JCPenney Gifts $10,000 Dream Wedding to LA Couple Amid Brand Revival

Whereas all eyes are on Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ high-profile wedding ceremony in Venice, Italy this week, JCPenney hopes to divert consideration to a different Venice wedding ceremony that occurred lately.On Wednesday, the division retailer funded a Los Angeles couple’s wedding ceremony in Venice, Calif. to show that the large day doesn’t have to interrupt the financial institution. The model assisted highschool sweethearts Estefany Gomez and Leonardo Rendon by outfitting the couple and their complete visitor checklist, in addition to offering all wedding ceremony decor—all for a complete pricetag of $10,000.In case you don’t imagine them, examine the receipt.JCPenney“We’ve at all times dreamed of a California wedding ceremony, however with our households dwelling on reverse coasts, it felt out of attain,” the couple mentioned in a press release. “When JCPenney reached out, we actually questioned if it may actually occur. However they didn’t simply say sure to our dream—they made each element potential, from outfitting each visitor in attractive vogue to the venue and cake, and most significantly, creating reminiscences we’ll cherish eternally.”Per Zola’s 2025 First Look Report, the typical price of a marriage in 2025 is projected to hit $36,000, a rise from $33,000 in 2024 and $29,000 in 2023. JCPenney’s comebackThe marketing campaign comes as JCPenney makes an attempt to stage a significant comeback underneath its new chief advertising and marketing officer (CMO) Marisa Thalberg, following a interval of chapter, layoffs, retailer closures, and sluggish gross sales.Per Retail Dive, the model’s This fall whole internet gross sales decreased greater than 9% to $2.09 billion. The publication additionally reported on Monday that the division retailer will shutter its Alliance Provide Chain facility in Haslet, Texas in November, impacting 300 staff.In April, JCPenney rolled out “Sure, JCPenney”, its first marketing campaign underneath Thalberg, that includes unbranded billboards throughout NYC’s Instances Sq. and in Brookfield and Simon malls nationwide. The posters showcased fashions sporting its garments with no indication of the place they got here from. A QR code printed on the advertisements linked to JCPenney’s web site.Within the two months for the reason that marketing campaign’s launch, JCPenney mentioned it has seen a 22% enhance in Google searches for the model, in addition to an increase in model consideration from 13.6% to 16.4%. One of many lead outfits from the advert marketing campaign additionally achieved an 88% sell-through.Thalberg, who joined in October 2024, mentioned facilitating what she calls “the opposite Venice wedding ceremony” was part of the model’s technique to reaffirm JCPenney as a vacation spot for budget-conscious trendsetters.“As we take into consideration what our place is in tradition, it’s to softly poke at issues which can be elite and present how we are able to translate it for everybody else,” she advised ADWEEK. The CMO added that customers can anticipate extra from its “Sure, JCPenney” marketing campaign because it rolls out back-to-school vogue within the fall.