Connecting (to) People
We’ve taken the time to study sites like Buzzfeed and Upworthy, looking at what has been driving their growth in relation to content. People now use online content to connect to one another, for example, when work get boring; people send links to friends, etc. We’ve found that the major points over which people connect is either humor or emotions. Starting with that premise, we recruited friends of ours, whom we felt could tell our story, and put it all in an emotional context but in a fashion space. It’s phenomenal how this experiment really did work.
Now we’re continuing to grow the brand, and certainly the success of this video has brought us a lot of attention, whether through sales or growing brand awareness. I’m very interested in doing things in a creative way and to really connect with consumers. I think this experience shows that if you’re creative and committed to making authentic quality content, you don’t really need to have a huge marketing budget.
Make Them Cry
Before sharing it with the world, I noticed the select few who watched it were having very strong reactions to it. People were tearing up, getting goosebumps and smiling. That’s when I knew we’ve accomplished our intention, but I had no idea we were about to have the most viral video of all time. Essentially, the first day that it was posted on YouTube was Friday, March 10th, and by the time I woke up in the morning, on the 11th, there were 1.7 Million views, it was featured on the front page of YouTube, and by some ironic twist, on Buzzfeed.
This trend isn’t new. It wasn’t invented by us. That being said, in the past, fashion videos were always released in a specific style and fashion context, so the consumer was savvy towards that idea and concept and very well educated on what this was. What’s interesting is being taken out of that context and releasing the film into the world via YouTube, and a lot of people weren’t familiar with the context and didn’t know what the connection was. We were communicating with the more educated consumer, and the debate about whether this was art or marketing is interesting. One example that I’ve been giving was Ellen Degeneres’ Oscars selfie, which wasn’t just a fun moment out of the blue. It was orchestrated by Samsung, but it was done in a way that was fun and enjoyable. So I think this is all good news, that people are doing things in a more creative way, a way that generates interest, care and engagement.