What happened

To mark the launch of Carmelo Anthony’s new “Jordan Melo M8 trainer” Nike showcased some ”mad skillz” of their own at a surprise night-time show at Pier 54 in New York City.

Forget the standard 3D projection, this was an ‘Explosive Water Projection’ and a crowd of more than 2,500 people gathered around the Hudson River to watch a three-storey-tall Melo dribbling, dunking and walking on water. Of course, they were also treated to DJs, a light show and plenty of interactive experiences. Anyone who couldn’t attend in person could watch the explosive show live at a special Nike site.

Why we love it

It is wonderfully inventive and creates the ‘wow factor’ for the audience. The water gives another dimension to the graphics as they appear and disappear into the surface.

The originality of the artistic show celebrates Anthony’s vibrant, fresh skills and signals the emergence of a new era in New York for both its hallowed basketball team and the regenerated city as a whole. With Anthony as a figurehead for Nike, it shows that they are still at the forefront of player endorsement and remain as fresh as ever.

The projection itself was the first to use water as a canvas. As usual, Nike have raised the bar and moved away from the typical projections onto buildings such as AC/DC vs Iron Man on Rochester Castle or the 4D experience that Ralph Lauren produced in New York. The live stream and Nike’s always-clever use of social media harnessed the power of digital content to ensure that the campaign touched a global audience.

Anthony, Nike and New York are a brilliant combination. He represents the next generation for Basketball, with New York as his new playground.  You can bet that Nike will be right in the middle of it.

By Adam Shapland on December 6th, 2011

Tags: Advertising, Fashion, Synergy Loves, Synopsis, YouTube

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What happened:

English handmade tailors Lutwyche partnered with premium Scottish whisky brand, The Dalmore to launch their first tailor-made, luxury men’s shoe. Traditionally known for its tailoring, Lutwyche needed something special to mark the launch their first made-to-measure brogue.

Why we Love it:

As far as I know this is the first time an alcohol brand has partnered with a shoe brand, marrying together my two favorite things! In many ways, this is the perfect partnership, as both brands encapsulate the authenticity and craftsmanship of truly luxury brands, while complementing each other’s style and ethos.

Both brands extended their core audience while staying true to their brand values. By sharing their credibility in these complementary markets, both brands managed to define ‘luxury’ and ‘premium’ in a new sphere.

Lutwyche took its inspiration from the aesthetics of The Dalmore single malt and, in particular, the stag whose head appears on every bottle. This iconic image is built into the design of the shoe with the regal stag’s head crest stamped on the inside of each sole. Everyone who purchases a pair of Dalmore Brogues can  have them personalised with their name and, of course, receive a bottle of The Dalmore’s award-winning King Alexander III single malt whisky.

At Synergy, we love it when brands successfully manage to combine passion points, so when fashion and alcohol decide to come together, we always know we’re in for a treat and this is no exception. What is there not to love?

What the brand said:

The Dalmore Master Distiller, Richard Paterson commented:

“The Dalmore, like Lutwyche, prides itself on qualities of artisanship, exclusivity and excellence, so we’re delighted to be partnering with a like-minded brand on such a creative project. The skills that have been passed down through generations to create each drop of our whisky are matched by the craftmanship that goes into the creation of this shoe. Hopefully, this is the beginning of a long and fruitful relationship between the two brands.”

By Francesca Gamble on December 6th, 2011

Tags: Alcohol, Default, Fashion, Synergy Loves, Synopsis

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What happened?

Online fashion retailer ASOS has continued its pioneering digital approach by utilising urban culture to promote its new 2011 Autumn/Winter menswear collection.

Through a new online experience, the ASOS Urban Tour uses an interactive platform to showcase its latest range, by zooming in on a variety of street performers including skaters, dancers and musicians, in five of the most stylish cities across the globe: London, Paris, Berlin, Los Angeles and New York.

Through an interactive scrolling map, similar to Google Earth, the application starts with a bird’s eye view of the globe and then zooms into the streets within your chosen city. The real funs starts when you click on any of the dancers, skaters or musicians who then start to perform. The interactive videos offer links for each of the performers and enable the user to see what they are wearing and how to purchase it.

Why we love it

Marketing something as personal and tactile as clothes in a two-dimensional online environment will always be a challenge. But ASOS continue to develop and push the boundaries, using engaging and innovative methods to showcase its clothing ‘in action’. This cutting-edge campaign, which combines lifestyle aspirations and fashion, represents a natural progression from the successfully executed online catwalk concept.

Research undertaken indicates that male consumers being targeted by ASOS are influenced in their fashion choices by what they see being worn on the streets, and therefore partnering with inspirational urban talent offers a fresh and relevant approach for the online retailer.

Urban Tour has been supported with extensive social media presence via the official ASOS Facebook page which currently boasts over one million ‘likes’. Inter-city rivalry has been utilised to spark conversation via an online poll, simply asking fans which city is their favourite – London currently sits at the top with 1,381 of the 2,895 votes. Fashion bloggers globally have been going crazy for this ‘mind blowing’ digital offering, describing it as an “entirely fresh and truly incredible experience.” So for those of you fashion-conscious men not making it to any London Fashion Week shows, I suggest you get your fix of urban style here!

By Emily Waring on October 13th, 2011

Tags: Advertising, Branded content, community, Default, Facebook, Fashion, Social Media, Sponsorship, Sport, Synergy, Synergy Loves, Synopsis, Television, The Arts, Viral Marketing

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Wonderbra has, since the Nineties, been delivering us iconic marketing campaigns. When Eva Herzigova stopped traffic in 1994, the lingerie brand’s appeal to both guys and girls was obvious – the boys wanted Eva, the girls wanted underwear that made them look like Eva. Put simply, sex sells.

Well, fast-forward to Noughties and that much hasn’t changed. Wonderbra hasn’t developed any more subtlety in its appeal, but it has started creating more engaging campaigns that say something tangible about the product benefits (beyond the broad ‘wear this, look hot’).

First there was Sabraine Banando going 3D on a roadside billboard in 2008, cueing talk of more traffic accidents.

And then, this year, we were given the Wonderbra trampoline.

What happened:

Well, it’s pretty simple really. Wanting to extol the virtues of their brand new strapless bra, Wonderbra needed to put it to the test. And they started with an important insight: as the female readers amongst you will know, excessive movement in a strapless bra (gigs, festivals, dancefloors being prime locations) is largely inadvisable, unless you are very confident in the professed ability of your product.

So, to prove themselves to be the ultimate support, Wonderbra put trampolines in fitting rooms in Belgium – building on a PR stunt they had held in Spain the previous year. Customers could check out exactly how the bra fared under the most bouncy conditions. Then they filmed it, and made a cute viral to spread the word.

Why we like it:

Wonderbra looked at their product values, which to date had been largely focused on enhancing assets, and had conveyed little about support. So, having identified a gap in their product line, they took an important insight from their target audience to communicate brand and product value.

Sure it was a gimmick and comments on the video were not all complimentary of the methodology, but it was a fun one. And importantly (prior the video viral being removed from YouTube for “violation of YouTube’s policy on nudity or sexual content”), the product was shown to work, convincing a whole host of women that Wonderbra isn’t just a one-trick push-up pony.

They kept the provocative nature of the brand alive by creating a video they knew would go viral and would probably only survive a matter of weeks on YouTube – which it did. But losing the video didn’t matter. Word would still spread that Wonderbra creates such an effective strapless bra, that they’re willing to test it to the limit and put the evidence online. The fact that the screen below is all you can now see of the video only serves to bolster their cheeky, risqué position.

What the brand says:

Head of Marketing, Julia Nolan, has commented on the new range: “We conducted a comprehensive series of tests with real girls, which included dancing, bending, stretching and jumping, all designed to put the bra through its paces.

‘This unique technology lifts the weight of the bust, supports and gives a trusted Wonderbra cleavage. We have created a groundbreaking garment giving women the perfect solution to the age old strapless bra problem.”

By Lucie Bartlett on June 17th, 2011

Tags: Advertising, Experiential marketing, Fashion, Synergy Loves, Synopsis, YouTube

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What happened? On 21st February 2011, Glacéau vitaminwater‘s sponsorship of London Fashion Week reached new heights. The brand teamed up with fashion label Burberry and outdoor media owner CBS to treat thousands of Londoners to live streams of the Burberry catwalk show. The Burberry Prorsum autumn/winter catwalk show was screened exclusively live on Coca-Cola’s iconic 32 metre high Piccadilly Circus sign.

Why we like it: Innovation is the holy grail for many brands, not least a trendsetter like vitaminwater. The Burberry show was the first time the Piccadilly Sign had broadcast a live stream in its 57 year existence, made possible by a new “Code of Conduct” allowing advertisers wider scope to utilise their displays in more dynamic, interactive ways. But there is more to this idea than the pioneering approach, the integrated social media activity through Youtube, Twitter and Facebook, and the cute activation tactics, such as vitaminwater deck chairs and plentiful product to refresh the hoards crowded around Eros.

What a brilliant way to leverage an existing media asset – Coca-Cola’s iconic sign – taking the normally exclusive world of the catwalk to the high street. A great example of a brand appreciating the reciprocal value they can bring to the table in negotiation with rights holders and potential brand partners. With social media creating ever more valuable brand-owned channels – be that Facebook pages, Youtube channels, or Twitter followings – expect to see more examples of brands as proxy media partners. Although not many can boast a parent company with a 32 metre high digital billboard passed by 1.2 million people per week.

What the partner says: Caroline Rush, Chief Executive of the British Fashion Council, highlighted the consumer benefit of this ground-breaking initiative: “This is an amazing opportunity to get Londoners involved in London Fashion Week and give them a front row seat – a sneak preview of the key trends and insight into what they will be wearing come autumn.” And vitaminwater’s ever-so-hip target audience like nothing more than a finger on the pulse sneak preview.

By Tom Gladstone on March 17th, 2011

Tags: Advertising, Brand marketing, Branded content, Content, Default, Experiential marketing, Fashion, Social Media, Sponsorship, Synergy Loves, Twitter

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What happened? London’s iconic rock venue, the 100 Club, was all set to close earlier this year – until über trendy footwear brand Converse put their best foot forward and stepped up to the plate. Due to rent increases on Oxford Street, the club, which has hosted the likes of The Clash and The Sex Pistols was threatened with closure – despite holding the title of the oldest live music venue in London, hosting acts on the same premises since 1942.

In stepped the shoe manufacturer, whose urban credentials already make them suited to the partnership, with a relatively low-key sponsorship investment, that saved their bacon.

Why we love it: A subtle approach to sponsorship, without a branding board in sight. Converse have taken an investment stake in the club, which was set to close despite vociferous protest from fans via social media, such as the ‘Save the 100 Club’ Facebook page (19,000 fans) and Twitter stream (884 followers). Converse, always a brand looking to tap into the zeitgeist of youth and maintain its independent cool factor (despite its more corporate Nike ownership), have been smart in their sponsorship of the club.

No flashy branding, no title sponsorship, no name-changing – the club will remain independently owned and, at least according to the press release, brand-free. Converse followed traditional sponsorship methodology – pinpoint a passion point of your consumer and put your brand at the heart of it – but are activating it in a very modern way: with subtlety and genuine investment in their fans’ heartland. Social sponsorship at its best.

What the brand says: A statement released by the shoe manufacturer revealed its reasons behind the move: “Converse and the 100 Club both share a love for music and this partnership is a great opportunity to reunite the 100 Club with a generation who experienced history inside its walls, as well as introduce it to a new generation with a vow to bring the best in music to its legendary stage.”

By Lucie Bartlett on March 17th, 2011

Tags: Fashion, Music, Naming Rights, Sponsorship, Synergy Loves

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By Jessica Enoch on October 20th, 2010

Tags: Brand marketing, Default, Design, Fashion, Tennis

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For the past two years, my office pod wall has been adorned with a quotation from Ralph Lauren, torn from a magazine advertisement for fashion website Brand Alley:

“I don’t design clothes, I design dreams.”

Ever since I first came across it, this kernel of an idea has informed my interest and belief in the power of brand communications. Marketing that goes beyond the product, that can trigger and play on emotion and aspiration – now that is powerful.

So it was with interest that I came across the latest development in Ralph Lauren’s marketing of their children’s wear. ‘The RL Gang’ has been created as a group of fictional child ambassadors for the label’s kids range, living for the most part online, on a dedicated micro site. Visitors watch the video story unfold of Hudson, Willow and friends having fun and getting up to mischief in the schoolroom.

And all the while looking sensationally adorable, kitted out head-to-toe in the latest Ralph Lauren Kids back-to-school fall season range.

There’s no denying it, the film feature is beautifully produced. Traditional children’s book illustrations in fine-line ink and watercolour are interlaced with live action from the exceptionally cute child models as they run around their animated school yard. Added kudos is given by narration from Hollywood’s Harry Connick Jr.

The impression is a warm glow of childlike imagination and adventure, strongly conveying the sense (illusory or otherwise) that Ralph Lauren loves your kids as much as you do. The idea, of course, being that Mom logs on, watches how delightful Willow looks in her Cotton-Cashmere Sampler Jacket and thinks how cute her own offspring would look similarly attired.

Naturally, the route to purchase is instantaneous. Via links embedded throughout the film, Mom can hover over each of Willow’s garments and ‘shop W’s look’, taking her straight to the online store for purchase.

If a particular role model strikes a chord, Mom can even peek inside the little one’s ‘closet’ to skip through their personal style and view their particular collection – be it Oliver’s country-gentleman-in-the-making or Zoe’s more rock chick vibe. Mothers of wannabe Suri Cruises can shop the Mae look.

But that’s not all. As a nice addition, RL has produced a kids storybook (yes, a real old-fashioned traditional paper page-turner) to go alongside the digital campaign that captures the story in an offline platform. In ten different languages, no less. And a percentage of the proceeds from each $18.95 book sale go straight to charity. It’s a cute idea, and whilst the marketer in me thinks the book reads like a slightly more engaging version of the kidswear fall catalogue, essentially it’s a well-presented children’s story book that just so happens to dress all its characters in Ralph Lauren.

Because the production values are so strong, the video is highly watchable and I should imagine any Moms logging on do watch it in its entirety and that the click-through rate to the online store is high. It beautifully captures the brand values and presents them in a way that Moms can relate to – a visual representation of childlike imagination.

So to return to Ralph’s principle, The RL Gang sees the brand staying true to its guiding light. If it were just about the clothes, the brand could simply post a digital catalogue online. Ultimately, Moms hope for and dream of the very best for their kids, and The RL Gang has brought this to life perfectly.

By Lucie Bartlett on August 20th, 2010

Tags: Brand marketing, Communications, Digital marketing, Fashion

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Lingerie brand Victoria’s Secret yesterday launched their take on NFL merchandise with a brand new collection from their PINK range.

The partnership sees two very different brands come together to provide the NFL‘s female audience base with some cute apparel, bringing new customers to the VS PINK brand, and introducing NFL colours into the wardrobes of PINK customers all over the U.S. Everybody wins.

Forever a fan of the VS PINK range, and always on the look-out for cute girlified NFL wear, this was pretty exciting news for my Wednesday morning.

It turns out that two of the lovely VS Angels premiered a couple of pieces back in April, providing some welcome entertainment for the players and entourages in attendance at the NFL Draft at Radio City in New York. And yesterday, the full collection launched online and in store.

The VS deal covers 13 teams from the NFL: Denver Broncos, Chicago Bears, Dallas Cowboys, Minnesota Vikings, New England Patriots, New York Giants, New York Jets, Oakland Raiders, Philadelphia Eagles, Pittsburgh Steelers, San Diego Chargers, Washington Redskins and Carolina Panthers.

The PINK brand has always had a huge presence in the social media space, with very active Twitter and Facebook portals, and they maximised the use of this in building buzz for the collection’s launch. On Tuesday, the day before the big launch, in Draft-like fashion each team that had been chosen as part of the range was unveiled gradually over the course of the day between 9am and 9pm, and announced with an image on the Facebook page. Each of the 13 images generated thousands of ‘like’s and hundreds of comments in a matter of hours.

As always, the brand is pretty difficult to purchase in the U.K. and I should imagine it is unlikely that the NFL collection will reach the few concessions that do retail over here. A shame, given the hard work that the NFL is doing to develop and grow its international fan-base. In recent years,VS has been able to offer international shipping (starting at $30 for UK customers) but you’re better off hitting up your U.S. buddies to do a bit of personal shopping on your behalf.

Though sadly, not one of our adopted NFL ‘home’ teams over here have had their franchise picked up. For the past 3 years, the big NFL party has come to London town in October offering us a regular season game at Wembley; this year is no different with the San Francisco 49ers generously offering us one of their home fixtures as they take on the Denver Broncos on October 31st. While VS PINK has developed the Broncos’ colours into their range, the 49ers were not included. Neither were the Dolphins, the Saints or the Bucs.

That aside, I was still first in line for a browse. Game on.

Supermodels Behati Prinsloo and Candice Swanepoel stopped by the NFL Draft back in April to walk the red carpet and preview the new collection (thejetsetgirls.com)

By Lucie Bartlett on August 5th, 2010

Tags: American football, Brand marketing, Digital marketing, Fashion, NFL, Social Media, Sport

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Just yesterday at Synergy towers, there was some collective musing going on around how the face of sponsorship could change in the next few decades. And that got me thinking about that ever-elusive demographic – the 16-24 year olds – to see how they might be running businesses and consuming media in 25 years’ time.

One area of interest is how immune (or not) youth of today have become to brand presence in their everyday lives. Do they reject it (oft-quoted myth)? Do they embrace it (when it suits them)? Do they challenge it to give them added value before giving it their valuable attention (‘what’s in it for me’)? Or do they ignore it altogether?

Or, have they come to expect it as par for the course of being entertained? I wondered if the ‘such and such, brought to you by…’ had become such a ubiquitous tag to music concerts / sporting fixtures / televised events, that people in 10 or 20 years might actually notice an absence of brand more than its presence. After all, I was hearing this mandatory credit line before I could even read, from the loveable muppets of Sesame Street (‘Sesame Street was brought to you by the number 8 and letters D and M…’ etc.)

But one interesting application of the sponsorship concept was brought to me today by Britain’s favourite ‘University Outfitter’, Jack Wills.

Having just returned from a summer of fun in New England, the brand’s bright young marketing things are about to embark on another grand tour of the UK’s trendiest universities. JW will be partying at various Freshers’ Weeks in the next few weeks, combining their ‘fabulously British’ fashion with cutting edge, fresh new music – via the brand’s evolving unofficial music label, JWUnsigned.

But what caught my eye in the creative flyer for the Tour was the sponsorship line. Bearing in mind that this is a Jack-Wills event, delivered as a music tour produced by a Jack Wills sub-brand, it is ‘sponsored by’ – wait for it – a Jack Wills clothing line. This year’s JWUnsigned Freshers Tour is brought to you by No.350-4-842 – the brand’s denim range.

This I feel points to some interesting signs about the presence that sponsorship has in the lives of youth culture today. Sponsorship in its very basic sense (brand-pays-rights-holder) cannot apply here given that both the sponsor and property are from the same stable. So one assumes that JW is using the Tour platform to leverage awareness of its 350-4-842 denim as almost a stand-alone brand, instantly recognizable in and of itself but crucially as part of the Jack Wills family.

But I sense that there must be an implicit acceptance here by the Tour’s marketeers that their target consumers are so expectant of a live event being sponsored, it has become a necessary element of the Tour name. ‘Sponsored by…’ acts in this case as a ready-made stamp of officialdom: all big music events are sponsored so the JWUnsigned Tour needs to be too, in order to gain stature and acceptance within the youth marketplace.

St. Andrew’s, Leeds, Edinburgh, London, Bristol, Nottingham, Guildford and Brighton all appear to be on the list of host cities for the Tour events, and I’m intrigued to see what these will look like. How will JW use the opportunity to engage with their fans? Will they be actively spreading the word of their ‘Worn in but not Worn Out’ denim range to a captive audience of indie music fans? Will the bands be wearing the jeans during all their sets? Or is that ‘sponsored by…’ tag ultimately just that – a tagline?

And most interesting of all – will the legions of JW-loving Freshers either notice or, perhaps more importantly, care?

By Lucie Bartlett on September 9th, 2009

Tags: Brand marketing, Experiential marketing, Fashion, Music, Sponsorship, Synergy

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