Dawn Hedgepeth recently joined HanesBrands as chief marketing officer of Innerwear and Hanes Apparel, where she is tasked with guiding brand strategy across the Innerwear and Hanes Apparel teams.
In her new role, Hedgepeth is overseeing brand marketing, digital marketing and merchandising, as well as marketing operations and omnichannel leads.
“Hanesbrands houses global iconic and meaningful brands, including Hanes, Maidenform and Bali. These brands have lasted over a century, which is a huge testament to consumer trust,” says Hedgepeth. “Hanes is in 9 out of 10 American homes. Maidenform is America’s No. 1 shapewear brand and Bali is the No. 1 national bra brand. We have an incredible opportunity to impact consumers with meaningful brand stories, which was a huge draw for me.”
Across brands, the company is looking to reach younger consumers. Hanes Originals recently unveiled SuperSoft fabrics, a line that builds on the classic line with a new collection of more colorful, soft and modern body basics. The brand revealed the new collection with “The Great Softening”, a campaign developed by The Martin Agency that takes place in the Wild West, where Hanes first launched in 1901 to juxtapose the rough landscape the brand was born into against the softness of Hanes in 2024.
The company’s shapewear brand Maidenform launched the soft M collection for younger consumers in March. The brand tapped Princess Nokia for a campaign by BARKER set in the “WoMansion,” a luxury home where five unique women live. Each room represents the various looks of the new M collection.
“As we look to the future, I’m hoping to build on the trust we have with our existing customer base and creatively find ways to generate new bonds between the brand and younger generations as they gain more purchasing power,” reflects Hedgepeth.
Brand Innovators caught up with Hedgepeth to talk about her new role, storytelling and showing up in culture. This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
How do you think about innovation?
Innovation is the lifeblood of brands. It is what helps keep even the most trusted, iconic brands – such as Hanes – relevant and exciting in the minds of the next generation of consumers. Innovation is also so much more than new products, innovative brands are constantly exploring new ways of embedding themselves in culture, upping their game in the manufacturing space, or finding new ways to partner with retailers, influencers, and complementary brands to help lead the conversation in their category.
What is your approach to storytelling?
The emotional connection between a brand and customer is golden. Most long-term relationships are founded in strong emotional bases, and marketing is no different. At Hanesbrands, we strive to understand our consumers in a way that makes them feel most comfortable. We find authentic ways to communicate our brand messages to both our established customer base as well as exploring fresh, new avenues to connect meaningfully to younger generations, which we’ve shown through recent campaigns, like the launch of M Maidenform and Hanes Originals with SuperSoft fabrics.
Our “Surrender to Softness” campaign told a story to our consumers to support the launch of Hanes Originals with SuperSoft fabrics. We took viewers on a journey to the Wild West, where the rugged turn soft and juxtaposes the tough landscape of the early 1900’s with the unmatched softness of Hanes in 2024. We brought our audience full circle through our storytelling, finding the intersection of authenticity and resonation.
How do you think brands should show up in culture?
Brands show up in culture by selecting meaningful moments where the brand and their products intersect with the interests, values and lives of the consumers they serve. Often, the best instances of a brand showing up in culture are ones that weren’t in the annual marketing plan. They arose from a moment in which our brand can be a natural part of the conversation because of what we bring to the table. I’m so excited to have a team that is great at pivoting on a dime when culture shifts.
For us, we have shown up in very organic ways that reinforce what the Hanes brand is. Our basics are worn by everyone from our friends and family members to celebrities and professional athletes. Everyone needs basics. We aim to stay vigilant and responsive to the ways people are responding to the brand and then amplify culturally, when it makes sense.
What is your approach to leadership?
I’m a very collaborative leader, and I value and count on the expertise of my full cross-functional team. As a leader, my job is to set an inspiring vision and a clear set of priorities, then work to unlock the power of that broader team as they apply their expertise to execute against the vision. Leadership happens at all levels of an organization – everyone is a leader! But a key piece of my role is to nurture that leadership across all of the marketing organization, building a culture that encourages taking chances, continuously learning and optimizing, and playing to win…and we should all enjoy ourselves while doing it! A high performing team makes for an amazing team to work on.
How has your background at previous brands helped shape your perspective in this role?
Prior to coming to Hanes, much of my experience was in CPG categories in beauty and personal care or foods – which are quite different than apparel. But I have worked on iconic brands that cross categories, and that certainly helps to inform my approach to marketing a brand such as Hanes. Several of the brands I worked with were Gen Z focused brands, which is helping shape our ideas at Hanesbrands in the best strategies to reach a younger audience.
What marketing trends do you expect to be popular this year?
Across all facets of business and life, AI is continuing to show up as an application that can’t, and shouldn’t be ignored. This trend is hardly a trend – it isn’t going anywhere and leveraging it throughout the marketing industry will help professionals stay ahead of the curve and reach more potential customers.
