Digital snippets: Prada, John Lewis, Comptoir des Cotonniers, Sephora, L’Oréal

A round-up of the latest stories to know about surrounding all things fashion and tech:

• Prada delves into visual past with Pradasphere microsite [Luxury Daily]

• John Lewis picks iBeacons, smart-home Sonos rival, and 3D planning start-ups as final partners for JLab incubator scheme [The Drum]

• You can now buy Comptoir des Cotonniers directly from ads on bus shelters in France [Fashionista]

• The ROI: Sephora, Thismoment share results of Pinteresting beauty board launch [BrandChannel]

• L’Oréal targets ads based on hair colour in online photos [AdAge]

• ‘Vogue’ makes its Instagram shoppable with Liketoknow.it [Fashionista]

• adidas promises to exclude consumers unless they opt ‘#allin’ to World Cup campaign [Marketing]

• Visual search set to make world of imagery instantly shoppable [BoF]

• Condé Nast drafts an internal ‘Magna Carta’ for native advertising [AdAge]

• Lingerie brand turns to Snapchat for a voyeuristic, vanishing lookbook [PSFK]

• Fruit of the Loom turns GIFs into Father’s Day gifts [AdWeek]

• The power women who are reinventing the way you shop fashion online [Forbes]

• Mary Meeker’s 2014 internet trends report: all the slides plus highlights [Quartz]

John Lewis calls for GIFs focused on “moving forward” in ongoing #JL150 anniversary campaign

John Lewis is continuing the celebrations for its 150-year anniversary with a crowdsourced GIF campaign.

Created to accompany its new TV ad dedicated to British history, the initiative invites fans to submit their own animated images or videos of up to 15-seconds in length, showing how they’re “always moving – dancing, running, learning new things”.

That concept ties to its tagline for the whole campaign: “For 150 years you’ve never stood still. Neither have we.”

Entries can be submitted via Tumblr, Google+, Instagram, Facebook or Twitter using the #JL150 hashtag up until May 30. A winner will be picked at random and awarded £1,500 of JL vouchers; a further £150 of vouchers will be given to their favourite entry each week.

The company has also launched its own #JL150 Tumblr page housing numerous versions of its own GIFs (examples below) – some of the pulled from the TV ad and others showcasing the commemorative products created for the anniversary in collaboration with some of Britain’s most loved brands and designers.

Check out the John Lewis Facebook page too for news on further celebrations in-store, as well as a content series dedicated to different decades.

Digital snippets: Nike, Burberry, Selfridges, DKNY, John Lewis, Burt’s Bees

It was perhaps Nike that was the buzziest of brands over the past couple of weeks, if you take into consideration both the successful launch of its unofficial World Cup campaign, Winner Stays (as above), and the rumoured shift in strategy for its FuelBand wearable device. That latter news reported the brand is laying off 70-80% of the fitness tracker’s hardware team in a bid to focus on software and the NikeFuel metric instead. A further interview with Nike President Mark Parker added fuel to the fire on a big partnership with Apple.

Burberry meanwhile was another brand with various stories to follow. It opened its new Shanghai store to much theatrical, multimedia fanfare; pushed yet another social tie-in via WeChat; launched an online store on Alibaba’s Tmall; and was announced as one of the first brands to advertise using Instagram video. And if that wasn’t enough, Angela Ahrendts just made that move officially over to Apple. “Did you notice?” asked the FT.

Safe to say, some other companies were up to things too. Here are the best of the fashion and tech stories not to be missed…

• Selfridges launches biggest ever beauty campaign with Google+ partnership [Campaign]

• DKNY shoppers go product hunting with Awear Solutions chips [FierceRetailIT]

• John Lewis looks back on British history in TV spot to mark 150 years [Campaign]

• Burt’s Bees creates promotional messages via appointments in digital calendars [NY Times]

• What can fashion-tech companies learn from Instagram’s success? Co-founder and CEO Kevin Systrom shares his start-up secrets [BoF]

• Instagram is brands’ best bet for consumer engagement… but not for long [Fashionista]

• ‘Brand tagging’ mobile apps: China’s next selfie sensation [Jing Daily]

• Fashion retailers eye up image-recognition apps for smartphones [The Guardian]

• Microsoft to push into fashion space “like never before” as it boosts commitment to UK start-up community and unveils ASOS as partner [The Drum]

• Why online retailers like Bonobos, Boden, Athleta mail so many catalogs [WSJ]

• Crowdemand is like Kickstarter for fashion designers [Mashable]

• Like a dating site for fashion, PopInShop plays matchmaker for brands and boutiques [Fashionista]

• The golden era of ‘fashion blogging’ is over [The Cut]

The best April Fools’ Day pranks from fashion brands

This post first appeared on Fashionista.com

If we’re basing it on sheer volume of pranks, Google probably wins April Fools’ Day. But, perhaps seeing the “holiday” as a prime marketing opportunity, the fashion world got in on the fun as well — some of them incorporating elaborate videos and impressive new products into their jokes.

Here are a few brands and retailers that almost had us fooled…

Hunter

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A post shared by Hunter Boots (@hunterboots)

Hunter introduced a new open-toe Wellington boot just in time for festival season. Referred to as the “latest in product innovation” from the brand, the design is a replica of the original rain boot first introduced in 1955 but with a new focus on breathability. “This revolutionary design enables air flow to circulate from the opening at the toe, traveling along the footbed to then exit at the top of the boot (and vice versa). The wearer is afforded a truly ventilated experience. This new technology is expected to represent an industry changing moment for rubber footwear,” read the fictitious write-up.

Bonobos

Bonobos made fun of the wearables market with the “launch” of a line of tech-enabled shirts, blazers and jeans meant to make “living your life as effortless as your style”. In the above video, a man demonstrates the capabilities of a washed poplin shirt. There’s “wi-fiber” that keeps you constantly in contact with a female voice seemingly inspired by Spike Jonze film, “Her”; smart fabric that knows when you’re lying based on your body temperature; and a feature that posts things to your Facebook wall, sometimes when you don’t want it to.

John Lewis

This would be clever if it weren’t creepy: UK department store John Lewis announced a new hi-tech electronic mirror that will provide shoppers with their precise measurements in seconds. The Scanning Computer and Mirror (SCAM) system – note the first clue – was to be trialled in the retailer’s Isles of Scilly store – clue two – before being rolled out around the country. It will use technology similar to that in airports, allowing fit “advisers” to get an eyeful of customers, reported the Daily Mail. As a result, sales associates were to be given “special intimacy training so as not to infringe the customer’s dignity” according to the brand.

American Eagle Outfitters

“We pulled your tail” shouts the headline on American Eagle Outfitters’ blog today. It introduced the idea of a doggy line called American Beagle Outfitters a week ago, but what was intended to be an April Fools’ joke to raise money for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), actually got such an overwhelming and positive response, the retailer is actually making it happen. A real canine collection is set to debut for Holiday 2014.

Lululemon

Lululemon promoted its new “Spray-On Yoga Pants” on its site today: It’s a $1200 can that pokes fun at the company’s see-through pants scandal of 2013. “Designed for lightweight flexibility and versatility, our newest innovation, Spray-On Yoga Pants, will take us to and through our practice without the fuss,” read the hilarious description.

Toms X Uber

Toms announced a partnership with Uber in a new initiative called shuberX. Basically, cardboard cars collect passengers and give them a pair of Toms shoes to wear as they run down the street. What’s great about this prank is that new Uber users who do actually enter promo code #shuberx when ordering a car will see $10 donated on their behalf to Footwork, TOMS’ partner in fighting podoconiosis. How very Toms of them.

Asos

On its men’s blog, Asos wrote a post chronicling the trend for beard bleaching. Those in the know are growing big bushy beards and then dyeing them radical new colors, like electric blue with purple highlights, it claimed. The e-tailer even attributed the trend to one “revolutionary Danish barber”: Alaxånder Alexandrå.

Honorary Mentions:

Here are couple of others we chuckled at:

Personal bra shopping site True&Co’s new kitten-themed sizing system

Statement anklets from Cupcakes and Cashmere

Lucky mag’s desks covered in Josh Hutcherson photos

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]

2013: a designer meets digital year in review

What a busy year it’s been…

From 3D printing taking its first trip down the New York Fashion Week catwalk, to the launch of Vine and Instagram videos, not to mention the continuing debate about the role of bloggers as influencers, the increased focus on the potential market size of wearables, and Oxford Dictionaries’ word of the year as ‘selfie’, one thing after another has rapidly impacted the role of innovation in this niche fashion x digital space.

Below then, are 10 of the posts you loved the most on F&M this year. It’s an interesting collection, nodding to familiar ideas like storytelling and crowdsourcing, as well as higher quality content, and a general reassessment of what it is that actually works in this space. Video content does of course also have its place, as does the continuing power of celebrity.

Thank you for reading and see you in 2014!

• Why and how fashion brands should be on Vine: Meagan Cignoli creative interview

• Press may have pushed “tech” angle of new H&M store, but less than a week since launch, nothing seems to be working

• Literal window shopping with Kate Spade Saturday’s digital, touchscreen storefronts

• Latest Topshop innovation will see #LFW content shared via sound

• Robert Pattinson’s Dior Homme film storms in 24-hours, #diorrob hashtag takes off

• Net-a-Porter calls for shopper content with #TheNETSet social campaign

• Burberry and Google bring emotion to digital with virtual kissing campaign

• Dolce & Gabbana: #MFW’s social media winner

• All the interactive elements accompanying John Lewis’ #bearandhare Christmas ad

• Live streaming fashion week: is it worth the cost?

• And a bonus post as a thought-starter for the New Year: An inspirational note, fashion needs to take risk

Animation features heavy in this year’s branded Christmas videos

There’s a lot in the way of cute animation happening this festive period, with noteworthy spots from Hermès, Dolce & Gabbana and Cartier, as well as that big budget number from John Lewis.

Check them each out below:

 

Bonus: This is not quite a Christmas spot, but there’s a fun animation worth a watch from Louis Vuitton too. It pays tribute to games like Tetris and Space Invaders to promote its new iPhone and iPad cases just in time for the holiday season…

Retail’s 7 most innovative Holiday campaigns

This article first appeared on Fashionista 

The holiday season can account for up to 40% of a retailer’s annual revenue, and thus it’s no surprise to see some of our favorite stores (and fashion brands) go all-out with festive campaigns in a bid to capture as many dollars as possible.

Multiple initiatives have lined up to grab our attention this year, but if there’s one thing tying them together, it’s interactivity. From singing contests you can enter to touchscreens you can explore, participation is the biggest push for 2013.

Pinterest is also proving big news. According to a recent study by Lab42, 94% of users say the virtual scrapbooking site has changed how they prepare for the holidays, while 42% have created their own holiday-themed boards. Meanwhile, stats show such activity is also affecting sales. Revenue on retail sites that originated from Pinterest doubled over Thanksgiving weekend, and brands like Target and Topshop have quickly taken advantage.

Here’s our pick of the top seven activations.

1. eBay’s Touchscreen Storefronts

First up is the digital storefronts eBay set up for Rebecca Minkoff, Toms and Sony in the Westfield San Francisco Centre shopping mall this season. Shopping from them is easy. As with any smartphone or tablet device, you just touch the screen and start browsing products, then complete the order via PayPal on your mobile device. Items can either be delivered to your home for free or picked up at the Sony Gallery on the floor below.

2. Gap’s VSCO-Powered Gift Guide

Gap gave an indie twist to its holiday gift guide by partnering with seven well-known users of photo-editing app VSCO for its Make Love campaign. Those artists acted as both models and photographers, captured in various Gap products themselves and completing their own photo assignments based on one of Gap’s holiday themes: fair isle, indigo, metallic, plaid, stripes, texture and warmth. The results are featured on both a dedicated page on VSCO’s website as well as in Gap.com’s “Give A-Z” holiday guide.

3. John Lewis’ “The Bear and The Hare”

Over in the UK meanwhile, John Lewis wins for the biggest budget when it comes to advertising this year. It spent £7 million ($11.4 million) on a hand-animated and very cute tale called “The Bear and The Hare,” which has garnered more than 10 million views on YouTube to date. What’s innovative is all the components that go with it, and none more so than the windows of its flagship store in London. They feature some of the 188 animal sculptures made from 7,000 everyday products tied to the bear and hare theme, like a reindeer made of Dyson vacuums, a polar bear of Nintendo Wiis and a turkey crafted from a series of rolled up towels. The retailer is also running a contest with the campaign, calling all aspiring singers to record and upload their own versions of Keane’s “Somewhere Only We Know” for a chance to have their recording play with the commercial on Christmas day.

4. JC Penney’s “Jingle Mingle” Singing Contest

JC Penney also called for singing content from its fans this year. Up until Dec. 3 it invited aspiring vocalists to upload videos of themselves singing “Silent Night” to its Jingle Mingle website. Hundreds of the best are then going to be played on the facade of the retailer’s Manhattan Mall store. For each one submitted, JC Penney donated $20 to the United Service Organizations (USO).

5. Topshop’s “Dear Pinterest” Campaign

It was all about Pinterest for Topshop this season. The UK-based retailer used Pinterest to power its online gift guide, and even attached oversized tags to in-store merchandise identifying the ones that had been pinned the most. In November, there was also a giant touchscreen in Topshop’s New York and London flagships that allowed shoppers to pin, share and shop from a gift list there and then.

6. Target’s Pinteresting “Awesome Shop”

Pinterest also makes an appearance at Target this season. Target has launched an e-commerce storefront powered by Pinterest as well as its own reviews this year. Target Awesome Shop, as it’s called, incorporates over 1,000 products that have received four stars or higher in the customer reviews on Target.com and are one of the retailer’s most-pinned products on Pinterest. The result: a highly curated, not to mention awesome, list of recommended items. You can search by category and then click on each product for more information (such as those reviews), before being redirected to the main Target.com site to add them to your shopping cart.

7. Louis Vuitton’s “The Goose Game”

Louis Vuitton created an online board game to feature its holiday gifts. The game, which functions much like “Snakes and Ladders,” is made up of squares featuring Louis Vuitton products that players can purchase in just a few clicks.

Honorable Mention: Kmart’s “Show Your Joe”

It may not be a stunning piece of innovation, but Kmart’s “Show Your Joe” commercial sure brought the laughs — and the views. The video, which was made for TV, has racked up more than 16 million views on YouTube alone since its Nov. 15 release.

Digital snippets: Holiday retail round-up special

Given it’s the day before Thanksgiving in the US – meaning retailers are about to go all out on heavy promotions – here’s a special round-up of all the ways they’re using social and digital to help lure the seasonal shopper and start converting those all-important Holiday sales…

• eBay debuts shoppable touchscreens and digital storefronts for Sony, Toms And Rebecca Minkoff in San Francisco (as pictured) [TechCrunch]

• Target launches “most digitally enabled campaign” in its history, pins hopes on Pinterest this holiday season [Co.Create]

• Macy’s Santa mail campaign invites mobile users to submit images [Mobile Commerce Daily]

• Topshop partners with Pinterest for online and offline Holiday campaign [Fashion&Mash]

• JC Penney launches first Holiday campaign under new marketing head, includes crowdsourcing initiative inviting users to upload videos of themselves singing ‘Silent Night’ [AdAge]

• ‘Reserve in Store’ service rolling out to all Banana Republic stores across the US, 200 Gap [CNBC]

• Jingle all the way at Kmart with #showyourjoe Christmas ad [Fashion&Mash]

• Kohl’s adds emotional brand spots to Holiday mix [AdAge]

• Hollister teases Black Friday deals on YouTube [ClickZ]

• All the interactive elements accompanying John Lewis’ #bearandhare Christmas ad [Fashion&Mash]

• Cath Kidston, Bauble Bar driving traffic with Christmas treasure hunt campaigns [Fashion&Mash]

• Michaels offers interactive Holiday help with live elf available through streaming video [Chain Store Age]

• M&S teases Christmas #magicandsparkle campaign over social [Fashion&Mash]

• Louis Vuitton highlights gift ideas on interactive goose game [Luxury Daily]

• HSN taps SMS, push notifications to drive mobile-only holiday sales [Mobile Commerce Daily]

• Tillys runs ugly Christmas sweater contest over Instagram [Tillys]

• Neiman Marcus teams up with Shapeways to offer 3D printed holiday capsule collection [PSFK]

All the interactive elements accompanying John Lewis’ #bearandhare Christmas ad

Hopefully by now you will have all seen, or at least heard about, John Lewis’ epic £7 million Christmas ad: The Bear and The Hare, created by adam&eve DDB.

The hand-animated tale has received an enormous 8.7 million views on YouTube since launch on November 8, and according to reports, helped drive sales of £101.45 million in the British department store in the week that followed, up 10.7% on 2012.

Despite the fact the spot premiered on TV in the UK during The X-Factor (played as an entire two-minute ad break), this campaign lives well beyond its traditional format. Here’s a breakdown of some of the more interactive ways how: 

• An accompanying e-book called ‘The Bear who had never seen Christmas’ has been introduced for iPad, iPhone and Android. It features a series of touch-to-activate features, including a treasure hunt throughout the pages of the story in order to decorate a Christmas tree at the end, and a musical component for kids to tap their screens along to  

• As with last year’s snowmen, the two main characters, Bear and Hare, each have their own Twitter profiles. Following them reveals all sorts of insights into their friendship: Hare planning to tickle Bear in his sleep, and Bear snoozing through the majority of it only waking briefly now and again to tweet out a line of Zzzzzzzzz’s

• John Lewis has also just announced its “ReWorked” initiative for the ad – calling all unsigned singers or bands in the UK to re-record Lily Allen’s cover of Keane’s Somewhere Only We Know. Keane is helping to judge the winner, who will then be featured on the soundtrack for the ad on TV on Christmas Day. A page on the brand’s YouTube channel plays hosts to a note of good luck from Lily Allen as well as all the entries so far

• A Christmas card maker allows consumers to create their own personalised e-cards too. A selection of templates featuring the different woodland animals can be selected from first, then a personal picture uploaded or chosen by connecting with Facebook. Lastly, a message can be added before sharing it over social, downloading it to send via email or print out, and/or adding it to the online gallery

• In the physical space meanwhile, 11 John Lewis stores around the UK have special ‘caves’ for children to visit and have their photo taken with the Bear and the Hare. The Oxford Street and Peter Jones London stores are particularly worth visiting for the windows too, where a total of 188 animal sculptures have been made from over 7,000 everyday products, like a reindeer from Dyson vacuums, a polar bear from Nintendo Wiis and a turkey from a series of rolled up towels. Creative consultancy Chameleon Visual and production company Setsquare Staging spent a year developing them, as the below making-of video demonstrates.