Alexander Wang’s latest collection is only available through texting

July 26, 2017

Alexander Wang partners with adidas for Season 2

U.S. fashion label Alexander Wang is looking to two contrasting New York subcultures with its new interactive avant-garde campaign.

Rave culture and cycling are the subjects that make up Alexander Wang’s latest video, promoting the return of its partnership with athletic brand adidas. Alexander Wang's adidas campaign offers an interesting twist with an on-the-street retail element, which only takes place in New York and introduces a two-way texting element.

“It's unique for a brand to take such a visible partnership and limit its release to a single market,” said Taylor Rains, managing partner at Flugel Consulting, Charleston, SC. “The unique, one-the-street promotional strategy in New York is brilliantly nontraditional and in keeping with the creative inspiration behind the Alexander Wang adidas collection.

“The campaign itself is born from two elements indelibly associated with the history of the city: cycling and rave culture,” he said. “Merging these two elements, not only in the design creative, but in the actual roll out and promotion of the product, is extremely unique but very much on brand.”

Mr. Rains is not affiliated with Alexander Wang, but agreed to comment as an industry expert. Alexander Wang was reached for comment.

Street and digital
In a scavenger hunt-like fashion, Alexander Wang is sending interested customers to certain New York locations to purchase its new collaboration with adidas.

The second partnership between Alexander Wang and adidas, named "Season 2," will be available for purchase on July 29 only in New York prior to its worldwide release on Aug. 5.

To start off the campaign, Alexander Wang is sharing a video that looks to stealthy bike messengers to spread the word of the campaign, guerilla-style. The bikers are shown riding around at night while wearing face masks, hanging posters and delivering mysterious packages at various addresses.

The bikers are then shown taking a break, repairing their bikes and changing, but keeping their faces covered. Next, one biker arrives at a rave, face mask still on.

After she enters the dance floor, viewers can see her remove her mask but still never see her face.

Right before she rides home from the rave, the words “Alexander Wang” appear above the adidas logo. The label then informs interested viewers of the collaboration with more text saying, “Season 2, NYC July 29, Worldwide August 5.”

The biker is then shown falling asleep in her bed under the covers, but without clothes. The footage pans down the bed, until the viewer sees her feet, wearing shoes from the new collaborative collection.

Alexander Wang’s vague video is a tease for unique retail launch. When showing the bikers putting up posters, the posters themselves could be seen in short bursts.

Careful viewers are able to see a number on the poster. This signifies the retail initiative happening in New York in which users can text the number they see on the posters around the city to learn more information about the line.

Alexander Wang's SMS campaign

Straying away from the traditional standard language used in an SMS campaign, Alexander Wang uses slang and street, meant to feel as if it were a conversation with a friend.

The chatbot informs users where to meet to be able to purchase the new products and informing them to bring their phone and credit card.

Real world and digital
Interactive campaigns that bridge the gap between digital and real world.

For instance, Swiss watchmaker Breitling touched down at Galeries Lafayette’s Parisian flagship to launch a timepiece designed for daring individuals in a similar campaign.

A Breitling pop-up at the department store hosted the exclusive pre-release of the brand’s Colt Skyracer timepiece, giving shoppers the opportunity to get their hands on the watch before its official retail debut. Along with the product launch, the temporary boutique offered visitors the chance to immerse themselves in Breitling’s aviation heritage (see more).

French jeweler Chaumet opened up its ephemeral museum to a larger audience with the introduction of a virtual gallery space.

Chaumet’s 12 Bis microsite launched with a digital recreation of the house’s recent “Une Éducation Sentimentale” exhibit that ran from February to September last year, allowing visitors to step inside the gallery of artifacts and art regardless of their location. Museum exhibits afford brands an opportunity to educate attendees on their history, but the reach of these displays is often limited, making digital extensions such as Chaumet’s a means to increase the impact of this effort (see more).

“It may seem counterintuitive for a global brand to limit promotion and release of a product to a single market, but, in this case, doing so is in service of the brand identity as a whole,” Flugel Consulting's Mr. Rains said. “The Alexander Wang brand is, in part, defined by urban style and the city of New York.

“The launch of a localized campaign within the city for its adidas partnership is a fantastic way to strengthen those core brand attributes," he said. "Leveraging the localness of the brand strengthen its authenticity globally."

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