Topshop has launched a new festival-themed campaign fronted by actress Kate Bosworth that combines product, content and entertainment.
Inspired by “the attitude and energy of British festivals”, the initiative is anchored by an interactive film directed by Bosworth’s fiancé Michael Polish, who also shot her in the brand’s Winter Wonderland ad for Christmas 2012. It sees her on her journey to this year’s Coachella music festival in the Californian desert, wearing items from the new collection (16 pieces of which were based on her personal style).
Each item is “clickable, shareable and shoppable” via a custom-built player on Topshop.com, while the soundtrack is also downloadable on iTunes.
“This is about entertaining the customer and immersing them in our world, we want them to spend more time with the brand, share things with their friends. If they do that it will lead to a longer relationship rather than trying to get any short-term gains,” says Topshop’s CMO, Justin Cooke.
He also explains how many of the shots in the film (a selection of which are shown below), purposely lend themselves to social platforms like Instagram and Pinterest. “[They] are landscapes, architecture and not just clothing, so it will appeal to people beyond fashion which is something we always look to do,” he explains. His team has also been working with Pinterest to optimise all images so they can be pinned directly from the experience yet link straight back to the specific product pages on Topshop.com for the first time. The Pin It button will become a permanent fixture on the Topshop homepage in the future too.
The campaign will also see “Secret pop-up gigs” from new artists and established acts hosted worldwide, with invitations given at random to shoppers on mobile, on tablets or in-store, as well as made available through a variety of online competitions.
The concept continues in Topshop stores where the music playlists can be scanned using the Shazam app to gain access to content including an interactive festival guide on Topshop.com of the best festivals around the world.
Shoppers can also use the Topshop app to scan the barcode of products in the collection while in-store to unlock further hidden tracks and extra content related to artists playing at key festivals in their cities.
Could this be the year fashion makes its mark at Cannes Lions?
15 MayThere was a great article written by Rei Inamoto, chief creative officer of AKQA, for AdAge last year about why Cannes Lions, the international festival of creativity – otherwise known as advertising’s biggest global awards – trumps SXSW in terms of content.
“At events like SXSW, there is a lot of information. And information can become useful knowledge for marketers. However, what really moves people is inspiration. And that’s where Cannes keeps its edge for marketers. While SXSW may be about informing and finding that Next Big Thing, Cannes’ focus has been about pushing this industry of ours forward,” he says.
It reflects my own sentiments exactly. I’m well versed in both, but Cannes likewise wins for me* largely because of both the curation and the quality of its content. This is the place where true leaders come together to share not only best in class work, but overarching ideas and thoughts for the future of this space.
It’s a week where inspiration is utterly abound (alongside copious vats of rosé of course). Speakers over the last couple of years have spanned former US president Bill Clinton, Malcolm Gladwell, Robert Redford, Sir John Hegarty, Alain de Botton, Patti Smith, Aaron Sorkin and more.
Yet it’s SXSW that the fashion industry has managed to get a good grip on in terms of its relevance to them – all manner of luxury brands and major retailers have been in attendance these past couple of years, as I’ve previously covered, to source both content and opportunities for partnerships within the largely tech-focused world. Of course at SXSW there are now huge volumes of agency folk too, and at Cannes an increasing number of technology companies.
Two years ago I wrote this article about the significant lack of fashion presence throughout Cannes. It focused on the fact that fashion communications remained largely about print ads selling product over campaigns selling ideas, a viewpoint I still hold at large, but certainly one that is beginning to shift. In doing so, it’s sparking more relevance than ever for these brands to start making an appearance at Cannes, both on the delegates list and in those nominated for awards.
The great news is, 2013 looks like the year that might take shape.
Just announced is news that Burberry CCO Christopher Bailey will take to the stage on the Friday of the festival (it runs from June 16-22) to talk about “digital’s creative revolution” with Google’s head of marketing, Lorraine Twohill. From the write-up, as well as prior news from Google, that event will be the kick off for another impressive digital project from the brand.
Burberry is one of a number, alongside adidas and Volkswagen, involved in Google’s Art, Copy & Code initiative, a follow-up to its Project Re-Brief last year. This is “a series of projects and experiments to show how creativity and technology can work hand in hand”.
The write-up for the session at Cannes adds: “How do you engage your audience when ad views are voluntary? What happens when the physical and digital worlds intersect? How can data enable creativity? What if ads didn’t have to look or feel like ads? The only way to find the answers is through risk taking and experimentation.”
[Side note here as to Google's subtle but increasing infiltration into the fashion industry across all aspects of its business - way beyond just search].
Elsewhere at Cannes there are other fashion types in attendance too – Vivienne Westwood speaking with SapientNitro to “de-construct the narrative behind some of the most innovative stories of all-time”, and photographer Annie Leibovitz as part of a panel discussing the “genesis, evolution and continued success of the global ‘Disney Dream Portraits Series’.”
Watch this space…
And do also keep an eye out for the free daily live-streams being offered from the festival for the first time this year… there will undoubtedly be some good ones to choose from.
*Full disclaimer: I am employed by the same parent company as Cannes Lions. My opinion would stand regardless.
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