Topshop’s festival campaign sees Kate Bosworth return, star in interactive film

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.

Alice + Olivia, Topshop kickstart prom season with online push

A number of designers and retailers are reaching out to teens through a variety of online initiatives in the build-up to the forthcoming prom season.

Alice + Olivia is one such example; utilising social media to do so. The brand’s designer and founder Stacey Bendet is hosting a live Twitter chat on Tuesday, April 2 at 3pm EST. She will be answering questions and giving styling tips to help shoppers achieve the “perfect prom look”.

Users can submit questions via the hashtag #askstace.

Topshop is also looking to prom with a series of store events held in specific cities during March (three in the US and five in the UK), and a collection of dresses, accessories and shoes inspired by a touch of Kurt Cobain grunge.

All of that is tied together with online content including the below film from director Sean Frank. Referred to as a “vintage-inspired ride in getting prom perfect”, the clip is cast with a filtered light as the model is seen getting ready for the evening, dancing under a disco ball and ending up jumping in the swimming pool.

The British-based high street retailer has slowly been upping its focus on more holiday-based marketing – pushing out relevant collections around the likes of Halloween, holiday and Chinese New Year with dedicated campaigns. Doing so is of course further cementing its presence in the US market especially. Expect more to follow.

River Island brings Rihanna content in-store with augmented reality flyers

River Island has partnered with augmented reality company Blippar to offer shoppers interactive content around its new Rihanna collection.

The initiative sees A5 flyers in store loaded with rich media content including exclusive behind-the-scenes footage, latest news from River Island and access to the website to buy the collection itself. Consumers can activate the content by using the Blippar app on their smartphones; pointing their camera at the images.

They can also share their favourite items from the collection on Facebook and Twitter, as well as save them to their image library.

Stephen Shaw, opportunities director at Blippar said: “The most eye-catching and successful Blippar campaigns always feature the most engaging content – and the Blippar team have been excited to work with such amazing electric photography and exclusive video content; when you add superstar models such as Jourdan Dunn into the mix we’re confident River Island customers will be blown-away by the whole campaign.”

As Retail Week pointed out however, River Island’s lack of a mobile-optimised website leads to a poor user experience for those directed, somewhat belittling the benefits of such an initiative.

Social content fuels H&M’s & Other Stories launch success

If you haven’t already noticed, H&M’s new brand & Other Stories has been doing a phenomenal job of using social media to seed its launch. I first wrote about them doing so here, when content across YouTube, Tumblr, Facebook and more was being teased before much was known about the line at all. The same continued as stores opened in three European cities (including London), and its e-commerce website – also heavy with shareable content – launched just this month. The reception was reportedly “tremendous”.

In a report released today, CEO Karl-Johan Persson said: “Sales, both in stores and online, have far exceeded our high expectations… This opens the possibility that & Other Stories can expand more widely and faster than we originally planned.”

Also unveiled today was another piece of shareable content; this time one tapping into the idea of collaboration. A short film called Co-Creatives (another nice social term there), shows the personal stories of “friends” of the brand including Julia Sarr-Jamois, Valentine Fillol Cordier, Ada Kokosar and Bea Åkerlund as they style their favourite looks from the collection.

Each of them was armed with a Polaroid camera and tasked with capturing their inspirations as they went. It’s a simple short spot, but another great example of how well this team seems to know it’s consumer base…

Digital snippets: Facebook, 3D printing, Weibo, Topshop, Calvin Klein, Anthropologie

It’s set to be a little bit quiet on here over the space of the next week as I head down to Austin to check out this year’s SXSW. In the meantime therefore, here’s a quick round-up of some of the best fashion and digital stories from around the web these last few days:

• Facebook redesigns news feed: what’s in it for brands [Inc]

• Dita Von Teese debuts 3D-printed dress (as pictured) [Mashable]

• Dior, Prada, Marchesa, Elie Saab and Giorgio Armani top Sina Weibo’s most buzzed about brands from Oscars red carpet [WWD]

• Topshop is fashion’s most social high street brand [The Wall Blog]

• Calvin Klein launches Dark Obsession fragrance ad starring model Matthew Terry [The Cut]

• Content marketing with Instagram: five lessons from Anthropologie [The Bureau]

• Dove Canada’s Photoshop ‘hack’ reverts airbrushed, edited photos [Huffington Post]

• Five brands that reaped rewards after adopting responsive design [Econsultancy]

• One e-commerce winner, one loser; two lessons – Farfetch vs Luxup [Material World, FT]

• Shangpin taps China’s fashion e-shoppers [Financial Times]

Topshop targets Chinese consumers with New Year campaign film

 

Topshop is celebrating Chinese New Year with the launch of a short film that ties together its British brand and its growing international consumer base.

The Lanterns, as it’s called, sees two models captured in front of London’s Houses of Parliament and Big Ben, with Chinese lanterns floating above them. It is set to a cover of This Little Light of Mine by Berend Dubbe and Gwen Thomas, and ends with copy that wishes the viewer a prosperous New Year in both English and traditional Chinese characters.

“We wanted to create something fun that represented the spirit of the Topshop girl whilst capturing the energy of this special time of celebration and giving,” said Topshop’s CMO, Justin Cooke.

Importantly, the film was released on Topshop’s Chinese social media networks, including Weibo where it has over 10 million followers. It also launched on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest and Instagram.

Topshop will open its first store in Hong Kong in May, but this film is as much about reaching Chinese consumers worldwide as it is within China itself. According to stats from Topshop, Chinese travellers took over 70 million trips abroad last year, and 150,000 headed to London.

Cooke said: “Not only do we have a huge following in Asia but there are also enormous numbers of Chinese tourists and Chinese communities based in cities all over the world – for example Los Angeles, where we open a store on February 14, we know that there is a very strong Chinese community there…  I think it’s really important as a global brand that we speak to and understand the things that really matter to them, this is a significant time of year and it’s also a very personal one where people get together and thank the people they love.”

Even the length of the film is culturally considerate. At 58 seconds it coincides with Chinese superstitions of numerology; five and eight are both lucky numbers, symbolising wealth and prosperity.

Topshop has also created limited edition lucky red gift cards and envelopes to note the Chinese tradition to gift ‘Lucky Money’ as a wish of prosperity. They are available in its flagship stores and online globally.

You might also like:

Kate Bosworth sings in Topshop’s Christmas film, revealed as face behind #whosthatgirl teasers

Topshop connects physical and digital worlds with #trickortweet Halloween campaign

Topshop #LFW show to offer customisable, instantly shoppable looks online

Topshop animates nail colours in SS13 video

 

Topshop has released a very cute stop-motion video short to promote its spring/summer 2013 nail colours.

Created by brother and sister filmmaking duo Sadie and Joe Williams, it brings to life a series of nail varnish pots, painted nails and even emery boards.

“Dancing nails in sizzling new season colours as well as statement glittery shades will transport you somewhere tropical!” reads the write-up. Watch it below…

[via AlexLoves]

A pick of the best fashion films for holiday 2012

In the fast-paced run up to Christmas madness, here’s a little Friday respite with a highlight of 10 of the best festive fashion, retail and luxury films:

1. Topshop: Winter Wonderland

 

2. Barneys: Electric Holiday

 

3. adidas: The Cautionary Tale of Ebenezer Snoop

 

4. Warehouse: Christmas SOS

 

5. Selfridges: Not Your Usual Christmas

 

6. Cartier: Winter Tale

 

7. Debenhams: Christmas Made Fabulous

 

8. Macy’s: Another Miracle on 34th Street

 

9. Gap: Love Comes in Every Shade

 

10. John Lewis: The Journey

 

Kate Bosworth sings in Topshop’s Christmas film, revealed as face behind #whosthatgirl teasers

After an impressive teaser campaign that ran across social media channels for five days, Kate Bosworth has been revealed as the star of Topshop’s Christmas film (as below).

Stood atop a grand piano, the Hollywood actress sings a rendition of Winter Wonderland in the spot; a track that Topshop hopes has a chance of reaching number one. Accordingly, it is available to download on iTunes as well as through Shazam and Spotify.

The film was directed by Michael Polish and was inspired by the famous piano scene from 1989′s The Fabulous Baker Boys with Michelle Pfeiffer.

It sees Bosworth wearing a custom-made Topshop dress, designed by her in partnership with the retailer’s team. Both that and her shoes will be available to order on Topshop.com to tie in with its new store opening in LA in February 2013. The make-up worn in the film however is available to order immediately.

“This project brings together two important aspects of my life: cinema and fashion. I have always been a fan of the Topshop brand and it has been an honour to work with Sir Phillip and the team. I hope everyone enjoys watching it as much as we did making it,” said Bosworth.

She has also sent personalised digital messages introducing the film to numerous Topshop customers.

Check out a couple of videos from behind-the-scenes below too. And read more about the teaser campaign, #whosthatgirl, here: Topshop teases holiday film with social game of celebrity guess who

 

 

Whistles model throws a tantrum in comedy advent calendar video

We’ve already had digital advent calendars from Jean Paul Gaultier and Love magazine this holiday season. Now, Whistles is getting in on the act, releasing a calendar that’s stacked full of prizes for its fans every single day in the run up to Christmas.

Liberty London Girl announced the exclusive yesterday, and she’ll be tweeting on the mornings with the two biggest prizes too. They include “a trip to Paris for two, including two nights in a 5* Tablet hotel and a gift voucher to spend in the new Whistles concession in Printemps department store. Or a trolley dash in your nearest Whistles store, so you can race around the store and grab all the things you’ve been lusting after in one fell swoop?”

What I love however, is the genius behind-the-scenes video that goes along with it. That’s one miffed model…