The challenge
Etsy's reputation was built on craft. That reputation is a strength, but it can also hide how much else the marketplace offers.
Etsy has an exceptional range of homeware, with products that would appeal to fashion-forward and younger audiences. Those shoppers were not necessarily thinking of Etsy when they looked for something special for the home, and a craft-led image was unlikely to change that on its own.
Etsy wanted to show the depth of its homeware, strengthen its fashion credentials and connect with a premium, commercially valuable audience. Simply telling people the range existed would not be enough. They needed a reason to look again.
The challenge was getting a new audience to see Etsy's homeware through fresh eyes, while keeping the makers who create it at the centre of the story.
Our solution
We paired Etsy with a name that audience already followed.
We teamed Etsy up with British fashion designer Olivia Rubin on an exclusive collaboration to create her first interiors range: a capsule collection for the home, made with seven Etsy makers and featuring her signature rainbow print. The unexpected pairing did two jobs at once. Olivia Rubin's name carried fashion credibility to an audience Etsy wanted to reach, and the makers' craftsmanship proved what Etsy's homeware could be.
The collection featured seven eye-catching products: a plate set, candles, stationery, cushions, a lamp, keep cups and place mats.
We led the integrated campaign from end to end, from the creation of the collection itself through to editorial and social content, a lookbook and social assets.
The launch was built in two stages. In July, we invited media to an exclusive breakfast briefing to reveal the range ahead of release. In October, a VIP launch hosted by Jo Elvin celebrated the limited-edition collection going on sale. Between and around both moments, PR sell-in and influencer marketing kept the collection in front of the audience it was designed for.
The outcome
The collection sold out completely. Every product in the collaboration sold, making it one of the fastest-selling collections on Etsy and generating spikes in revenue for both the makers and the brand.
The unexpected pairing secured Etsy 38 pieces of coverage in top-tier titles, and social posts reached 4.8M people, delivering one of Etsy's best social campaigns to date.
Etsy's homeware reached a fashion-forward audience through a designer they already trusted, and the seven makers behind the range shared in its commercial success.
The result was a collaboration that changed how people saw Etsy's homeware: a sell-out collection proving that the marketplace known for craft is also a destination for design.
