COTTON INCORPORATED

CONSUMER MARKETING COMMITTEE GALE, THE NEWLY APPOINTED CREATIVE AGENCY, AND THE ADVERTISING DEPARTMENT ALIGNED TO A 2024 (AND BEYOND) STRATEGIC PLATFORM, THE FABRIC OF NOW. THIS FULL SCALE 360 EFFORT LAUNCHED IN APRIL 2024 WITH :06 SECOND AND :15 SECOND COMMERCIALS, AS WELL AS (NEW FOR THIS YEAR) A :30 SECOND COMMERCIAL. THE VIDEO IS PLACED ACROSS KEY PRIME T.V. UNITS LIKE WILL TRENT, THE ROOKIE, AMERICAN IDOL, AND 911 AS WELL AS CABLE CHANNELS SUCH AS BRAVO, HGTV, AND THE FOOD NETWORK. THE STREAMING BUY IS PLACED ACROSS AMAZON, CW FEP, DISCOVERY+, HULU, MAX, NETFLIX, PEACOCK, ROKU, TUBI AND YOUTUBE. ALIGNING WITH THE FABRIC OF NOW PLATFORM, THE DIGITAL AND SOCIAL MEDIA EFFORTS ARE FOCUSED ON A "FEWER, BIGGER AND BETTER" APPROACH ACROSS PARTNERS. THE DIGITAL PLAN BEGAN ACROSS AD SERVING NETWORKS VIRAL GAINS, ZEFR AND NEXXEN. CUSTOM UNITS WITH KEY LIFESTYLE PUBLICATIONS: WELL+GOOD, DOT DASH MEREDITH AND DEAR MEDIA PODCAST NETWORK BEGINNING IN APRIL AND GOING THROUGH YEAR-END. GAMING LAUNCHED OVER THE SUMMER WITH CUSTOMIZED INFLUENCER PROGRAMS, PODCASTS, AND AN IN-PERSON ACTIVATION AT DREAMHACK ATLANTA. PAID SOCIAL MEDIA EFFORTS ACROSS META (FACEBOOK/INSTAGRAM), TIK TOK, PINTEREST, YOUTUBE AND SNAPCHAT LAUNCHED IN MAY (AND WILL RUN THROUGH DECEMBER) WITH A VARIETY OF INFLUENCER, BRAND AND UGC CONTENT. INFLUENCER EFFORTS IN 2024 REMAINED ROBUST WITH THE ADVERTISING DEPARTMENT COLLABORATING WITH MEGA-INFLUENCER MELISSA WOOD TEPPERBERG ACROSS SOCIAL MEDIA, PUBLIC RELATIONS, EXPERIENTIAL ACTIVATIONS, AND PODCAST MEDIA. MELISSA HAS OVER 2.4M DEDICATED FOLLOWERS WHO ARE SQUARELY IN THE TARGET DEMOGRAPHIC. ADDITIONALLY THE DEPARTMENT WORKED WITH A VARIETY OF INFLUENCERS DEDICATED TO COTTON'S AREAS OF FOCUS: STYLE, SPACE AND SUSTAINABILITY. COTTON ALSO COLLABORATED WITH NICHE PERFUMERY, D.S. & DURGA TO LAUNCH A LIMITED-EDITION HOLIDAY BLANKET. A LAUNCH EVENT IN EARLY DECEMBER GARNERED A NUMBER OF PRESS AND INFLUENCERS EXTENDING THE REACH AND EARNED MEDIA PICK-UP THROUGHOUT YEAR-END. IN MARCH 2024, THE DEPARTMENT EXPANDED ITS YOUTH CURRICULUM PROGRAM TO REACH OLDER STUDENTS (9TH-12TH GRADE) TO CONTINUE THE COTTON EDUCATION AS APPLICATE TO YOUNG PEOPLE (I.E. "HOW A CRISP COTTON OUTFIT IS A JOB INTERVIEW MUST" AS WELL AS A "BE PREPARED FOR THE BIG GAME WITH A GOOD NIGHT'S SLEEP ON COTTON SHEETS" ETC.) THIS EFFORT INCLUDED AN ADDITIONAL 184,000 EDUCATORS ACROSS THE COUNTRY. THE PROGRAM IS NOW INCLUSIVE OF 2ND-12TH GRADE STUDENTS. SEEDING THE COTTON NATURA PLANT STORY WITH 2ND-4TH, THE COTTON STEM AND SUSTAINABILITY STORY WITH 5TH-8TH AND ADDING PRACTICAL USES TO 9TH-12TH. IN THIS WAY, THE DEPARTMENT IS CURATING A PIPELINE OF EDUCATED AND EMPOWERED FUTURE CONSUMERS. IN 2024, ADVERTISING CONTINUES TO SUPPORT MACROTRADE ACROSS DIGITAL AND PRINT PUBLICATIONS ALONG WITH A ROBUST LINKEDIN LEAD GENERATION CAMPAIGN. THE PROGRAM LAUNCHED A NEW CREATIVE CAMPAIGN IN 2024 FEATURING THE BENEFITS OF COTTON SUSTAINABILITY AND VERSATILITY. FOR THE SECOND HALF OF 2024, THE CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT ESTIMATES OVER 4,100 NEWS ITEMS ABOUT THE COMPANY AND ITS ACTIVITIES, REPRESENTING A REACH OF OVER 26.6 BILLION. THIS IS AN ALMOST 12 PERCENT INCREASE IN REACH OVER THE SAME TIME PERIOD IN 2023. IN 2024 BRAND PARTNERSHIPS CONTINUED PLANNING AND EXECUTING CONSUMER-FACING FASHION AND RETAIL PROGRAMS, AND ACTIVITIES AROUND MESSAGING, COLLECTION, AND DISTRIBUTION EFFORTS FOR COTTON'S CONSUMER SUSTAINABILITY INITIATIVE, THE BLUE JEANS GO GREEN DENIM RECYCLING PROGRAM. THE BLUE JEANS GO GREEN DENIM RECYCLING PROGRAM REMAINED RESILIENT THROUGHOUT THE YEAR WITH MONTHLY DENIM CONTRIBUTIONS STRONG AND TOTALING AROUND 400,000 PIECES OF DENIM COLLECTED. BLUE JEANS GO GREEN HAD MANY RETURNING BRAND AND RETAIL PARTICIPANTS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, INCLUDING ABERCROMBIE & FITCH, ANTHROPOLOGIE, AMERICAN EAGLE OUTFITTERS, ARIAT, ARIANA PITTILLI, ASKKNY, CARHARTT, CONE DENIM, FRANK & OAK, GAP, HEMLINE, J.CREW, KIMES RANCH, MADEWELL, OLD NAVY, PAIGE, 7 FOR ALL MANKIND, RAG & BONE, THEISEN'S, THE PARLOR ROOM, VERONICA BEARD, WILCO AND ZAPPOS TO NAME A FEW. IN 2024 THE BLUE JEANS GO GREEN PROGRAM WORKED WITH SEVERAL SCHOOLS AND NON-ENDEMIC ORGANIZATIONS ACROSS THE COUNTRY INTERESTED IN PARTICIPATING AND ENGAGING WITH THE BLUE JEANS GO GREEN PROGRAM, INCLUDING JOHN DEERE, AND GULF COMPRESS. THE DENIM RECYCLING PROGRAM CONTINUES TO THRIVE DUE TO ITS UNWAVERING COMMITMENT TO SUSTAINABILITY, AS WELL AS PROVIDING INFORMATION NOT ONLY TO BRANDS AND RETAILERS, BUSINESSES, AND ORGANIZATIONS, BUT ALSO TO THE LARGER PUBLIC ABOUT COTTON CIRCULARITY. STRATEGIC AND RETAIL PARTNERSHIPS HAD A HIGHLY PRODUCTIVE YEAR WITH ITS FIVE (5) SALES-CONVERSION-FOCUSED POINT-OF-SALE PROGRAMS. FROM NATIONAL SPECIALTY CHAIN PARTNERS TO MASS E-TAILERS, A LARGE IMPACT WAS MADE AT RETAIL WITH APPROXIMATELY OVER 590 MILLION COTTON IMPRESSIONS AND APPROXIMATELY $63 MILLION DOLLARS IN SALES. EACH PROGRAM WAS UNIQUE WITH VERSATILE STRATEGIES TO APPEAL TO EACH RETAILER'S SPECIFIC AUDIENCE. COTTON MESSAGING RANGED FROM ENCOURAGING CONSUMERS TO CHECK THE LABEL TO PROMOTING COTTON'S INHERENT NATURAL BENEFITS TO EXTENDING THE 2024 ADVERTISING PLATFORM TAGLINE, "THE FABRIC OF NOW". THE SEAL OF COTTON WAS PROMINENTLY DISPLAYED WITH EVERY COTTON SKU ACROSS ALL PROGRAMS AND ITS COMBINED REACH OF OVER 17,000 APPAREL, ACCESSORY, AND HOME STYLES. TIGHTENING BUDGETS, INFLATION AND COMPETITION FROM SYNTHETIC FIBERS HAS PUSHED THE TEAM TO BE RESOURCEFUL AND TO CONTINUE TO BE INNOVATIVE AND CREATE NEWNESS IN DEVELOPING UNIQUE COTTON EXPERIENCES AT RETAIL. THE INDIVIDUAL PROGRAM SUMMARIES FOR PARTNERS LUCKY BRAND, REVOLVE, LOVESHACKFANCY, AEROPOSTALE, AND WEWOREWHAT CAN BE FOUND BELOW. IN 2024, CSI LED EFFORTS TO IDENTIFY OPPORTUNITIES AND THREATS FOR COTTON USING MARKET INTELLIGENCE INCLUDING ONGOING RESEARCH OF U.S. CONSUMERS' ATTITUDES FROM THE LIFESTYLE MONITOR SURVEY, ASSESSMENTS OF COTTON'S SHARE THROUGH IMPORT DATA AND THE RETAIL MONITOR STUDY, AS WELL AS GLOBAL CONSUMER, MARKET, AND ECONOMIC RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS. CSI PROVIDED OVER 190 INFORMATION REQUESTS; PARTICIPATED IN ALMOST 120 MEETINGS AND PRESENTATIONS; AUTHORED OVER 165 PUBLICATIONS, VIDEOS, TV/RADIO SEGMENTS, INTERVIEWS, AND PODCASTS; AND WORKED ON 26 PROJECTS. WORK COMPLETED BY CSI DURING 2024 INCLUDES, BUT IS NOT LIMITED TO: THE COLLECTION AND EXAMINATION OF DATA ON MORE THAN 20M PRODUCTS OFFERED AT RETAIL IN THE U.S.; THE EVALUATION OF JUST OVER 26K U.S. AND 44K INTERNATIONAL CONSUMERS; THE UPDATE OF A COMPREHENSIVE DATABASE OF MONTHLY APPAREL AND HOME FURNISHING IMPORTS TO ASSESS SOURCING PATTERNS AND TARIFF IMPACTS; THE MANAGEMENT OF COTTON INCORPORATED'S BRAND TRACKING METRICS; AND THE DELIVERY OF ECONOMIC OUTLOOK AND CONSUMER TREND PRESENTATIONS.