Victoria’s Secret Slips Into Something Marketable

One could forgive the judges of AdWeek IQ’s Interactive Marketing Award for being blinded by the glossy luminescence of Victoria’s Secret’s supermodels. Many American males, after all, have lost their power of deductive reasoning after looking at the lingerie company’s skimpy offerings.

Surely, however, AdWeek IQ will say they were all business when they bestowed the award on Victoria’s Secret this month for the best marketing event on the Web for their fashion show Webcast in February.

The magazine’s editors said the fashion show was a Web phenomenon, “an event that took on a life of its own and made pop-culture history.” They didn’t equate it to the Beatles show at the Hollywood Bowl or a papal visit, but clearly the honchos at AdWeek IQ were impressed by the interactive quality of the event.

Victoria’s Secret, a daughter of parent company, Intimate Brands, Inc. (NYSE: IBI) was also cited by the judges for its outstanding integration of different media to promote the event. The company ran online banner ads, spent a fortune on a Super Bowl ad and even had one of their supermodels ring the bell on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange to sound the start of trading on the day of the event.

Recognized For Online Customer Support

Victoria’s Secret launched its site in December 1998 and received predictable fanfare in the process. The company said it logged over 10 million visitors and a half a billion hits in just 10 weeks, which may qualify it for some other award.

Behind the windswept hair and long legs facade of the site, some hard work is apparently going on. The company was recognized earlier this month by a SupportZone.com study in which it topped the list of the 10 most popular U.S. online commerce sites for excellence in customer service.

“We are immensely gratified to be recognized by the industry for our efforts to use technology to strengthen our brands and bring more quality shopping experiences to our customers,” said Cynthia Fields, CEO of Victoria’s Secret Catalogue.

Intimate Brands is a Columbus, Ohio-based company that also produces the Bath and Body Works products. The company booked sales of $3.9 billion (US$) in 1998.