Month: November 2010

I came across this really cool business, that drew my attention immediately. Fabricly, is one of the latest fashion start-ups and has lofty goals; Fabricly wants to reverse and improve the current model of manufacturing and product production that is present in the fashion industry.

Fabricly  uses crowdsourcing-  a voting process to determine what apparel it will manufacture. What makes Fabricly different from the many other sites that are currently using the crowdsourcing model? It focuses on high end apparel production.

How does Fabricly work?

1) Designers submit product ideas to the website

2) The designs will either become a part of a competition in which website visitors can vote on the item they

like best, or it will directly go into the pre-order stage.

3) When shoppers place a pre-orders, the site will store their credit card information and see if the  pre-0rder production number is met. If the product requirement is met, Fabricly will have the product manufactured. If this threshold is not met, then the order will be canceled, no charges to the shopper’s credit card.

How does Fabricly earn their revenue?

Fabricly uses a commission-based fee structure.  Each time a designer’s item is purchased, the sites receives a 5-15% commission.

Take a look at their website: http://www.fabricly.com/shop

After seeing Tommy’s blog in class, I decided to take a look at it myself and came across this amazing post about music.

I think the use of music in marketing, especially advertising has been talked about a lot, so I am going to look at the use of music in the shopping experience. Most products and services are consumed and easily forgotten. However, experiences are not. Retailers understand this concept and do everything they can to turn otherwise ordinary purchases into memorable shopping experiences that connect customers with the store’s brand and keep them coming back for more.

How are retailers accomplishing this? They are using music, an invisible yet powerful tool, in their overall branding and marketing strategy.

Music can create an environment to which customers feel physiologically, psychologically and emotionally connected. We all have songs that create an emotional response, reminding us of a loved one, a first date, fun times with old friends. By tapping into the emotions evoked by music, retailers can differentiate their brand and distinguish themselves from competitors.

Businesses must understand the personality of their business, what lifestyle characteristics their customers have and how much music will be a part of the shopping experience. Looking as these aspects, businesses can come up with a sensory experience that intrigues customers.

I decided to just switch it up a little bit today and blog about music instead of fashion! This campaign really caught my eye and I haven’t seen anything like it been done before.

Bing and Jay-Z have launched a creative marketing campaign that spans internationally to promote Jay-Z’s new book “Decoded”, which is is an exploration into his life and lyrics. The game is complex and involves 300 pages of the book being physically hid all over the world, for fans to find.

His book launched today and the campaign began last month, giving fans private access to the book and building hype before the book hits shelves.

Here’s how it works: Pages from the book will be physically placed around the world with a majority in the New York area, in locations related to specific content featured on Bing— specifically Bing Maps and Bing Entertainment. Five to 10 new pages from the book will be revealed each day. Locations vary from large public areas, like billboards to specific swimming pools and pool tables!

Once players locate a page, they will get credit for it online. If they find it in a physical location, they will be able to text a unique game code from the page. Players can win signed copies of the book and are eligible to enter the competition for the grand prize- two tickets to see Jay-Z and Coldplay in concert at Las Vegas on New Year’s Eve.

I think that this idea was a great way to way to raise buzz about Jay-Z’s book, while also potentially introducing Bing to a new audience.

Bulgari’s launch of their latest collection, B.zero1 jewels, was debuted with an interactive web campaign.

This campaign revolved around a 3d video that lets users travel through the B.zero1 world, while at the same time viewing artist, Anish Kapoor’s latest collection. While on the website users can also download the iPhone app and other features like screensavers and wallpapers.

In an area called “The Experience”, Bulgari fans are able to leave messages for the future which can be shares with friends using facebook and other social media websites. With each new message, a point of light is added to a digital sculpture. The evolution of this collaborative sculpture, along with all wishes, may be seen on the website.

Initially I thought that by falling on the social media train, as we’ve seen many other brands do, might reduce their “high quality” status in the eyes of their consumers, however I think that this campaign allows the company to expand their client base. Brand ambassadors and existing customers would also use the website, due to the increasing time that is being spent on mobile phones.

The company wanted to create a greater level of brand engagement and interaction with people using all their available communication channels, including facebook, youtube and twitter.

Personally, I love the entire “experience” of the Bulgari campaign, especially their iPhone app. It is much more engaging and “social” when compared to other luxury brands’ attempts. It shows the brand to be approachable and yet aspirational without dropping everything else that comes with being a luxury brand.