The Campaign

With 9 in 10 of the most watched YouTube posts being music videos, we decided to create a music video like no other. Partnering with an emerging Australian songwriter, Sloan Peterson, we created an interactive fashion music video. The video featured her new single ‘105’ and anywhere the fashion appeared, you could click to view the designer, price and where to find it at the Strand. We allowed our audience to experience the new range, not just see it. Sloan embodied the Strand Arcade brand values in regards to craft, innovation and creativity. She had an active role in the partnership, working with the producer and dance troupe to create the video - which also then became the official music video for ‘105’.

Creative Execution

Staying true to our essence, this was a collaborative venture with Sloan. Over a number of weeks we worked with Sloan, director Pete Moore, a troupe of dancers and the retailers from the Strand Arcade. The dance troupe were alumni from Sydney Dance Company and the Australian Ballet School. They choreographed each of the sequences, bespoke to the song, and rehearsed together with Sloan. Sloan released her first single ‘105’ at the same time as our campaign launch and used the exact same cut of the film as her official music video. All outfits worn in the film were from retailers inside the Strand Arcade. We managed to cover and work with at least 10 different brands - which in itself was no mean feat.

One of the key benefits of the partnership was the permission each party gave to the other to reach more of their joint audience base and surprise them via a medium they weren’t expecting. Sloan gave the Strand permission to play in the music scene. The Strand Arcade gave Sloan permission to play in some of the more traditional fashion-advertising channels, as well as centre advertising and each of the fashion labels' own sites in order to reach more of her audience. The video was primarily distributed through Facebook and lived on the Strand Arcade homepage. Visits to the homepage went up 47.6% from the previous month. 41% of people actively hit play and watched the video, with 30% interacting with the outfits. Facebook engagement went up 57% compared to previous period and saw a 247% growth in new followers.

Strand Arcade is a retail centre for artisans and designers who launch new trends, not follow them. Instead of telling people about the new collection through the usual fashion channels, we partnered with emerging Australian songwriter, Sloan Peterson. The crossover of a young, fashion forward audience striving for the latest and greatest in everything they do, and an artist personifying the values of a brand, make it a match made in heaven. So, we made a music video but unlike the ones you usually see, this one allowed you to click and explore each of the outfits featured.

Our audience are young, fashion forward and worldly. These women are striving to be informed by the cutting edge of fashion, it’s more than an interest, it’s part of their everyday life. However, well aware of all the fashion blogs and glossy magazines, only something uniquely different was going to grab her attention. With bigger retail centres literally surrounding us and outspending us in media, we needed an idea that gave us permission to speak to an extended audience. Reaching the public via mass media was beyond our budget so we had to be smart about not showcasing the new season collections through the expected fashion avenues.