Axe and Men's Fashion Week find balance on Snapchat Live Story
Unilever?s Axe?s Find Your Magic campaign is now airing on Snapchat through the Men?s Fashion Week Live Story, targeting younger consumers likely to be interested in celebrating individuality.
New York Fashion Week: Men?s is reaching a broader audience than just those in attendance by taking Snapchat users at home into the runway shows and behind the scenes through its comprehensive Live Story. Axe?s recent campaign is appearing as ad units within the story?s content, appealing to users who experiment with fashion and masculine archetypes.
"Style has always been important to our AXE guy, but increasingly, the fashion industry is shifting to become more relevant to a broader audience and not just to fashion industry insiders," said Matthew McCarthy, senior eirector at AXE and Men?s Grooming for Unilever. "This is being achieved by tapping into style and cultural influences such as sports, entertainment and music to make fashion more accessible and relevant for guys everywhere.
"We connect with guys wherever its relevant for the conversation," he said. "Snapchat is an important partner for us as we bring our point of view on masculinity to life."
Snapchat stories
This is the second year for Men?s Fashion Week, which is airing a collection of content from Snapchat users in attendance and working on the events through a Live Story on the picture-sharing application. Axe is sponsoring the story with advertisements interspersed throughout the story.
Neil Patrick Harris speaks to viewers on Men's Fashion Week Live Story on Snapchat
Neil Patrick Harris speaks to viewers on Men's Fashion Week Live Story on Snapchat
All users on Snapchat are able to scroll through video and images from the event by clicking on the Live Story at the top of their home screen within the app. Content featured is picked from a Snapchat team and is from various users located at the event ranging from models and event employees to attendees.
The ads come from the brand?s recent campaign Find Your Magic, which positioned itself as a fixture in men?s grooming habits with a series of 15-second videos offering quick styling tips, borrowing a page from the playbook for beauty brands targeting millennial women (see more).
Brand partnerships
With gender stereotypes slowly fading away, Axe is hoping to become a part of a new image of masculine and celebrate everyone?s individuality. The campaign coincides with the same idea behind Men?s Fashion Week, which makes the Snapchat Live Story a perfect fit for the two brands.
Last year, bloggers and fashion brands such as Perry Ellis and Nautica took to live-streaming apps such as Periscope to drive hype surrounding the premiere New York Fashion Week: Men?s, and increased promotion for their respective 2016 spring and summer lines (see more).
"As our guys evolve, grooming and personal style have become increasingly important," Mr. McCarthy said. "A guys? personal style is a statement of his individuality and the expression of his true personality.
"Guys are spending more time exploring how fashion can be part of how they curate their personal style," he said. "We are proud to be a founding sponsor of New York Fashion Week: Men?s.
"It is a natural touch point for AXE to connect with our guys in a way that?s authentic and relevant for them, and to inspire them to find their magic."