When I was growing up, Payless had a certain attachment to it, more negative than positive. As I got older, I learned that many of the shoes we see in the department store are no different than Payless, except at Payless you…pay less. Well, Payless wanted to test something that has been quite a topic of conversation as we’ve moved into a social-driven culture: The power (or interesting take) of influencers.
According to AdWeek, a Payless based in Santa Monica took over a former Armani store and stocked it with $19.99 pumps and $39.99 boots. Payless then invited groups of influencers to the grand opening of “Palessi” and asked their opinions on the “designer” wares.
What’s hilarious (to me) is that the people who attended the event didn’t even know that the shoes they were looking at were from Payless, and some even dropped upwards of $640 for a pair of shoes. Over the day, the brand would have made an estimated amount of $3,000 for the day. WOW.
According to Doug Cameron, DCX Growth Accelerator’s chief creative officer, the goal “wanted to push the social experiment genre to new extremes, while simultaneously using it to make a cultural statement,” as was said in a press statement. And as I said earlier about Payless and the original thought about expenses, he continued: “Payless customers share a pragmatist point of view, and we thought it would be provocative to use this ideology to challenge today’s image-conscious fashion influencer culture.”
A few things I found interesting about this situation: First, how easy it can be for brands to spike up the percentages of consumer goods, and more importantly, how impressionable ‘influencers’ are. It’s almost like — are you just happy with looking like you have expensive things, even if it’s just for the flex?
Now don’t get me wrong: I love a good flex. I own Gucci, I understand the power of having the name and the attachment to it. However, I ain’t ever going to deny a discount. If I like it, I like it. Point blank period. And it’s strange how the perception of a brand can all be determined on how expensive (or not expensive) an item is.
What y’all think?
