Tod’s aims to rejuvenate iconic Gommino shoes with Dots to Life blogger campaign

Avid fashion blog followers may have noticed several high-calibre bloggers have simultaneously started wearing and drawing attention to Tod’s footwear of late. This is not down to coincidence – earlier this month the quintessential Italian brand launched a social influencer campaign to create buzz around its signature Gommino shoes.

On the campaign website, customers can check out the various style leaders who have been coveting the style, as well as submit their own photos.

Bloggers from all over the world have taken part in the so-called ‘Dots to Life’ campaign, including Italy’s Chiara Ferragni of The Blonde Salad, Switzerland’s Kristina Bazan of Kayture, and Shanghai-based Han Huohuo.

And it’s not just bloggers that have jumped on board – industry heavyweights such as Anna Dello Russo are also featured on site. The result: a showcase of the worldwide popularity of the Gommino, highlighting the shoe’s versatility and serving as outfit styling inspiration alongside.

The move for Tod’s to predominantly use bloggers over celebrities is a smart one in today’s online world. These stars – many of them now enjoying a level of celebrity status themselves – serve as influencers through their connection to existing customers and those highly engaged in fashion, but also yield influence over a much younger crowd who may not be as aware of the understated brand.

The endorsement should emphasise the brand’s heritage, reduce the ‘old person’s shoe’ stigma around the Gomminos, and boost its popularity among potential future customers. It’s helping the brand get it’s ‘cool’ back among the younger, digitally-savvy generation, effectively.

Tod’s is making the blogger campaign all the more social by inviting its Facebook fans to upload their own images to the campaign website. The post on its Facebook page has received over 22,800 likes so far. Participation through Instagram is also possible – with the tags #todsgommino and #dotsoflife.

This is a great example of an influencer campaign leveraging the power of social media as a means of inspiration and conversation. As with many campaigns, the site is curated and not all fan images are published. As with Burberry’s Art of the Trench, this creates a more exclusive feel and may inspire fans to put more creative thought into their snaps.

Tod’s is also pushing content over social related to the FIFA World Cup – recent posts have referenced the theme, I Cheer For My Colors. Working with bloggers seems to have yielded positive results for the brand in the past too. In February, for instance, it partnered with Ferragni of The Blonde Salad to promote its Touch handbag.

By Anna Abrell

Goddesses of beauty, charm and joy inspire Dior’s third Secret Garden film

Dior released its third Secret Garden film on Friday, garnering over two million views over the weekend alone.

Directed by Inez Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin and styled by Carlyne Cerf de Dudzeele, it features Daria Strokous, Fei Fei Sun and Katlin Aas running through Versailles to Dépêche Mode’s track, Strange Love.

The trio of models are said to evoke The Three Graces – goddesses of antiquity embodying beauty, charm and joy, who inspired masterpieces by Raphael and Botticelli, says Dior. In line with this theme, the brand has proclaimed that this film showcases “the three faces of the Dior woman”.

Russian model Strokous enjoys the most exposure throughout the one-minute clip. She is shown walking down a corridor inside the palace, her clothes from the brand’s pre-fall 2014 collection changing as she walks. Later she is seen taking a hidden passageway and running through the gardens. At times she is pictured running away from her co-stars, while at others we see her running towards them.

As the camera cuts from close-ups of Strokous to Aas or Sun, as well as washed out flashes of them all together, the trio are pictured wearing a number of dresses in the same cut and print (see stills below). This leaves the viewer wondering whether Sun and Aas are figments of Strokous’ imagination or rather parts of her personality – or could all three women just be ghosts that are floating through the “elegant and dreamlike” Versailles grounds?

The film ends on a pose reminiscent of those ancient goddesses, and yes, it’s as enchanting and on-brand as the past two Secret Garden chapters before it.

See it below…

By Anna Abrell

Instagram to celebrate creativity at Cannes Lions, calls for exhibition content

Instagram is inviting brands and consumers alike to submit their most creative images for potential inclusion in a gallery space at next month’s Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.

La Galerie d’Instagram will showcase a small collection of the best photos pulled from the Instagram community, for festival-goers to enjoy from June 15-21. Those who tag (up to three of) their shots by June 13 with #instagramcannes could be included in the exhibition. Winners will be selected based on the “originality, technical execution, and subject matter” of their submission.

“Both Instagram and Cannes Lions celebrate the world’s best visual imagery, so we’re planning to bring that connection to life at the festival,” it said Instagram in a blogpost.

Cannes Lions is an annual gathering honouring the best work in advertising and visual communications. As reported last year, it’s slowly becoming a space for the fashion industry to both be seen and recognised in too.

That’s looking set to also be the case this year, with speakers on the agenda including Melisa Goldie, CCO of Calvin Klein; Raphael Elicha founder of The Kooples; actress Sarah Jessica Parker with Cosmopolitan editor Joanna Coles ; and supermodel Gisele Bündchen.

Highlight names otherwise include Ralph Fiennes, Sheryl Sandberg, Aaron Sorkin, Sir Patrick Stewart, Spike Jonze, Sir John Hegarty and more.

Marc Jacobs releases archive content for 30-year celebrations

Marc Jacobs is celebrating its 30-year anniversary with an online gallery of never-before seen imagery.

The content dates back to 1984 when the partnership between Marc Jacobs and Robert Duffy began, and so far features everyone from Sarah Jessica Parker and Winona Ryder, to Christy Turlington.

Reads one of the posts on the site: “Robert Duffy created 10 original company guidelines to help ensure the success of Marc Jacobs Intl. He reminds us that we must always foster an environment that encourages risk taking, maintain irreverance, and most of all, always have fun!”

The content can also be found collated across social sites under the hashtag #MJ30. The designer has released two exclusive items alongside the campaign – the Timeline Tee and 1984 Tee.

Innovating the humble hanger: flashback from Japan

I discovered this video when writing a story about the future of shopping this week, and thought it worth resurfacing.

It’s a simple premise: the  shopper removes items from the rail and as they do so they activate content on nearby video screens. It’s not the garment that holds the sensors, but the hanger it is hung on – recognising unique details, from the fabric it is made of, to shots of models wearing it.

It was a concept from a company called teamLab in Tokyo – featured as part of an exhibition called We Are the Future, and then later in retail store Vanquish around 2010-2012.

But it’s also one you can imagine working very effectively in a luxury store today, in part similar to the connected fitting rooms we’ve seen at the likes of Burberry with RFID tagged garments, or reportedly in pilot from Microsoft and Accenture with Kohl’s. But it’s also reminiscent of the Mother’s Day campaign run by C&A Brazil two years ago, which saw hangers embedded with real-time counters for Facebook Likes.

There’s a lot to be said for the humble hanger it would seem…

Digital snippets: Wren, Gucci, John Lewis, Lord & Taylor, Kenneth Cole, Sephora

A bit of a catch-up post today in light of several weeks of travel… here then all the latest stories to know about surrounding fashion and tech from the past fortnight or so:

 

• “First Kiss” film (as above) goes viral with 63 million views – is ad for clothing label Wren [NY Times]

• Gucci launches own Spotify music hub to promote short film ‘The Fringe’ [The Drum]

• John Lewis looks to digital innovation as next big thing in retail with ‘JLab incubator’ [The Guardian]

• Lord & Taylor now accepting bitcoin [CNBC]

• Kenneth Cole challenges consumers to do good deeds and prove it via Google Glass [Creativity]

• Sephora launches ‘Beauty Board’ social shopping platform [USA Today]

• Bergdorf Goodman makes Instagram shots shoppable at SXSW with 52Grams [5th/58th]

• Dolce & Gabbana crafts love story around perfume to appeal to consumer emotion [Luxury Daily] 

• adidas launches gaming platform powered by social media starring Lionel Messi [Marketing Magazine]

• Can Instagram save ageing teen retailer Aeropostale? [CNBC]

• Which big brands are courting the maker movement, and why – from Levi’s to Home Depot  [AdWeek]

• How beacon technology could change the way we shop [Fashionista]

• On Instagram, a bazaar where you least expect it [Bits blog]

• What Google’s wearable tech platform could mean for the fashion industry [Fashionista]

• Smartphone payment system to be unveiled in UK [FT]

• Alibaba ramping up efforts to sell US brands in China [WSJ]

• What does WeChat’s new e-credit card mean for luxury? [JingDaily]

• How the top 10 US retailers use Pinterest [Econsultancy]

• The NYC start-ups you need to know [Refinery29]

• Op-Ed | Are camera phones killing fashion? [BoF]

Digital snippets: Burberry, Calvin Klein, Moschino, Saks, M&S, Primark

A round-up of all the latest stories surrounding fashion and tech…

 

• Burberry reveals ‘digital innovation’ partnership with WeChat to strengthen social presence in China [The Drum]

• Calvin Klein asks fans to snap selfies in their skivvies for #MyCalvins campaign [BrandChannel]

• Fast-fashion: Moschino offers fans the ability to shop its McDonald’s-themed show live [Dazed Digital]

• Saks recreates in-store beauty tutorials with six-second videos on Vine [LuxuryDaily]

• Marks & Spencer launches new website to replace Amazon platform, after three years in the making [The Telegraph]

• How Primark achieved 1.7m Facebook Likes in just six months [Econsultancy]

• Former GQ editor Lauren Bans comes out as @CondeElevator Tweeter [Fashionista]

• New privacy website lets you opt out of tracking in retail stores [AdAge]

• Ebay buys virtual fitting room start-up PhiSix Fashion Labs [PC Mag]

Dior leverages Robert Pattinson campaign with additional video content

Dior has released another series of short videos revealing extended scenes from its Dior Homme fragrance film starring Robert Pattinson, which originally launched on September 1.

Six 30-45 second spots have aired in the past week, including The Pool, The Piano, The Elevator, The Bedroom, The Beach and The Ball (as below).

They’ve each received anywhere from 8,000 to 18,000 hits to date, joining the nearly 15 million on the full film’s uncensored official director’s cut.

Topshop partners with Pinterest for online and offline Holiday campaign

  Topshop’s campaign for the coming festive period sees Pinterest integrated both online and in its stores.

The British high street retailer has partnered with the virtual scrapbooking site in a bid to “showcase key product and facilitate the gifting process”, said its newly appointed global head of marketing and communications, Sheena Sauvaire.

“Dear Topshop”, as the initiative is called, sees a gift search embedded on its site allowing shoppers to explore by quirky categories such as “A gift that will wow”, “All things that sparkle” or “A bit of romance”. The results of each can all be pinned, shared and, of course, shopped.

Those pinned the most will be featured on the Topshop.com homepage daily.

Tying the campaign to the physical space, key products in store will also have a Pinterest call to action on their tags. Meanwhile, giant touch screens in the retailer’s flagship London and New York stores will likewise allow customers to pin, share and shop.

Staff in other stores will be wearing Pinterest t-shirts and carrying iPads in order to walk customers through the campaign.

Added Sauvaire: “Pinterest, being a strong visual platform, was the ideal platform as it allows our customers to collect products and inspirations to share with family and friends. Add the physical component, and we are creating true ‘social shopping’ during the festive period.”

Consumers are also invited to submit their own inspirational boards on Pinterest tied to the Holiday theme to be in with the chance of winning a variety of prizes including shopping sprees, front row seats to fashion week, and more.

Warehouse fans go #knitbombing in recent social campaign

As mentioned in a recent post about the #topmansprayonjeans campaign, there’s a big focus on user-generated content being seen from a multitude of retailers of late.

One of the others referenced in that same story was Warehouse. The UK retailer launched a campaign in late September focused on #knitbombing, a street art craze involving knitted items being placed to decorate public spaces – think trees, bollards even bikes. It’s not a new phenomenon, but it’s one that hasn’t been claimed by a fashion brand before (to my knowledge).

In a nice example of physical meets digital, Warehouse invited its followers to snap photos of their knit-bombing attempts and upload them to Twitter or Instagram using the hashtag. The best would go on to win a £250 gift card.

To help facilitate the campaign, it offered shoppers free knit-bombing kits in-store when they bought certain knitwear items. It also posted a series of inspirational woolly shots of its own across its Facebook and Pinterest pages (a couple of which are above and below).

Read its blogpost about the initiative: “Knit-bombing groups have been springing up everywhere – warming the soul of grey urban spaces with colourful knitted artwork or ‘graffitti’. Obviously we had to share this amazing phenomenon with you.” It also called for participants to “flex some creative muscle; remember the city is your playground.”

According to @Editd, the campaign saw Warehouse’s fanbase grow 10%.