Coach announced a new marketing strategy focused on reaching Gen Z consumers through long-term partnerships with content creators, with the fashion brand's collaboration with YouTube creator Haley Pham serving as the centerpiece of the initiative.

Kimberly Landry Wallengren, Vice President of Marketing for North America at Coach, said the company needed to build relevance with younger consumers despite already having strong brand awareness. "Being a heritage brand, brand awareness wasn't an issue," said Wallengren. "What we needed was to build brand relevance with the younger generation."

Coach integrated content creators into its marketing plan and collaborated with Gen Z YouTube creator and author Haley Pham to promote the Tabby bag, one of Coach's signature styles. The company ran a commercial starring Pham and worked with her as a brand ambassador on TikTok and Instagram.

The fashion brand evolved its creator strategy to focus on longer-term partnerships rather than one-off collaborations. Pham has millions of YouTube subscribers and millions of Instagram followers.

The partnership with Pham increased brand consideration among Gen Z female shoppers. "This is translating into incredible supercharged acquisition of Gen Z in like month over month, quarter over quarter business growth," she said.

At YouTube's NewFronts presentation, YouTube pitched advertisers on the trust between content creators and their viewers. The platform unveiled its rebranded BrandConnect platform, now called YouTube Creator Partnerships, which connects advertisers with content creators by leveraging Google's Gemini AI.

"Invest in the creators that can authentically represent your brand. When you do it right, the performance and the equity are there," said Brian Gargan, Director of Premier Ads, Creators, and Content at YouTube.