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Dive Brief: 

• American Eagle Outfitters brand Aerie this week launched a new creator program called the Aerie Realmakers Community, per details shared with Marketing Dive over email. 
• The Realmakers Community is meant to offer creators, a long-time focus of Aerie’s marketing, a means to grow alongside the brand. Participating creators can earn commissions and have access to product seeding, campaign opportunities and brand-led events.
• The program is open to individuals with a minimum of 1,500 followers on platforms including Instagram, TikTok, YouTube or Pinterest. The latest move from Aerie follows a successful 2025 that has been attributed in part to increased advertising spend.

Dive Insight: 

Aerie is bringing creators closer to its brand with the launch of its Realmakers Community. The move is a natural next step for the apparel and intimates brand, which routinely leverages creators and community members within its marketing as part of a commitment to authenticity. The program also arrives as creators occupy a larger portion of advertiser budgets, with the channel growing at a faster clip than the overall ad market last year.

Members of the Realmakers Community will have access to perks including affiliate commissions, personalized discounts, exclusive experiences and the ability to be featured across the brand’s social channels and platforms. The program includes a tiered access system, from local brand enthusiasts to established digital voices, and prioritizes individuals who focus on authentic content and fostering a sense of community. 

As part of its commitment to authenticity, Aerie is also asking members of its creator program to commit to not retouching their photos or leveraging artificial intelligence. The marketer vowed in 2014 to stop retouching people as part of a “#AerieReal” campaign, and recently expanded its promise to also include never using AI-generated bodies or people in its marketing. The brand’s push against AI content was emphasized in the latest iteration of its “100% Aerie Real” campaign, which included a partnership with Pamela Anderson.

The Aerie Realmakers Community program was developed with brand advocacy platform Duel and is open to people 18 years or older who are based in the U.S. The launch of the program follows the February debut of a nationwide ambassador program from sister brand American Eagle called the AE Creator Community, which similarly offers participants incentives for regularly promoting and interacting with the brand. 

Other brands beyond Aerie have similarly invested in affiliate programs recently, including Macy’s, Sephora, Chewy’s and Lowe’s.

Aerie’s latest move arrives on the heels of a successful 2025, with the brand reporting a 9% year-over-year increase in comparable sales for the full year. In Q4, the marketer posted a 23% comparable sales increase and saw strong performance across categories including apparel, activewear and intimates. In a March interview with Marketing Dive, Aerie CMO Stacey McCormick attributed the wins in part to parent American Eagle Outfitters’ increased advertising spend, which has allowed for higher profile bets.