Tresemmé entices Fashion Week attendees with augmented reality
Unilever?s Tresemmé, the official hair care sponsor of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in New York City, is providing an interactive billboard that transforms participants into the feature of the ad, momentarily placing them in the spotlight.
As glam and sparkle remain a center point of Fashion Week?s events, Tresemmé is attempting to make the average attendee feel special meanwhile boosting brand awareness. Serving as the 13th consecutive season of Tresemmé?s sponsorship of NYFW, the brand incorporates fun and promotes its overall goal of empowering women with modern, mobile components.
?The goal of this campaign is to bring the magic of New York Fashion Week to our consumers that can?t experience it firsthand,? said Jennifer Daly, senior brand manager at Tresemmé U.S., New York. ?One of the most exciting parts about being in New York City during Fashion Week is the high paced energy, and Tresemmé is getting in on the action with multiple digital billboards in Times Square.
?We are giving consumers an exclusive opportunity to create their own Times Square billboard and participate in Fashion Week. By doing this we hope to increase awareness of the fact that Tresemmé is the official hair care sponsor of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week.
?This activation helps strengthen the connection between Tresemmé and one of the biggest fashion and beauty events of the year, New York Fashion Week.?
In the spotlight
The interactive billboard can be found on the NASDAQ in Times Square in New York City, and Tresemmé is calling the initiative Catwalk to Crosswalk.
Consumers across the nation can also participate remotely.
Tresemmé marketers are encouraging fans to visit tresbillboard.com, which is mobile optimized and not viewable on desktop, where users can view other fans? interactions with the billboard and can create their own. The hair care brand is encouraging social shares and user submissions.
The platform converts user submissions into a video version with special effects, including a theatre backdrop, and can be watched by other users.
Beauty + augmented reality
Procter and Gamble's Covergirl and Tresemmé took advantage of the focus on glamour during MTV?s Video Music Awards by promoting tweets of celebrities? looks and use of the brands? products.
As viewers of the awards show are known to follow along in their Twitter feeds while watching and tend to admire the fashion and beauty aspects of the famous attendees, beauty brands put themselves in the center of the action to promote business and awareness. By using the edge of certain entertainers, images, embedded links and the hashtag #VMAs, beauty brands were able to stay present in the conversation and hopefully attract attention (see story).
In June, Sephora, a leading specialty retailer in beauty announced partnership in the Milan location launch of a 3D augmented reality mirror by ModiFace that simulates cosmetics on a user?s face photo-realistically in real-time, with expectations to transform how women shop for cosmetics.
The augmented reality technology, which was first debuted at the 2014 International CES in Las Vegas, expects to make color testing easier by simulating makeup products on a user?s face to show what they would look like in real-time and without having to upload a photo. Created by ModiFace, the technology is also being introduced to standalone retail kiosks equipped with a touchscreen monitor and camera, as well as a mobile application that can be used on tablets at beauty counters or on consumers? own handheld devices. While 2D try-on tech has been increasing in popularity among online and in-store merchants, ModiFace said 3D is naturally progressive step (see story).
Augmented reality has served as both useful and fun ways to modernizing the user experience.
?We know that Tresemmé consumers are constantly on their phones, so we wanted to increase our mobile presence during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week? Ms. Daly said. ?Connecting this augmented reality experience to our digital billboards in Times Square is a seamless way to engage both our consumers that are here in NYC for Fashion Week and also those across the country that can?t be here.?
Final Take
Caitlyn Bohannon is an editorial assistant on Mobile Marketer, New York