What is it?

Selfridges has never been just a shop. In recent years we have seen a number of experiential installations from brands utilising the space Selfridges offers. In 2011 it was the The Truvia Voyage of Discovery, a boating lake and cocktail bar that lived on the Selfridges rooftop, and last summer the roof was occupied by Jellymongers Bompass and Parr’s crazy golf course. Non-Olympic sponsor Nike marked the Summer of Sport in the store with their House of Innovation experiential retail space, and for last September’s London Fashion Week, Mercedes and Bompass and Parr created the ultimate drive thru in the lobby of the old Selfridges Hotel.

Since then it has been a case of waiting until the next installation is revealed.

Attention on the store has reached new heights of late following the release of Mr Selfridge, the ITV drama focusing on the shop’s founder Harry Gordon Selfridge, with the first episode attracting 7.2 million viewers. So what better way to play on this wave of interest than by re-creating a concept Mr Selfridge himself launched in 1909? Over 100 years ago the Silence Room at Selfridges was born, and now it’s back in the form of a partnership with meditation gurus Headspace and the creation of No Noise at Selfridges.

No Noise is visible throughout the store with four of the shop windows designed by conceptual artist Katie Paterson, the Food Hall emphasising simple and honest food, and Headspace pods delivering meditative messages in all departments. However, the main focus is on the reincarnation of Selfridge’s Silence Room and the development of the Quiet Shop. Designed by architect Alex Cochrane, this inner-sanctum asks customers to leave all their 21^st Century distractions at the door and escape from the hustle and bustle associated with modern-day high-street shopping.

While the Silence Room – a completely shopping-free space – is unexpected from a retail giant, it is the accompanying Quiet Shop that is the most innovative component of No Noise in terms of support from brands. Selfridges have in fact persuaded them to de-brand. Stripped of their logos, Marmite, Heinz, Beats by Dre and Levis are just a few examples of brands whose logo-less products are available to buy within the Quiet Shop. Selfridges too have removed their name from their own illustrious yellow shopping bags.

Why we love it?

In the month when everyone is trying to get over both the excess and expense of Christmas, and dispel memories of stressful present buying, Selfridges have created a pop-up experience that puts the pleasure back into shopping.

No Noise works on so many levels: it certainly has a PR stunt element which has led to its initial coverage, but this installation is not to be short-lived; running until the end of February, a plethora of shoppers will have a unique consumer experience that is sure to lead to continued press for Selfridges.

Although only a item that has recognisable packaging could get away with de-branding, by icons such as Heinz buying into this concept they are themselves gaining publicity, with many suggesting that the logo-less items will also soon become collector’s items. However, it is the Selfridges brand that is the ultimate winner, with the buy-in and support from so many giants of the retail world delivering No Noise the shout out it deserves.

No Noise at Selfridges does have many separate elements to it, but the store has ensured that focus sticks to the theme of de-cluttering the shopping experience. As we know in our industry, simple ideas are often the best ideas and what could be more simple than silence.

By Fiona Watherston on January 14th, 2013

Tags: Default, Experiential marketing, Fashion, Food & Drink, Public relations

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DKNY PR Girl is, in her own words, “your well-placed fashion source”, bringing behind-the-scenes scoops from inside Donna Karen New York. She also happens to be Aliza Licht, Senior Vice President of Global Communications at Donna Karen International and spearhead of all things social media for the brand.

It was inevitable then that she would not set about creating buzz for the opening of DKNY’s new London flagship store on Bond Street with just a standard press release.

Instead, DKNY released a video mapping the buzz surrounding a fake social media conversation about a mysterious London event titled #UK2012. With the help of some high profile ‘socialmedialites’ to begin and later spur on the conversation, the video shows the speed at which the planting of a hashtag and the ensuing fear of missing out amongst followers can make a campaign go viral. Beginning with a picture of an invitation taken on Instagram, #UK2012 soon spreads to Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr and Pinterest, ending with DKNY PR girl herself checking in at the new store on FourSquare to reveal the truth about the campaign in disguise.

In trying to demonstrate that there is no longer a need for a press release by producing this falsified social media scenario, DKNY, in proxy, achieved exactly what is shown within the video in real life. #UK2012 is now no longer an imaginary event but a genuine hashtag around which hype for the official store opening has been built; so even if the video is a spoof and nothing more than constructed social media buzz, the publicity generated is as real as it could ever be.

We don’t need to be reminded about the power of social media: it’s plain to see everyday, as we first find out about a sporting success, a court judgement or a celebrity’s downfall via our individual Tweet-decks. We also don’t need to be told that DKNY #UK2012 has not brought to an end the traditional press release and media sell-ins we are so accustomed to seeing. Indeed, I think it could be suggested that DKNY took a risk in creating a campaign that so highlighted the paradox of ‘social within social’, but in this case, the spread of #UK2012 across all platforms is evidence in itself that the innovative idea of creating a fake frenzy worked perfectly to raise brand awareness in time for DKNY’s official opening.

By Fiona Watherston on July 24th, 2012

Tags: Digital marketing, Experiential marketing, Fashion, Social Media, Synergy Loves

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What happened
On the eve of London Fashion Week underwear brand Björn Borg recreated the visual phenomenon of the Northern Lights as part of a Swedish spectacle to showcase its Spring/Summer 2012 collection.

Launching the ‘Björn Borg says Ja! to turning the lights off!’ campaign, Battersea Power Station was transformed into a Scandinavian-inspired winter landscape. In an event that steered clear of the predictable norms of London Fashion Week catwalk shows, the evening was a celebration of the label and wholly embodied the Borg brand’s unique persona.

The unquestionable highlight of the night was the seamless fusion between fashion and technology, which presented itself in the form of a 4D light show on the Thames. A short film created by award-winning director Paris Kain was projected onto a 25 x 50 metre wall of steam that rose from the river. The film merged moving images of the Northern Lights with models revealing the upcoming season’s glow-in-the-dark range of underwear, and clearly delivered the multi-sensory experience promised by Björn Borg prior to the evening.

Why we love it
The evening, far from segregating the catwalk and after-party elements of a brand’s customary London Fashion Week schedule, was a leap forward in the deployment of edgy branding activities pursued by Björn Borg. The brand has identified London as one of its most important expanding markets and a vital area in which to establish itself; and there is no doubting that the performances at Battersea had the level of impact required to drive forward Björn Borg’s international expansion.

Whilst the film projection itself was not the first to use water as a canvas (note the spectacular Nike ‘Explosive Water Projections’ for the launch of Jordan Melo M8 trainers in New York), this was a first for the UK, and raised the bar for fashion labels’ experiential originality during London Fashion Week. Not only did the Thames lightshow create another dimension to the evening, it remained in keeping with the core idea behind the Spring/Summer season’s ‘illuminated’ collection.

For those not able to secure a coveted invite, Björn Borg partnered with MTV for the night and live-streamed the event in seven European countries, helping to generate maximum awareness of the campaign. The visual quality of every aspect of the evening drove forward the brand’s digital presence, which resulted in a record boost for the brand’s Twitter and Facebook pages. Images from the night were also used as a springboard for the launch of Björn Borg’s Pinterest page.

By Fiona Watherston on March 20th, 2012

Tags: Art & Design, Default, Fashion, PR, Synergy Loves, YouTube

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