencing power of peers is key to Shein's marketing strategy.

Why influencer marketing? A Shein India representative explains, "Influencer marketing is rapidly growing and emerging with time. Instagram makes a good fit for us to promote and highlight fashion trends. In the last few months, we have extensively worked with the Indian social media and digital influencers to market Shein's offerings."

While shortlisting influencers for the Campus Ambassador Program, Shein users with significant social clout were approached.

These user-influencers were given a special coupon code to get extra discounts on the platform and means to track their contribution to the brand.

The parties organised as a part of the campaign were rich in experience and décor. There was a significant amount of Shein branding at everything visible in the setting, including balloons. It helped the brand give the attendees something to look forward to at the party as well as establish brand recall.

Also Read: Inside Entertainment ki Nayi Bhasha – attempting to redefine BookMyShow

The brand hopes to position itself as one of the leading fast-fashion e-commerce brands offering styles that cater to young enthusiasts at affordable prices.

For the young influencers, the initiative was an opportunity to go beyond academics and develop soft skills like communication, marketing, and networking.

"Our aim is to use the powerful organic following of the youth today to build a community for this segment and ensure a personal brand connect by giving them a platform to grow. We try to involve our ambassadors in various campaigns to help them develop their skills," the Shein India spokesperson concludes.