lululemon

Live Client, January 2025

While lululemon is doing great with teenagers and women in their early 20s, millennial women are not engaging with the brand like they used to. lululemon wanted Brandcenter students to create a 360 campaign that drew millennial women back to the brand, making them feel valued in lululemon clothing.

Methodology

Online and literary research:

Researched online platforms such as Reddit and Facebook to understand how millennial women perceive lululemon.
Explored the history of body shaming in women and its effects on both their mental and physical health.

Online survey:

Received 30 responses from millennial women who talked about their experience with the fitness industry.
Learned what kinds of marketing are effective for this demographic and what brands are already making them feel comfortable.

Problem

Fitness culture makes women feel as though they are always falling short, turning movement into something they dread.

Through our research, we learned that fitness culture often makes women feel like they’re never doing enough. Instead of movement being a source of joy, it becomes a constant reminder of where they fall short — measured in calories burned, pounds lost, or unrealistic goals.

This pressure turns exercise into something they dread rather than enjoy. The fear of not keeping up or not looking the part discourages them from movement altogether, stripping away the physical and mental benefits that should come with it.

They have been fed these narratives from a young age in health magazines, and are still receiving them on social media today.

Millennial women are feeling stressed out by societal expectations of fitness and health.

Target

Millennial women who do not feel satisfied by the movement standards of society.

Insight

Movement is more fulfilling when it is driven by joy.

Through our research, we learned that movement feels more fulfilling when it’s driven by joy rather than pressure. When women engage in activities they genuinely enjoy, exercise becomes something they want to do rather than an obligation. This shift fosters a more positive relationship with movement, making it easier to stay consistent.

By prioritizing joy over rigid expectations, fitness becomes less about meeting a standard and more about personal well-being. When movement is rooted in enjoyment, it feels more natural, sustainable, and empowering — something to embrace rather than endure.

Millennial women feel more joyful about fitness when it is driven by passion and fun.

“Joyful movement helps us let go of the “all-or-nothing” way of thinking that is often drilled into us by diet/fitness culture.”

— Sarah Glinski

Strategy

Movement is a celebration.

Creative Idea

Your body, your home.

This idea aimed to embrace women of all shapes, backgrounds, and athletic abilities, because we felt that if you feel at home in your body, you’ll feel good everywhere else — and that is something to celebrate.

OOH

Collaboration with Ilona Maher

Ilona Maher, a 28-year-old Olympic-winning rugby player and Dancing with the Stars contestant, has been advocating for body positivity for years. Since her rise to fame, she has received lots of hate on her “bulky” and “overly muscly” body, but she has fought back and celebrated her body, encouraging other women to do the same.

For the “Your body, your home” campaign, Ilona would be an amazing ambassador to promote feeling comfortable in your own body. We would promote the collaboration on billboards and on social media so that millennial women are reached in multiple ways.

OOH Example

Social Media Example

Homewarming Party

In order to connect with millennial women in real life, lululemon will be hosting a “Homewarming Party” at their flagship store in New York City. The event will aim to encourage women to feel more comfortable in their bodies with a yoga class, a keynote speaker, and merch for guests to take home.

Ilona Maher would be the keynote speaker and would share her story with guests to help them feel celebrated. Stores across the country could host their own mini Homewarming parties, whether that’s by hosting their own yoga class or having a local speaker come in to discuss body positivity.