Creating the Collection: Product Naming

In May 2023, I got my first look at what Pepper’s Design Director, Talia, had dreamt up for Valentine’s Day 2024.

Introducing: Prose & Rosewater

I wanted to evoke the romanticism of Valentine’s Day and create a dreamlike, ethereal feel. I took cues from classic symbols while steering clear of anything that felt too familiar. Inspired by the idea of handwritten valentines and the art of letter writing, Prose was born. Rosewater complimented the print, a sweet allusion to the flower associated with Valentine’s Day.

Concept Development: Love Letters to Myself

Once the products had been named, we began to brainstorm the concept for the Valentine’s Day capsule. With Prose as our North Star, we were inspired by literature & poetry, vintage valentines & calligraphy, painting (the Prose print is actually hand-painted) & sculpture, the Renaissance & Regency eras, quiet moments of reflection and the love of self.

Love Letters to Myself encapsulated it all while laddering beautifully back up to Pepper’s brand strategy of celebrating her—authentically and unapologetically.

The Valentines Collection by Pepper

The Campaign: Social & CRM

Here’s a look at some of content we created & curated for our social channels & CRM program during the campaign.

The Response: she loved herself in it

As soon as the Valentines Collection was made available, the Pepper community was “so obsessed” with its matching sets, saying they “can’t get over this pink” and declaring they “need these sets!” Most importantly, they felt beautiful in their bodies.

Love Letters to Myself

The Valentines Collection by Pepper

Valentine’s Day is every intimate apparel brand’s moment. After the come down from holiday spending and sales events, it’s the first opportunity in Q1 to grab consumer’s attention and get them to purchase at full price again.

Pepper’s 2024 Valentines Collection was that and more. It was the first time the DTC brand launched lingerie, and it was unknown how our audience would receive it.

As the in-house Director of Brand Marketing, I worked across the organization, collaborating with teammates from every vertical—from the Design Director & Director of Merchandising, to the Creative Director & CRM Marketing Manager, to the Social Media Manager & Product Marketing Manager.

Throughout, I led the brand strategy, product positioning, messaging & concept execution, resulting in a comprehensive and cohesive campaign across all customer touchpoints: ecomm storefront, CRM, direct mail, influencer activations and organic & paid social.

The Impact —

• Garter belts were almost enitrely out of stock one week after launch.

• All pieces within the Valentines Collection either met or exceeded sales expectations.

• Average Order Value (AOV) increased while discount rate decreased.

• An older bra style dramatically outperformed expectations, encouraging the Product Team to reconsider its place in Pepper’s lineup and ultimately impacting the Q4 product assortment.

• Pepper entered February already beating plan.

• On social, we saw an average Engagement Rate ~3% + 4,000 IG new followers in less than one month.

Client: Pepper

Design Director: Talia Hiller

Director of Merchandising: Emily Farshchi

Creative Director/Art: Liv Ewing

Photographer: Elena Mudd

Sr. Social Media Manager: Allison Cimo

Influencer Marketing Manager: Celest Bejil

Copywriters: Allison Cimo, Maura Munaf

Graphic Designers: Geneva Finklea, Emma Harris

Calligrapher: Madeline La Rosa