Cultivating long-lasting brand love and loyalty for Lululemon.
🥇 Winner of 2025 Brandcenter Live Client Sprint
THE ASK
Develop a one-year plan within a span of a week to get U.S. women ages 28-34 to fall back in love with Lululemon.
THE PROBLEM
Millennial women feel disconnected from Lululemon, perceiving the brand as chasing younger, trendier consumers.
THE INSIGHT
The pressures of perfectionism leave no room for joy for millennial women.
THE SOLUTION
Movement should be the one thing in life that feels like freedom, not pressure. But as life gets more complicated, joy in movement often fades. Lululemon can be the brand to bring it back.
PROBLEMMillennial women feel left behind by Lululemon.
We tracked online conversations to get a read on how millennial women perceive the brand today. Once representing a milestone purchase, the brand now seemingly prioritizes younger demographics, leaving its original champions behind.
FROM THIS“A few years ago, I was still a student and walked past lulu’s store on my way out of school, but couldn’t afford it then. When I entered the workforce, I bought my first pair of lulu’s Align leggings, which is the best feeling that I ever felt.”
- Reddit
TO THIS“Lulu has geared their women’s clothing to a younger audience in recent years, and you can feel the trendiness show up in their products. I don’t think lululemon is a brand for millennials anymore.”
- Rana, 28
Why the disconnect? Well, their lives and needs have changed.
These women aren’t wide-eyed newcomers to adulthood anymore. They’re juggling demanding careers, evolving identities, and the weight of mounting pressure.
The numbers say it all: Women in mid-level roles are 12% more likely than men to have their expertise undermined (McKinsey) and report higher stress levels due to societal expectations (APA).
But the real story came to life in our one-on-one conversations with them.
A real-time conversation with an interviewee.
The athleisure category has become another breeding ground for perfectionism.
The overwhelming focus on performance, discipline, and optimization across messaging has also turned movement into another box to check.
INSIGHTThe pressure to be perfect leaves no room for joy.
We were able to understand the burden of perfectionism through the eyes of millennial women. Perfectionism overshadows joy, the kind that is effortless, unrestrained, and unfiltered. The kind that allows us to take ourselves a little less seriously.
Early notes from our initial brainstorming. We couldn’t stop unpacking our insight and exploring what it would mean to recenter joy in movement. It felt like we tapped into something universal.
Movement should feel good, and Lululemon already gets this.
Lululemon has always been about movement, with clothes that work with you, not against you, and a community that makes sweating it out feel like joy, not a chore. By tackling the fears that come with our thirties, Lululemon can also flip the script on what this decade really means AND carve out an even stronger place in the market.
STRATEGYWith Lululemon, movement isn’t meant to be so serious.
CREATIVE CAMPAIGNLululemon: Move Free
Let's make 2025 about finding joy in movement again, without all the pressure.
We start the year with OOH messaging that contrasts restrictive environments with the freedom of movement.
On Valentine’s Day, Lululemon helps women break up with bad gym contracts and move on their own terms.
On a pro-sports off-day in June, Lululemon celebrates rec league athletes with city partners, honoring those who simply play for the love of the game.
Finally, Lululemon champions those who run simply for the joy of it driving major earned media buzz.
RESULT + IMPACTLululemon loved our campaign for nailing the brand’s essence. By ditching the pressure of traditional fitness standards, we made space for movement that feels good, not forced.
They also asked how Lululemon could align with marathons and gyms without clashing with them. Our take? They don’t have to be opposites. Lululemon can team up with these spaces in a way that feels natural, and we’ve got a few ideas on how to make those partnerships even stronger.
TEAMNithya Charles (Art Director)
Henry Coffey (Copywriter)
Jackson Wald (Copywriter)
