Bergdorf Goodman - Setting Trends in Visual Merchandising

Located on an Avenue aptly called a shopper's paradise in New York City, Bergdorf Goodman is a well known high-end retailer with a flair for visual merchandise. Each year, during the holidays, the legendary store windows attract many a fashionable eye and scores of photographers.

As my photos suggest, this was the year of the fox and a much-needed cross-promotion. The windows depicted sets from "Fantastic Mr. Fox", a movie based on the classic children's book by Roald Dahl. Each of the twelve windows of Bergdorf Goodman Men's Store located on Fifth Avenue and along 58th Street depicted scenes from the film few of which I have captured on a recent visit to the city. The attention to detail made the puppets look almost life-like. The clothes were tailored to perfection and co-branding was achieved seamlessly.

This collaboration is a first for Bergdorf Goodman’s, as never before has his holiday windows been partnered with a major film production house. With the demand for luxury brands hitting a low, this may be one of the smartest moves I have seen in recent times.

Holiday Season Window Display in New York - Cartier and Fendi

As you can see in my pictures, Cartier wraps it up much like last year and Fendi clinches it with a double round. Luxury brands in the accessory segment, each had an elegant touch despite the drop in sales. Hope next year is better for all of us!

Louis Vuitton - Destinations Galore!

As you can see from my pictures, Louis Vuitton hits the nail on the head with their "destinations" theme for this year's Christmas display. Tokyo, Mumbai, London screams the stamps from their Manhattan store on Fifth Avenue. They have successfully managed to promote their brand such that it stands out in the holiday clutter and they have done it without losing sight of the function of the actual product. Luggage = destinations = Louis Vuitton. For a luxury brand in this economy this is a bold step and if I may say so, a beautiful one.

Christmas Window Displays from the Streets of Manhattan

Macy's invented the concept of Christmas window displays in 1862. Even today, Manhattan's famous Fifth Avenue attracts thousands of people during the holiday season...they brave the cold and the crowds to soak in an art unlike any other.

Marketing students will be aware of POP or Point of Purchase advertising which of course are known to make quite an impact on sales if done right. After all, the whole idea of "impulse buying" stems from the perfect display.

Above is the window from Bloomingdale's Dynamic Duo theme from this year. Wrapping up a year of blogging, I will be posting a series of window displays from the streets of New York.

Happy 2010 everyone!

Vanity Flies Right Out of the Window

The above is one from a set of three of Jeep's latest campaign. Although hard-core Jeep enthusiasts may not like the new strategy with its lack of a dirt trail, I must say am liking it! I get that this is more of a lifestyle ad than a product communication but given the state of the automotive industry and GM in particular, this seems to be a pretty smart move! And what's more, the core brand value "life outdoors" remains untouched.

Addressable Advertising

TV ads have always lagged behind their technologically advanced cousins...interactive web ads. Not any more.

<- Pic via WSJ Online

According to WSJ Online, "As Comcast gets close to a deal for control of General Electric's NBC Universal, the big cable operator and Madison Avenue think the merger could lead to some major changes in the $65 billion U.S. television advertising market.

The potential new company could speed the development of interactive TV ads and "addressable advertising."

Interactive ads let viewers vote in a poll or use their remote controls to request more information about a product or apply for a coupon. Addressable, or targeted, advertising uses set-top boxes to route commercials to specific households or neighborhoods based on data about income, ethnicity, gender or other characteristics. It lets an advertiser send a sports-car commercial to a childless home and a minivan spot to a home with children."

This summer, Procter & Gamble Co. teamed up with TiVo for Charmin Toilet Paper. As shown in the pic above, the animated ad has an option in the top-right corner with which viewers can interact. If interested, one can apply for a Charmin coupon using their TiVo remote control. For this kind of one-on-one interaction, Madison Ave is ready to spend the big bucks. Of course, the program remains paused and no part of it is lost during the exchange. The coupon is sent by mail but according to WSJ Online, TiVo has declined to provide results for the ads since the campaign is still on.

While this degree of involvement is every advertiser's dream, the actual process behind interactive ads is far from easy. The ads have to be customized for different TV companies which almost always use different technologies. But what seems tough today can be made simple tomorrow. Soon interactive ads may become the norm rather than the aberration that they are today!