September 9, 2013
German label Hugo Boss is heralding the reopening of its BOSS flagship store in New York’s Shops of Columbus Circle with a public video installation exhibit and a branded hashtag.
The new store opens Sept. 24 and to kick off the opening, the brand is hosting viewings of the video exhibition Sept. 24-30. Hugo Boss is likely to generate exposure and possible store foot traffic by creating a public art exhibit in a crowded area.
"By merging both the store opening with the art exhibition, both concepts will be able to connect with various target markets that they might not have initially been able to reach, as well as their internal networks through the hashtag to further the conversation," said Dalia Strum, professor at the Fashion Institute of Technology and founder of Dalia Inc., New York.
Ms. Strum is not affiliated with Hugo Boss, but agreed to comment as an industry expert.
Hugo Boss was unable to comment before press deadline.
In the city
Video artist Marco Brambilla created the video exhibition, titled “Anthropocene.”
The video offers a visual presentation of New York’s geography around Central Park and Columbus Circle, while contrasting the urban setting with the nature nearby. It contains classical music by composer Camille Saint-Saens as well.
The video will be shown in high-definition to the public Sept. 24-30 from 7-10 p.m. EST through three suspended screens installed in the glass atrium of the Time Warner Cable Center at Columbus Circle.
Columbus Circle
On the opening night, an orchestra will perform the music live for the screening that will be introduced by the brand’s blogger and twitter personality Miss Hugo Boss and other selected bloggers.
In addition to the video component, Hugo Boss has created a branded hashtag and is encouraging consumers to share the images and videos through social media while using #HBNYC.
Miss Hugo Boss will be live tweeting the opening night to help generate exposure for the event and store.
Miss Hugo Boss Twitter account
Bringing in the masses
As a number of luxury brands are opening new stores or revamping old ones, brands are finding new ways to promote stores and generate foot traffic.
For instance, Italian fashion house Gucci is taking consumers inside its men’s flagship store in Milan through an interactive view on Google Maps.
Through Google Business Photos the label is able to give a 360-degree view of the inside of the store through the Google Maps feature. Since the store opened in June, Gucci is likely trying to increase awareness of the location and encourage consumers to stop in (see story).
Furthermore, British accessories brand Anya Hindmarch took fans behind the scenes of its recently opened New York boutique by posting images on Instagram that lead up to the grand opening Aug. 22.
The store is the brand’s first boutique to host its new global store design and is the first store to have both the bespoke and mainline collections. By offering behind-the-scenes images, brands can leave consumers wanting to see more and therefore driving them to the store (see story).
In addition, Italian label Bottega Veneta opened a new boutique in Los Angeles that highlights the brand’s evolution by shifting the focus to individual products in a simplified environment.
The new store puts more emphasis on product displays to help customers focus on the items (see story).
Through using a branded hashtag and an art exhibition, Hugo Boss is likely to draw attention to the new store.
"Hashtags provide a valuable contribution within real-time conversations to increase relevancy and provide an opportunity for people to connect over a synergistic topic," Ms. Strum said.
"It also provides Hugo Boss with an opportunity to connect with a market during its off-hours to optimize awareness," she said.
Final take
Erin Shea, editorial assistant on Luxury Daily, New York
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