# Express Launches Holiday Campaign to Sustain Brand Metric Growth The retailer leverages celebrity family dynamics to drive social-first engagement during the holidays. - **Source:** [Marketing Dive](https://www.marketingdive.com) - **Published:** 2026-11-02 - **Topic:** [Marketing](https://brifing.si/c/marketing) - **Original article:** - **On Brifing:** https://brifing.si/s/10dc6770-189a-48f1-9b5b-069b013b7fff ## Strategic Celebrity Casting Express has launched its 'Holiday, Hamlin Style' campaign featuring Lisa Rinna, Harry Hamlin, Delilah Belle Hamlin, and Mick Maio. By utilizing a multigenerational family dynamic, the retailer aims to connect with diverse consumer groups. This approach follows the success of previous campaigns that utilized similar talent to drive organic social engagement. ## Social-First Campaign Architecture CMO Joe Berean emphasizes that the campaign is designed to be social-first while maintaining the polish of traditional holiday advertising. The content features Lisa Rinna’s personality, including her signature one-liners and dance moves. This strategy is intended to be scroll-stopping in a highly competitive and crowded holiday retail environment. ## Building on Recent Momentum The holiday effort builds upon the 'Too Easy to Look This Good' fall campaign featuring Tee Higgins and Tinashe. That initiative generated the brand’s highest earned and paid media traffic for the year. Express reported a 3% increase in brand awareness and a 2% rise in consideration from Q2 to Q3. ## Multigenerational Marketing Tactics Express is intentionally targeting a wide audience by showcasing a complete family unit. This tactic follows successful experiments with multigenerational approaches, such as the Mother’s Day campaign featuring Karolína Kurková and her daughter. The brand aims to reach new customers across different age demographics through these authentic and relatable family-focused narratives. ## Operational Context and Ownership This campaign arrives as Express seeks to reheat its brand following a Chapter 11 filing in April 2024. The retailer and its subsidiary, Bonobos, are currently owned by Phoenix Retail. This joint venture includes Simon Property Group, Brookfield Properties, Centennial, and WHP Global, all supporting the brand’s ongoing turnaround and revitalization efforts. ## Execution and Channel Strategy Shot in Los Angeles, the campaign features seasonal vignettes set to remixes of Tchaikovsky’s 'The Nutcracker.' The content will be distributed across video, social, digital, and in-store channels throughout the season. The featured styles range in price from $38 to $298, targeting shoppers looking for both fashion and value during the holidays. ## Competitive Retail Landscape Express is competing for attention against major retailers like Target and Walmart, as well as brands like Sephora and Anthropologie. CMO Joe Berean noted that holiday competition is starting earlier and becoming more aggressive. Consequently, the brand is prioritizing high-impact talent to cut through the noise and maintain its recent growth. ## Long-term Brand Revitalization The ultimate goal is to reignite the heat of the brand at its historical peak. By combining celebrity-led activations with community-focused platforms like 'Dress to Express,' the company hopes to sustain its upward trajectory in awareness. Success depends on converting this social buzz into consistent traffic and long-term customer loyalty. ## Sources covering this story - https://www.marketingdive.com/news/express-unwraps-holiday-campaign-to-build-on-brand-metric-gains/873124/ — --- _Summary written by Brifing from the original reporting. Copyright in the original article belongs to its publisher; read the full piece at the link above._