EDITION #1
Decoded: The Branding Power Moves Behind the World’s Most Unstoppable Brands.
Decoded: Billion-Dollar Brand Moves™ By Danielle Asah Mantho, Branding Authority | CEO, DiDreams
🧵 Inside This Edition:
SKIMS and the $4 Billion Brand Play You Missed
Why Emotional Relevance Beats Historical Dominance
The Power of Partnership: What Kim Kardashian Did Differently
Your Move: 3 Strategic Brand Actions You Can Apply Today
In 2019, SKIMS sold $2 million worth of shapewear in minutes. By 2023, the brand had 11 million people on its waitlist and a $4 billion valuation, all without offering a single discount.
We’re now in 2025. So why are we looking back?
Because smart founders, leaders and brand builders don’t chase what’s trending. They study what works. And SKIMS is a masterclass in long-game brand building.
Today, we’re going to decode exactly what SKIMS did, so you can apply it to your own brand, career or business.
1. The Billion-Dollar Moves We’re Decoding Today:
SKIMS (by Kim Kardashian)
SKIMS just became the official underwear partner of the Olympics, and it’s a masterclass in branding domination.
I’ve said it before: in 2025, brand beats product. But Kim Kardashian just reminded the world how hard that truth hits, at the global level.
2. What They Did
In July 2024, SKIMS announced its role as the Official Underwear Partner of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. The partnership involved outfitting Team USA athletes with exclusive loungewear, underwear, and sleepwear. But this wasn’t just another celebrity collab, it was a global branding masterstroke.
With minimal noise and maximum strategy, SKIMS rolled out jaw-dropping visuals of Olympians confidently wearing SKIMS, blending athletic grit with everyday elegance.
This wasn’t new territory: SKIMS first appeared at the Tokyo 2020 Games. But Paris? That was the takeover. No trainers. No tracksuits. Just bodies, stories, and SKIMS.
3. Why It Works (The Strategy)
This move positions SKIMS not just as a fashion brand, but as a global lifestyle force rooted in comfort, confidence, and cultural relevance.
The Olympics attract billions of viewers globally. By aligning with a universally respected event, SKIMS gets:
Instant global exposure
A credibility boost through elite athlete endorsement
Emotional connection with audiences through shared values of discipline, excellence, and unity
And let’s not forget: this move cements SKIMS' transformation from “celebrity shapewear brand” to a serious brand player on the world stage.
SKIMS’ Olympic play proved that emotional relevance trumps traditional dominance. Here’s what they nailed:
Brand Alignment: Confidence, strength, diversity, and performance — all central to both Olympians and SKIMS' mission.
Emotional Storytelling: Athletes weren’t just models. They were muses. Every campaign visual whispered: “This is what strength looks like.”
Cultural Positioning: While Nike chased medals, SKIMS captured moments. And that, in branding, is priceless.
The result? A global perception shift: SKIMS isn't just shapewear. It's cultural capital.
4. 5C™ Brand Breakdown
Clarity: SKIMS = Confidence in your skin. This was loud, clear, and visible in every campaign element.
Consistency: From social media to Olympic visuals, every touchpoint echoed the same values: comfort, empowerment, inclusivity.
Creativity: Who markets underwear during the Olympics? SKIMS did, with finesse and fearlessness. They rebranded the "unseen" into a visual spectacle.
Collaboration: Teaming up with Team USA and elite athletes created an intersection of sport, fame, and aspiration.
Community: Athletes of all shapes, races, and backgrounds were represented. For fans watching, it wasn’t just about national pride, it was personal.
The Billion-Dollar Breakdown
Nike brought the tech. SKIMS brought the truth. While Nike was designing shoes, SKIMS was shaping stories. And that’s what dominated the 2024 Olympics.
While other brands stayed on the sidelines of safe storytelling, SKIMS said: "We belong on this stage too."
No trainers. No jerseys. Just real stories on real bodies. That’s how you turn an underdog brand into a billion-dollar player, by branding what others ignore.
They made underwear, a historically hidden category, the loudest statement of the Games.
📊 The Data Drop
$4B Valuation (2024), Achieved without a single physical store
#1 Search Trend during Olympic Week, outperforming Nike
90% Sell-Out of the SKIMS x Team USA collection (within 48 hours)
4× Social Engagement Spike across SKIMS platforms
3.05B Global Viewers for Paris Olympics (Statista, 2024)
289% Earned Media Value Surge after Tokyo 2020 campaign (WWD)
Surpassed Victoria’s Secret in brand value, by leaning on culture, not catwalks
Global Stage Stats: The 2024 Paris Olympics are projected to draw 3.05 billion global viewers, according to Statista. That’s more than the Super Bowl, World Cup Final, and Grammys combined, making it the most powerful cultural and branding platform in the world.
SKIMS’ Cultural Capital Surge: After their first Olympic partnership in 2021, SKIMS’ earned media value jumped by 289% within one month, and its valuation skyrocketed to $4 billion by 2023. (Sources: WWD & Bloomberg)
Power vs Giants: SKIMS, launched in 2019, now surpasses Victoria’s Secret in brand value, and it did that without owning a single retail store, using social media and culture instead of catwalks.
Brand Genius Move: SKIMS didn’t sell comfort. It sold confidence. And it used the world’s biggest stage to do it.
Decoded Power Moves
Own the Underdog Position. SKIMS wasn’t supposed to win. That’s what made the win louder.
Sell the Transformation, Not the Product. SKIMS didn’t sell loungewear. They sold confidence on the global stage.
Own Your Category’s Blind Spot. While others focus on expected angles, dominate the overlooked.
Turn Visibility into Value. SKIMS leveraged athlete partnerships for emotional visibility, not just product placement.
Make Moments Matter or Hijack Moments of Attention The Olympics were happening, SKIMS inserted themselves into the global conversation. Proactively.
5. Your Takeaway
Brand lesson for African entrepreneurs: You don’t need legacy to play at the top. You need strategy. SKIMS showed us how to leverage relevance, representation, and the right partnerships to dominate a global stage.
You don’t need to wait to be “big enough” to think globally. SKIMS became a billion-dollar brand by playing bold, fast, and globally, even in niches like underwear.
Action step: Ask yourself: Where can my brand show up unexpectedly but meaningfully? Whether it’s a cultural moment, a political shift, or a social trend, make your move.
Take action: Pick a bold arena sports, culture, politics, and find a smart way to plug your brand into it.
Because if SKIMS can do it with shapewear, you can do it with anything.
Brand Tools Used:
High-conversion visuals, authentic storytelling, cross-platform synergy, media partnerships, influencer reposts,Olympic PR distribution, PR amplification.
Quote of the Week
"SKIMS is about supporting every body, and now, we get to support the bodies making history." - Kim Kardashian
I’ll be decoding more billion-dollar brand moves every 2 weeks.
Loving this breakdown?
👉 Subscribe to Decoded: Billion-Dollar Brand Moves™ if you’re a bold entrepreneur who wants to learn how billion-dollar brands think and act.
📬 Want to be featured or suggest a brand? Reply or comment below.
By Danielle Asah Mantho, Branding Authority & Founder | DiDreams™