Roche Bobois taps power of cultural hubs

January 8, 2024

The Visite Privée campaign includes five videos, each showcasing different selections. Image credit: Roche Bobois Roche Bobois selections are staged at museums, music academies and other eye-catching venues as new digital content captures the process. Image credit: Roche Bobois

By Emily Iris Degn

French home furnishings brand Roche Bobois is allowing international cultural hubs to frame its contemporary designs.

The company is honing in on its fall/winter 2024 and Bombom collections in a series of new videos. Manufactured in Europe, the Roche Bobois selections are staged at museums, music academies and other eye-catching venues as digital content captures the process, subtly promoting the made-to-order collections by involving landmark design capitals from across the continent.

“2024 is the year of In-Real-Life,” said Vincent Krsulich, CEO of Martini Media, New York.

“People heading back to the movies, travel and in-store,” Mr. Krsulich said. “Experiencing Roche Bobois in real settings is key to consumer exploration and interest.

“Roche Bobois clearly knows this and wants to take advantage of this change in consumer behavior.”

Mr. Krsulich is not affiliated with Roche Bobois, but agreed to comment as an industry expert.

Museum worthy
Roche Bobois is bouncing between Denmark and Spain, inviting viewers on a "visite privée," or "private tour," of two main collections along the way.

Out now, the brand's fall/winter 2024 assortment is made up of biophilic shapes, minimalistic concepts and earth tones. All of which appropriately align well with Nordic culture, blending in with the Danish buildings that they are being spotlit in.

Specifically, Roche Bobois heads to historic sites such as the Ordrupgaard Museum to present its picks, using an extension designed by architect Zaha Hadid as a background for the Cigale table by Andrea Casati.

Roche Bobois lands in Denmark's Ordrup Museum

In a manner typical of its advertising style, Roche Bobois continues to contextualize its products within a larger culture (see story) and the art world (see story) for the Visite Privée effort, from the presentation of the Pulp Table at the FLUGT Refugee Museum of Denmark to showing off the Intervalle Sofa at the Royal Danish Academy of Music.

The Scandinavian country has garnered quite the reputation for its design chops, setting trends in interior decorating, architecture and fashion (see story), making the locale an arguably apt space to roll out a campaign such as this.

“Copenhagen was recently named the World Capital of Architecture,” Mr. Krsulich said.

“Denmark always has had a food and culture scene, but the celebration of design is really a core,” he said. “Roche Bobois is definitely celebrating this.”

Scandinavian design has been widely embraced by the public, and Roche Bobois has picked the home of the style as the setting for the campaign. Image credit: Roche Bobois Out now, the brand's fall/winter 2024 assortment embraces Scandinavian design, popular amongst the public. Image credit: Roche Bobois

Scandinavian design has been widely embraced by the public, making the home of the style a particularly ad-friendly setting for interior decorating.

Thanks to their respective settings, the contents of fall/winter 2024 are placed in dialogue with these centers of creativity. The strategy makes what would otherwise be a passive viewing moment into an engaging exhibition.

“Staging products and showcasing them has been a trend among many boutique hotels recently,” Mr. Krsulich said.

“Look at the Marram Hotel in Montauk, where all the decor presented can be purchased, even the fragrance,” he said. “Luxury is getting back to experience.”

Indoor, outdoor

The only video that is not set in Denmark celebrates Bombom, an indoor-outdoor drop designed by Portuguese visual artist Joana Vasconcelos.

Comprising decorative accessories and seating, the collection is distinctly modern, brought to life by bold color-blocked detailing, wavy lines and, as the name suggests, candy hues.

Roche Bobois stages Bombom at Casa Sardinera in Xàbia, Spain, the home built by Spanish architect Ramón Esteve. The award-winning residence is perched upon a coastal cliff overlooking the Mediterranean Sea.

Bombom is staged at Casa Sardinera in Xàbia, built by Spanish architect Ramón Esteve

During the 50-second-long clip, Ms. Vasconcelos’s arrangement is shown inside the spacious sitting area and outside under the sun, allowing visitors to visualize the line's versatility.

The Lisbon-based artist is best known for exploring topics such as women’s status, consumerism and collective identity, as well as incorporating Portuguese techniques and crafting traditions, into her work.

For this array, her source of inspiration happened to be her very own home.

With in-person opportunities to interact with the product, brands allow consumers to see the craftsmanship up-close, therefore revealing the value of their investment. Image credit: Roche Bobois The Roche Bobois Bombom collection is an indoor-outdoor drop designed by Portuguese visual artist Joana Vasconcelos. Image credit: Roche Bobois

“For the Bombom collection the main inspiration came from my wall ‘paintings,’ crochet creations that stand out from a frame, almost as a landscape that doesn’t belong in a wall and wants to interact with us, with lots of round and fluid shapes, colorful and appealing, with a sense of comfort,” said Ms. Vasconcelos, in a statement.

“Creating a bridge between the museum and gallery spaces and the home environments we live in.”

The series lands as the popularity of home design reaches new heights.

“The interest in interior design skyrocketed during COVID,” Martini Media's Mr. Krsulich said.

Interior decorating has hit new levels of relevancy in recent years. Image credit: Roche Bobois

“Wealthy consumers did not travel so they audited their homes, updating and revamping,” he said. “In-real-life is trending in luxury.”

“I think you will see more effort put toward in-person activities and brands will use digital and other marketing tactics to drive customers in-store.”

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