Media Contact
Adam Allington
American Eagle shares are surging following the release of its second quarter earnings report in which the company touted the success of its viral ad campaign featuring actress Sydney Sweeney.
Jura Liaukonyte
Dake Family Associate Professor of Marketing, Cornell SC Johnson College of Business
Jura Liaukonyte, professor of marketing at Cornell University, says there are several factors that are likely driving the stock’s price increase.
Liaukonyte says:
“The interesting part of this campaign is that the ads can work twice: first by driving direct consumer attention and sales (helped by a contained controversy), and second through a feedback loop when the company credits the ads and attracts further attention. Because only about 10 days of Q2 overlapped with the campaign, it is hard to evaluate its realized impact for the earnings report that closed just 10 days later, yet the company chose to spotlight it as a driver of performance.
“That attribution turns consumer buzz into a simple story for media and retail investors, and as research shows that retail investor decisions are likely to be influenced by ads themselves, the earned media might further feed ad-induced investor reaction back into consumer attention and demand.”
