October 17, 2013
Italian footwear label Salvatore Ferragamo is enhancing its support of the Wallis Annenberg Center for Performing Arts inaugural gala Oct. 17 with an exclusive line of accessories to be unveiled at a pop-up shop in the Beverly Hills, CA-based center's Grand Hall.
The pop-up shop will be available both physically and digitally to the public Oct. 18 and includes Los Angeles-specific handbags, shoes, bijoux and fine jewelry designed by creative director Massimiliano Giornetti. Incorporating a new product line into the event will likely generate greater publicity for the performing arts center and punctuates the brand's commitment to the arts.
"The organizers of gala events are always trying to create something original that will help to promote the buzz of the activity," said Dave Rodgerson, a Toronto-based retail analyst and consultant.
"By associating with an elite brand like Ferragamo the event will certainly benefit from the prestige and cache of the brand," he said. "Ferragamo has been working on this collaboration since early May so a great deal of momentum has been created to support the gala.
"Brad Pitt and Robert Redford are co-chairs of the event, which will certainly carry some influence for the Los Angeles-based event."
Mr. Rodgerson is not affiliated with Ferragamo, but agreed to comment as an industry expert.
Ferragamo was unable to comment directly.
Start of tradition
The inaugural gala will celebrate the transformation of a Beverly Hills city block along with the revival of the Beverly Hills Post Office and the new 500-seat Goldsmith Theater.
Wallis Annenberg Center for Performing Arts
A performance created exclusively for the Goldsmith Theater will be the evening's main event. Additionally, a dedication ceremony, community open house event and exclusive showing of Salvatore Ferragamo's spring/summer 2014 collection will also take place.
The footwear label has been promoting the gala on its social media pages.
Ferragamo Twitter
A branded Instagram video features various external shots of the performance arts center.
Video still from Ferragamo's Instagram video
The pop-up shop will showcase products such as handbags, shoes, bijoux and fine jewelry and can be accessed digitally at http://hollywood.ferragamo.com. The Web site currently encourages fans to check back at 7 pacific standard time to experience the gala.
In addition to the pop-up shop, the specialized Web site will live-stream the gala.
Ferragamo began its history in Hollywood almost 100 years ago, when the founder opened his first shop.
"The presence of a pop-up store at an event like this is a wonderful example of a brand executing a multichannel strategy," Mr. Rodgerson said.
"When combined with the fact that the merchandise will include an exclusive accessory line designed by their creative director, they have developed a winning formula," he said.
A new light
Ferragamo has exhibited a knack for approaching traditional tactics from a fresh angle.
For instance, the brand is diverging from the commerce-laden norm of mobile advertisements by promoting its new social video series “Walking Stories” through a banner ad found on the New York Times’ mobile Web site.
The ad displays stills from the videos that are likely to attract the attention of readers as it will be among the first images seen when the New York Times Web site loads. Although ad placement is important, campaign aesthetics often play a greater role in piquing interest (see story).
The brand will likely leverage content from the gala on its social media pages to highlight its culturally vibrant identity.
"The follow-up will probably include images from the gala shared through the brand newsletter, Twitter feed and Pinterest page," Mr. Rodgerson said.
"In this way, Ferragamo not only executes the multichannel presence effectively, they will apply the same principle to their social media presence to continue the storyline," he said.
Final take
Joe McCarthy, editorial assistant on Luxury Daily, New York
Share your thoughts. Click here
