Branded content in the style category is more competitive than ever, omnipresent, multichannel inspiration is the new norm. Brands must find creative ways to keep attention, offer meaningful interaction and drive sales with a consistent voice.

Back-to-school is a meaningful moment for both mom and kids; kids want to express their unique style, and moms help them pull it off. But, since back-to-school means big business (an estimated $27bn business in 2013), most branded content tends to be more promotional to drive sales.

Brands are also struggling to connect with both mom and kid simultaneously. The Children's Advertising Review Unit (CARU) strictly regulates against advertising to children under 13 years old, so any promotions must be directed at moms.

Kids are also becoming more fluent and influential voices in style, but they’re increasingly difficult to reach. Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) ensures brands are not marketing to kids under 13 years old, and Instagram users must be at least 13 years old.

Creating one brand experience in which both mom and kid can collaborate has become a daunting challenge. And to pull it off during the second biggest retail season is nearly impossible.

A week before the event, we worked with a handful of 'mommy bloggers' (including celebrity mom, Soleil Moon Frye) to start the conversation. Each promoted our event and posted about their kids and their unique back-to-school look this year.

On August 7th we posted an announcement to Target’s social channels inviting moms to share a photo that captured their kids’ individual style on Instagram using #KidsGotStyle.

Each Stylagram was shared with @Target’s 100K+ Instagram followers. Moms and kids were alerted if we created a Stylagram for them. Once moms started sharing their Stylagrams, more of their friends started to participate.

#KidsGotStyle turned moms (and kids) into Target advocates, generating content and positive social conversation around Target and kids’ style at back-to-school:

-We projected 560 photo submissions and received 16% more (655 videos)

-Social sentiment during the event was 71% positive, 13% higher than the rest of the season

We created a burst of engagement that shined a spotlight on Target just as moms and kids were finishing their back-to-school shopping:

-The event inspired 84,470 interactions (likes + comments), an average of 14,078 per day (380% higher engagement than the week before)

-Everyone who received a Stylagram took a screen grab and bragged about it to their friends, leading to 3.7m organic impressions

#KidGotStyle contributed to the success of Target’s 2013 Back-to-School campaign which advanced the brand’s back-to-school style credibility:

-The campaign increased brand perception as 'stylish' (+22pts) and 'where my kids wants to shop' (+14pts) vs. 2012.