Banana Republic Is The Latest Gap Inc. Brand Reclaiming Its Marketing Edge

In her 17 years at Hole Inc., Meena Anvary has been charged with future-proofing its manufacturers. However her newest function as Banana Republic’s chief advertising and marketing officer (CMO) took her on a journey to the previous, into its Eighties archives, the place safari jackets, journey diaries, and a spirit of wanderlust as soon as outlined the label.Now Anvary and her group are dusting off that heritage for a brand new period, a advertising and marketing pivot she hopes will let the model reclaim its standing as a premium procuring vacation spot.“We’ve been redefining and sharpening our objective and positioning,” the marketer informed ADWEEK. “We’re a premium life-style model, and from a objective standpoint, we wish to encourage a mindset of exploration. While you have a look at the Banana model codes from bygone days, it was all about journey and a way of curiosity.”Earlier this yr, this resulted in a buzzy White Lotus tie-up, which drove 3 billion impressions throughout the model’s media platforms, in addition to a newer “Limitless Summer time” marketing campaign, which may simply be mistaken for a Harper’s Bazaar Hamptons editorial.The push to revive Banana Republic’s premium positioning comes at a precarious second for retailers. U.S. attire spend fell 22% within the first three months of 2025 as customers prioritized necessities over discretionary vogue, per knowledge from monetary providers agency Empower.The model’s ‘Limitless Summer time’ marketing campaign was shot within the Hamptons / Banana RepublicIn her pivot, Anvary is guided by what she calls the “Richard Dickson playbook,” a reference to the turnaround being orchestrated by the CEO, who took the helm of guardian firm Hole Inc., in August 2023.“It begins with the product, then filters all the way down to expertise, branding, advertising and marketing, and positioning,” she defined. Product FirstTwo years into his tenure, Dickson—who additionally serves as president at Banana Republic and was the architect behind Barbie’s comeback whereas at Mattel— has countered years of slumping gross sales with a give attention to bringing “crisp identities and objective” to every of Hole’s manufacturers. In Q1 of 2023, Hole Inc.’s gross sales have been down 13% year-on-year; in Q1 2025 they have been up 2%. At Hole, he has paired contemporary linen-and-denim-led design with remakes of its iconic ’90s and ’00s dancing advertisements, now starring Gen Z names like Tyla and Troye Sivan. He additionally introduced on Zac Posen as artistic director throughout Hole, Banana Republic, and Previous Navy.The identical ‘nowstalgia’ blueprint is informing Banana Republic’s revival. After years caught someplace between premium items and on a regular basis fundamentals, gross sales have been down 3% within the first quarter of 2025. Now, the model is returning to its roots: aspirational American fashion for many who like to discover. For Anvary, which means stitching product and storytelling collectively, threaded by her journey into the 1978-founded model’s previous. An outdated Banana Republic catalog picture, that includes copy from Nora Ephron / Banana RepublicIn the archive, she discovered tropical prints on journey zines, catalogs that includes illustrations of explorers, and pictures of daring window shows with “large fake giraffes, zebras, animals and lions,” that includes safari jeeps crashing by the glass. The advertising and marketing and product groups are being impressed by Banana’s nostalgic model codes / Banana RepublicThe model’s product and design groups at the moment are nodding to those outdated model codes with items centered on journey and quiet luxurious. Assume silk resort shirts, pleated wide-leg trousers, and knit polos—and the advertising and marketing group is in “lockstep” with this imaginative and prescient.“It’s so essential for advertising and marketing and product groups to be in sync,” mentioned Anvary, revealing she sits in on design evaluations because the product group does on photoshoots.“We’ve bought this small, scrappy entrepreneurial group,” she mentioned. “Numerous that’s pushed by the tradition Richard has unlocked at Hole and Banana Republic.” A White Lotus Success Story The manifestation of this advertising and marketing and product tie-up got here by in Banana Republic’s current collaboration with HBO for a capsule assortment impressed by the hit sequence The White Lotus. “Tapping into that zeitgeist felt like a pure model match for us,” mentioned Anvary.The 24-piece, resort-chic vary featured males’s and girls’s attire and equipment with “wealthy hues” of turquoise and yellow alongside graphic prints and fluid silhouettes.The partnership jumped seamlessly from display screen to cabinets, backed by a social-heavy marketing campaign that includes present stars Patrick Schwarzenegger and Nicholas DuVernay.White Lotus star Patrick Schwarzenegger fronted the marketing campaign for the Banana Republic x White Lotus assortment / Banana RepublicBanana Republic additionally seeded merchandise from its common vary into the present. When fan favourite Parker Posey’s Victoria Ratliff wore the Cruz Poplin Mini Costume in episode one, it immediately bought out. Anvary mentioned her group didn’t see scripts beforehand, so that they didn’t know when the model may function in a scene and see a spike in social engagement: “You’ll be able to plan the whole lot, however then you have to be open in actual time to listening, reacting, responding,” she mentioned. The marketing campaign drove 3 billion impressions throughout the corporate’s media platforms and web site. Anvary mentioned the collaboration has been measured in “relevance and income.” Banana Republic joins its sister manufacturers in experimenting with “fashiontainment,” an idea Anvary mentioned Dickson coined to explain how fashion, studios, and artists are converging to achieve prospects the place they’re—whether or not that’s on TV, on TikTok, or by immersive in-store experiences. Past Hole Inc., the broader vogue business is embracing this cultural crossover. In 2023, Zara launched a Barbie-inspired capsule assortment primarily based on Margot Robbie’s movie costumes, whereas final yr, Marc Jacobs designed high-end items for Depraved.Extra lately, Banana Republic’s editorial-inspired “Limitless Summer time” photograph marketing campaign showcased conventional fashions and influencers galavanting round The Hamptons. The shoot wouldn’t be misplaced in a high-gloss journal unfold, with a shade palette led by the garments.‘Limitless Summer time’ has a high-gloss editorial really feel‘Limitless Summer time’ has a high-gloss editorial really feel / Banana RepublicStyle influencers with smaller followings, together with Cassia Beart and Chrissy Rutherford, are extending the marketing campaign on TikTok, a part of the model’s elevated give attention to a “tiered” creator technique that spans VIP names (like Schwarzenegger) to micro influencers, who Anvary says have “hyper-engaged followings.Because it charts its subsequent transfer, the CMO desires to ingrain the model into the cultural dialog, “driving relevance with a extremely robust affinity and model love from our prospects.”Whether or not Banana Republic’s heritage-heavy refresh and fashiontainment technique can ship lasting outcomes shall be examined quickly sufficient. Hole Inc. is about to report earnings on Aug. 29, and the proof will finally be within the gross sales.