JCPenney’s Turnaround Begins, Powered By A Subversive New Marketing Strategy

JCPenney has been on the ropes for the last 14 years. In 2010, revenues reached nearly $18 billion but fell to $7.2 billion in 2023, then took another painful 8.4% dip to $6.6 billion in fiscal 2024 ending Feb. 1, 2025, according to financial statements filed with the SEC.

Most troubling was that JCPenney swung from a $30 million net income profit in 2023 to a $177 million loss in 2024, according to GlobalData’s Neil Saunders. “While JCPenney has been trying to reinvent itself, 2024 was another lost year and did nothing to prove that the business is on a path to success,” he shared with RetailDive at the time.

But that was before he got wind of the dynamic new marketing strategy JCPenney was about to unleash. Crafted by marketer extraordinaire Marisa Thalberg – inducted into the Forbes CMO Hall of Fame in 2022 and recognized by Business Insider as one of the world’s most innovative CMOs – the “Yes, JCPenney” campaign, launched in April, is designed to reintroduce the brand to the public. It is already turning heads.

Getting Noticed

A month after going live, the company reported significant interest in the contemporary fashion offerings featured in the ads, resulting in item sales that exceeded five-times that of the existing portfolio. The boost in sales, combined with a 22% increase in JCPenney brand search on Google and a 200% increase in organic social media engagements, gives the company confidence it will double sales in the fashion category this year.

YouGov confirms renewed consumer interest, reporting growth in ad awareness (2.3%), word of mouth (6.5%) and purchase consideration up 16.4% from April through June.

“The creative approach is more modern and culturally savvy than the brand’s past efforts,” YouGov’s Clifton Mark wrote. “It’s still early days, and these metrics alone won’t save a struggling retail brand. But they do show that JCPenney’s new message is getting through.”

Early success is also measured by recent store foot traffic data reported by Placer.ai. After JCPenney store visits remained below the department store average from December 2024 through March 2025, with a brief rise above in February this year, store traffic picked up 3% in May over previous year following the launch of the “Yes, JCPenney” campaign, while department store visits remained basically flat.

And to cap off JCPenney’s recent wins, it was just named as America’s top department store by USA Today’s reader poll, besting Von Maurer, Belk, Nordstrom, Macy’s, Target, Boscov’s, T.J. Maxx, Walmart and Dillard’s.

Setting The Stage

The “Yes, JPenney” strategy hearkens back to Apple’s 1997 iconic “Think Different” campaign and its follow up “Here’s To The Crazy Ones.”

JCPenney is asking shoppers to think differently about the brand and after its recent downturn – some 450 stores have closed since 2010 – Thalberg and her team have to be a bit crazy to think they can change people’s opinions of JCPenney, which has been around since 1902.

Not only that, but JCPenney operates in the steeply declining department store sector, so the challenge is even greater. “I wish I could call us something other than a ‘department store,’” Thalberg shared with me.

“I don’t want to get limited by that. I just want to be a great destination to get all kinds of things for your home, for your kids, but also for yourself. It’s a story worth telling, but in a way that breaks through the contrivance of traditional retail marketing,” she continued.

Subversive Marketing

The marketing campaign kicked off in a thoroughly unconventional way with a tongue-in-check apology to JCPenney loyalists for letting their secret shopping destination out.

Highlighting JCPenney as a place to snag a $250 fashion-forward look for only $72, the open letter to loyal shoppers states: “Not enough people know what you already know. That’s why we can no longer keep it a secret. It just wouldn’t be fair. JCPenney is more than just a great deal – it’s home to unbelievable items and incredible fashion at a great deal.”

It continued its subversive messaging in a series of “anonymous ads” that popped up on Times Square billboards and at local malls, featuring high-fashion looks with the copy, “It’s from where?” accompanied by a QR code that gave shoppers the answer.

Television ads carried the message further, including copy that focused on the fashion-forward looks at unbelievable prices, “We’ve got the receipts,” and identified the source, “Yes, JCPenney.”

Hosting A $10,000 Venice Wedding In JCPenney Style

As JCPenney continues to disrupt shoppers’ preconceived notions, it is cashing in on the hype around billionaire Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez’s over-the-top Venice wedding with its own: one hosted by the canals of Venice, CA for $10,000 instead of the other one estimated to cost between $20 million and $50 million.

“We thought it a brilliant idea to poke fun at the lavishness of the Venice wedding, which is fine if you’re a member of the billionaire class, by giving a wedding to a deserving young couple who might not have been able to afford a wedding at all,” Thalberg said.

So Angelinos Estefany Gomez and Leonardo Rendon tied the knot in a celebration fully outfitted by JCPenney. The entire wedding party, including parents of the bride and groom, wore fashions supplied by JCPenney, including a $99 wedding gown and the groom’s tuxedo, which Thalberg confesses cost a bit more.

And thanks to the breadth of JCPenney’s offerings, it provided cosmetics and makeup services for the wedding party, fine jewelry wedding bands for bride and groom and the home department is setting the tables.

“We’re creating a beautiful proof point of our value. Love deserves to be celebrated, even on a budget,” she said. “Hosting the Venice, California wedding felt like a fun place for us to play and to bring the receipts that dream weddings and runway style can belong to everyone at an attainable cost,” she added.

Creativity Thrives By Thinking Differently

Like a breath of fresh air, Thalberg arrived on the JCPenney scene in October 2024 to help revive a corporate culture that had been weighed down by years of losses. She brings an impressive track record, including award-winning work with Lowe’s, Taco Bell and Estée Lauder.

Besides her role at JCPenney, she is the chief customer and marketing officer for Catalyst Brands. Catalyst was formed in January this year through the merger of anchor JCPenney and the SPARC Group’s specialty retail brands playing supporting roles, including Aéropostale, Brooks Brothers, Eddie Bauer, Lucky Brand and Nautica.

To spark the creative process, Thalberg began by immersing herself in JCPenney, a brand she’s first to admit wasn’t a place she shopped. In effect, she had preconceived notions about the brand that needed to be reset.

“I look for green shoots in a brand that needs revitalization. If you can find those little buds, it signals there could be something there but it’s just not talking loud enough,” she explained and added the initial green shoot she found was the incredible selection of fashion at affordable prices.

“It all came down to an ‘aha moment.’ There was a lot more fashion and more relevancy in store – women’s men’s and kids fashion from petite to big and tall and plus sized, an incredible beauty department, a salon, even a mini-Disney store,” she continued.

“I didn’t think people understood the story because I didn’t understand the story. I realized that was the opportunity – a single utterance, ‘Yes, JCPenney,’ to open people’s minds to the possibilities of discovery that will delight and surprise customers.”

Still Early Days

Thalberg isn’t taking any victory laps yet, but she is encouraged by the momentum she sees building among shoppers and throughout the corporate culture. “There’s nothing better in a retail business when the people on the ground, in the field and on the front lines are walking with a little more swagger. That’s confirmation we are on the right track,” she said.

GlobalData’s Saunders acknowledges the “Yes, JCPenney” ad campaign is well executed and is grabbing attention, but he believes more work needs to be done to enhance the in-store experience.

“To convert the attention into spending, JCP needs to work harder to make its ranges relevant and its stores pleasant to shop,” he shared with me. “Some progress has been made in stores where presentation is better and there is more emphasis on styling. However, there is a lot more work to be done here. It’s not good if the ads are disconnected from the reality on the ground – the two things need to go hand-in-hand.”

Thalberg has a ready answer to the skeptics, like Saunders and others that have written off JCPenney long ago. “It’s true that not all of our stores are the flashiest,” she admitted, but added the brand has invested over $1 billion since 2023 to update its fashion with new brands and a broader assortment.

“Frankly, what we care about most is giving customers that thrill of walking out with items they love more than they may have expected while spending a lot less than they likely expected.

“That’s the win, that progress is real and its exciting to see more people walking up to JCPenney for that reason,” she concluded.