Fendi uses pop star to sell entry-level sunglass line

19/06/2014
Italian fashion label Fendi is appealing to younger consumers with a social video for its Color Block sunglasses line featuring singer Kiesza.
The one-minute video shows the singer in a music video format, lip-syncing and dancing to her own song in a variety of outfits and settings. Choosing to work with an up-and-coming artist was an appropriate way to reach consumers for an accessories line, which is more accessible to younger consumers.
“Kiesza is an up-and-coming artist with youth, energy and attitude – a smart special guest to debut Fendi’s new line of vibrant and colorful sunglasses,” said Kelly Cooper, senior marketing manager for ShopIgniter, Portland, OR.
“As an artist, she is quickly gaining momentum and popularity and Fendi was smart to quickly collaborate with the rising artist and feature her and her music in their Color Block campaign,” she said.
Ms. Cooper is not affiliated with Fendi but agreed to comment as an industry expert.
Fendi was unable to comment directly before press deadline.

Song and dance
Kiesza, full name Kiesa Rae Ellestad, is a Canadian pop star, best known for her debut song “Hideaway.” Fendi’s video uses this track as the underscore.
Fendi used social media to launch its video. In late May, the brand shared photos and a video from the launch event for its Color Block sunglasses that it hosted in Cannes, France.
In the photo set, the featured image was of Kiesza wearing the shades. The party video shows the singer multiple times, wearing multiple pairs stacked on her face as a joke or posing for a photo.
A couple days later, Fendi began teasing the video with a backstage photo of Kiesza standing in front of a camera surrounded by equipment. A link takes consumers to a video showing her walking on a treadmill for the walking shots and having her makeup touched up on set.
On June 11, Fendi gave consumers a link to a shorter version of the film, about a week before releasing the completed video.
When the full-length video was released, Fendi linked to its Web site rather than YouTube, choosing to take consumers to a separate space rather than embedding it in social media.
When the landing page loads, the video automatically plays.
At the beginning of the video, as the music comes up, Kiesza is seen walking composited onto a background of a city skyscape. As the singer walks, her faded image comes more into view, and then disappears completely.
The film then cuts to an image of the singer in profile wearing the sunglasses, cast against a brightly-colored background. As she turns, she takes her glasses off.
Next Kiesza walks away backlit by a neon glow, turning to put the shades back on.
Making the film more like a music video, Fendi then shows the pop artist singing, followed by shots of her posing in two different outfits and settings
The video ends by bouncing back and forth between clips of the singer making faces and her dancing silhouette.
After the video plays, it disappears to reveal the Color Block sunglass collection. Fendi does not have ecommerce option, but this page may inspire online browsing, leading to in-store sales.
Fendi’s video is also published on YouTube, including a link to the sunglass collection in the information below.
Pop culture
Fendi has previously used popular culture to reach younger consumers.
The Italian fashion brand introduced the lesser-known faces behind its runway show with a Twitter series featuring selfies of the crew.
Fendi’s #FendiCrew series began following the brand’s fall/winter 2014 runway show on Feb. 20, as part of the brand’s detailed backstage content. The way that these photographs were captured showed the subjects’ personalities without a filter, allowing the brand to connect with consumers on a personal level (see story).
Pop stars are becoming more prevalent in fashion advertising.
French fashion house Balmain released images of its spring 2014 print ad campaign featuring pop star Rihanna to generate buzz for the label among both brand enthusiasts and fans of the singer.
Balmain posted five campaign shots across its Facebook, Instagram and Twitter accounts, and Rihanna, full name Robyn Rihanna Fenty, did the same, leveraging her own network of 30 million followers. By teaming up with a celebrity who has a massive fan base, Balmain is able to introduce itself to new potential consumers (see story).
Like Rihanna, Kiesza has her own following on social media, which she told about her collaboration.
“The upbeat pop-music, colorful hues and strong presence of Kiesza owning the sophistication of Fendi fashion while at the same time maintaining individuality with her signature coif creates a sense that something artsy and fun can be juxtaposed with the luxurious to create a feeling – and product – that is unique and covetable,” Ms. Cooper said.
“A video like this is great for branding and engagement but it can also be used to drive tangible business outcomes,” she said. “For this, a video needs a distinct call to action such as a text link or button at its conclusion, urging viewers to find a retailer or shop the collection.”

By: luxurydaily.com

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