Today, Journeys announces a bold step forward in how it connects with its core Gen Z and Gen Alpha audience on social. Developed in partnership with Anomaly, the brand is launching a new long-form, narrative-driven content series on TikTok, signaling a broader shift in its social strategy: one rooted in experimentation, authenticity, and evolving with the platform’s storytelling trends. In addition to unique creator partnerships, the approach taps into Journeys’ unique store culture and ownable tone of voice across always-on social content and creator partnerships.
The initiative is part of a specific project Anomaly created for Journeys, reflecting a strategic move to test new formats and entertainment-first thinking in response to the range of ways Gen Z and Gen Alpha view brands and engage with content.
In episode one, Jazmine wanders into Journeys, where she makes an instant connection over shoes, hair streaks and skateboarding with a female employee. In episode two, Jazmine begins to get her bearings as the newest Journeys employee. You can view each of the episodes here.
Journeys and Anomaly noticed a shift in consumption behavior and skepticism of brands on the platform. Younger audiences are starting to engage with individual contributors’ obscure, yet universally relatable, stories (a la Who The Fuck Did I Marry series). At the same time, there’s growing fatigue around inauthentic branded content and influencer partnerships.
So, the task became: create content that every teen can resonate with, but make it entertaining enough that it breaks through the sea of sameness in the algorithm, to introduce Journeys to the next generation of fans.
Journeys embraced TikTok as the primary channel to experiment with relevant teen themes, told uniquely. Instead of the typical bite-sized ad placements the platform is known for, Anomaly and Journeys broke the mold with a non-traditional long-form series and narrative. It is a fresh and unexpected way to use the platform; one that TikTok is encouraging as more Gen Zers and Gen Alphas are going to the channel for content with longer view times.
The early results show promise: the trailer alone racked up over 5 million views and 26K+ likes, with the full series pulling in over 16 million views and 148 thousand engagements to date. Since October, Journeys’ social has grown by almost 30k.
More than impressions, the strategy is driving real relevance, reminding a new audience why the brand has been a staple for decades. Viewer sentiment is overwhelmingly positive, with the majority of viewers commenting on how they’d like to “see more” and how this is “the best ad” they’ve seen. The last episode is now live today.
