Justin Cooke, CMO at Topshop, took to the stage at Decoded Fashion in London Thursday with one simple message: “You CAN do emotion in digital.”
While he pulled on quotes, videos and nuggets of inspiration from the likes of Steve Jobs through to Mark Zuckerberg, not to mention Walt Disney and Sir Ken Robinson, what resonated the most was the powerful role music plays.
As Leo Tolstoy once said: “Music is the shorthand of emotion.” Cooke added: “Music is killer for me; you can take people down with it.”
He used the example of an Instagram shot he took of autumn leaves made all the more sentimental with the hashtag #paolonutini added to it. Or this beautiful animated Twinings ad that acts as a metaphor for taking a break from our hectic lives, while The Calling’s Wherever You Will Go by Charlene Soraia plays in the background.
But there was one example he gave that stood out more than any other, and that was the rain orchestra. If you haven’t seen it, do click above now – it’s almost worth knowing less about it when you do so for the first time.
… Spine-tingling isn’t it?!
What’s even better is that it’s also a phenomenal example of content that works beautifully for a brand, in this case Burberry, Cooke’s former employer.
The autumn/winter 2012/13 Burberry show used this orchestra to fake a thunderstorm above its London Fashion Week tent, and the same now plays in its new Regent Street store in London. At the top of every hour, the lights dim and each of the screens circling the floor transform into a “digital rain shower” – quite a show-stopping moment for the unsuspecting shopper.
“We’ve tried to choreograph it so that you have content specific to certain areas, but then all of a sudden the whole store turns into one rain cloud and makes you stop and smile,” chief creative officer Christopher Bailey told The Business of Fashion at launch. “It’s not just about shopping. The important thing for me is that when you go in, you feel entertained.”
As Cooke explained: “People say you can’t feel that stuff… but when you’re at a show or in-store and that surrounds you, my god you can feel it.”
He pushed for brands to harness emotion to help their consumers feel more connected with technology and with things online. Super simple, but a great reminder that sometimes it doesn’t need anything more magical than that.
BONUS: Cooke also referenced a piece from The Wall Street Journal, The anatomy of a tear-jerker – a great look at how scientifically our emotions really get going through music.
Uniqlo is encouraging consumers to convert their “social energy” through kinetic floor surfaces and a pop-up game console in various locations across London.
Designed to promote its thermal Heattech collection, the initiative sees footsteps transformed into energy at the entrance of the Japanese retailer’s flagship store in the UK in order to power digital screens, and custom-made game consoles inviting consumers to “step to generate” in exchange for an item from the line.
These “heat spots” (as pictured) are accompanied by an online version on the Uniqlo UK Facebook page, and a mobile game accessible via QR codes located on the heat spots and in Uniqlo store windows.
The resulting energy from both online and offline, as well as conversations around Heattech via Facebook and Twitter, are then being calculated and showcased on the in-store screens.
The campaign launched in Covent Garden in London on October 25 and continued in the Westfield London shopping centre over the weekend. From tomorrow, Monday, October 29, it will run in Westfield Stratford and Bluewater in Kent.
British fashion brand Matthew Williamson launched on Twitter today, marking its first commitment to a new digital strategy headed up by Rosanna Falconer, previously of the British Fashion Council.
Created to give followers an insider view, the @MWWorld handle will capture all the action from behind-the-scenes of the collections and the studio. It kickstarted this morning with the above tweet, and has since continued with a photo of Matthew mid-meeting as well as a link to his YouTube page where a video documenting the shoot for his forthcoming XV film starring Sienna Miller, Poppy Delevingne and Valentine Fillol-Cordier exists (as below).
Matthew himself will also be sharing his insight, inspirations and travels.
As a follow on, the website and e-commerce platform will soon be relaunched to “reflect developments in technology, including mobile, and capture the brand digitally”.
Matthew Williamson will celebrate its 15-year anniversary this spring/summer 2013. The XV film will be officially unveiled next week.
Just back from travels and playing major catch-up with what’s been going on with all things fashion and digital over the past 10 days. One inbox down and a full scour of my favourite news sources later, and here are some of the highlights:
Why Burberry wants to bring the online experience to stores and not vice versa [Mashable]
Victoria Beckham most talked about designer on Twitter during NYFW, adds 57k followers (as pictured) [Vogue UK]
Social-commerce at NYFW and LFW ensures Fashion Week is a democracy for everyone to enjoy [DisneyRollerGirl]
Five digital highlights from New York Fashion Week [Mashable]
Target launches shoppable short film series [NY Times]
Phillip Lim “Kill the Night” comic available online [3.1 Phillip Lim]
London 2012 has been dubbed the “social media Olympics”, and rightly so given the overwhelming growth seen all things digital even since Beijing in 2008.
And then of course there are the brands. Official sponsor or not, the online space is awash with those tapping in as closely as they can to sporting fever.
It all kicks off officially from tonight, but until then here are a couple of the best campaigns we’ve seen across the digital space so far:
adidas and David Beckham surprise fans: This one might be a real-world activation, but there’s nothing quite like a viral video to get everyone talking about it: 2.3m views and counting of adidas surprising shoppers having their pictures taken in its #takethestage photo booth with a guest appearance by David Beckham (as below) [YouTube]
Coca Cola’s Move to the Beat campaign: In the aim of connecting younger people to the action, Coca Cola teamed up with Mark Ronson and turned to music. The Grammy Award-winning producer recorded the sounds of five different Olympic sports and used the resulting beats to create a track, as shown below. The brand is also inviting fans to have a go at remixing themselves via a dedicated app [Coca Cola]
EDF uses Twitter to dictate colour of London Eye: London’s infamous Ferris wheel is set to become a giant mood ring as EDF Energy teams up with Sosolimited to display different colours based on the sentiment of tweets around the Games [Mashable]
Nike’s Find Your Greatness spot pushes Olympic advertising rules: The first non-sponsor to mention is of course Nike. An expert at ambush marketing (Write the Future a case in point), the brand has launched an ad that references other places around the world also called London (as below). “Greatness is not in one special place, it is not in one special person; greatness is wherever somebody is trying to find it,” says the narrator. It is also backed by a Twitter campaign using the hashtag #findgreatness [Fast Co]
Visa invites consumers to send in cheers: Part of Visa’s Go World campaign for the Olympics invites fans to submit a cheer to the participating athletes in the form of a click, post or video via Facebook. A lucky few will go on to feature in special-edition spots celebrating the achievements of Team Visa athletes in real-time [TheInspirationRoom]
Nastia Liukin pushes Fantastic Gymnastics Dora doll and app: The latest doll from Dora the Explorer is a London 2012 gymnast special being promoted by Team USA five-time Olympic medallist Nastia Liukin. It also comes with an augmented reality app for kid’s to watch her come to life [BrandChannel]
Harrods welcomes everyone to London: A very simple one here, but nonetheless noteworthy. Harrods posted a collaged picture featuring multiple icons of London associated with its own store as well as the Olympics on Facebook. The accompanying text read: “Over the coming weeks, London will play host to many visitors. We would simply like to say… Welcome to our wonderful city. #LoveLondon” [Harrods]
Another great stop motion film from London-based illustrator Quentin Jones, this time for Kenzo’s pre-fall 2012 collection.
Frenetic but fantastic, the spot is a mish mash of collage work playing with the letters that spell out Kenzo, as well as a number of sporty props and accessories including hoops, ribbons and scaffolding to climb on.
It was shot in a warehouse in East London, and then digitally layered with handmade moving elements and frames of the models, Jones explained in an interview on the brand’s blog.
“It is kind of like sewing together different visual ingredients over a timeline,” she added.
On the role film plays in fashion, she said: “I think film allows a brand to create a moment of escapism into a world of their vision and personality. If they are successful, the audience gets to experience what it means to ‘live’ that label from their desk or bed. They need to be entertaining to capture new audiences, and not just pretty moving images.”
She referred to Stephanie Di Giusto’s Le bel été for Vanessa Bruno, and Barnaby Roper’s Iris for Nowness as two of her personal favourites.
London’s first dedicated menswear fashion week is focusing on engaging with consumers via digital, thanks to multiple innovations backed by the British Fashion Council.
London Collections: Men, which kickstarts Friday and runs through Sunday, will incorporate everything from live-streaming to pinning, as well as a film programme and augmented reality-enabled windows.
Here are some of the highlights:
Pinterest
Leading industry figures such as Jeremy Langmead, editor-in-chief of e-commerce site, Mr Porter, will share their moments from the week’s events by pinning onto the British Fashion Council’s newly launched Pinterest page. The public is also invited to participate by using the hashtag #ManAboutTown. The request is for menswear street style photos, whether taken at the event or anywhere else around the world. The resulting images will be collated on a dedicated pinboard and in a Facebook album in a bid to “provide a crowd-sourced visual collection of the best of British men’s style”.
Twitter
On Twitter, @BFC is not only pushing conversation around the #londoncollections hashtag, but hosting a series of Q&A sessions with members of its Fashion 2012 Menswear Committee, including Alex Bilmes, editor of UK Esquire magazine, and designer Richard James. The live interviews can be followed via #AskLCM.
Interactive image gallery
In celebration of The Prince of Wales officially launching the event at St James’s Palace tomorrow, the BFC has published an online image gallery dedicated to his style. Within it, users can explore outfits ranging from highland tartans to Savile Row suits, discovering the origin of each and learning more about the brand that made it. His preferred London labels are also plotted on a map alongside a picture of the related garments.
Aurasma
Following in the footsteps of Net-a-Porter’s Fashion’s Night Out and Karl initiatives, Mr Porter has teamed up with augmented reality technology company Aurasma, to bring the windows of The Hospital Club (the main hub for the event) to life. By scanning the life-sized catwalk illustrations with the Mr Porter Style Help app, users will be able to see the latest show footage.
Film and live-streaming
There is also a screening room within The Hospital Club that will run the BFC’s Fashion/On Film programme, sponsored by high street retailer River Island. Included will be an evening hosted by Test Presents with DJ and fashion luminary Jeffrey Hinton, who will show excerpts from his 80s film archive; as well as panel member Kathryn Ferguson discussing fashion film with female menswear designers, Carri Munden (Cassette Playa), Katie Eary and Martine Rose. Every show held at The Hospital Club as well as those at the Topman Venue will also be live streamed, both online and on mobile.
Harrods has launched a competition on Pinterest that will result in one consumer’s mood board forming the basis of its store window in celebration of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.
The London department store has posted its own inspiration page on the virtual scrapbooking site, formed around the idea of a street party for the occasion, and invited UK residents to do the same. All they have to do is then tweet their link to @HarrodsofLondon, along with the hashtag #HarrodsWindows.
Mark Briggs, image director at the retailer, will select three of the best mood boards to post on Facebook, from which fans will be able to vote for one to be transformed into a window by the store’s visual merchandising team next month.
