February has already been and gone – but in a month that brought us Valentine’s Day, Pancake Day and the Super Bowl, it should be no surprise there were some great moments for eCommerce. In this blog, we round up four of our all-time favourites.
1. Paris Hilton changes the long-form game
Forget the six second attention span of Gen Z: long form is officially back in, and it was proven in February by none other than Paris Hilton.
Harking back to her brand namesake, Paris Hilton worked with Hilton hotels (and a bunch of other famous creators including KelzWright and Chris Olson) for their #ForTheStay eCommerce campaign.
The advert incentivised users to watch all the way to the end of the video by offering them Hilton Honor Points. The content? Well, this video was a ten minute advert all about how much people hate adverts – which seems like a crazy marketing stunt, but it paid off. In fact, the video reached over four million views in just one day.
Missed it? You can check it out below:
2. IKEA launches an AR experience in Swedish stores
Blending eCommerce and augmented reality, Ikea partnered with Meta and Stockholm-based immersive tech company Warpin Reality for an interactive augmented reality experience.
Those visiting the stores in Sweden had the chance to play “The Little Adventure”, which is activated through an Instagram filter and allows users to (virtually) swim with various sea creatures and learn about them.
This game nods to Ikea’s sustainability initiative by encouraging its users to engage with themes like littering and pollution prevention. Ikea has already dabbled its toe into the power of augmented reality through its own AR ‘Kreativ’ platform. This feature allows users to visualise a furniture item in a real-life space before they purchase it. Furniture shopping never got so easy…
3. Tinder has a Gen Z Re-Brand
This campaign might have been unveiled right at the end of February, but save the best for last, we say…
Did you know it’s officially been ten years since Tinder’s inception? An app that changed the dating landscape irrevocably, Tinder’s effect has been astronomical. But with hook-up culture a dwindling sensation for Gen Z, the brand has looked to change its reputation and marketing in an appeal to fit the modern dating landscape.
Tinder recently unveiled its first ever global ad campaign: “It starts with a swipe”.
This campaign spotlights a spectrum of relationship milestones, from leaving a toothbrush at someone’s house, to embarking on the first ever furniture shopping trip.
This campaign was a smart move from Tinder in a bid to reach Gen Z. Last year, the Financial Times reported that Tinder’s downloads had dropped by 5% in comparison to its competitors. Through this campaign, Tinder emphasises the importance of diversity, with most of the cast non-white and almost half of it LGBTQ+. The campaign also cleverly calls on Gen Z passion points (such as climate change and astrology).
4. Instagram nods to BBM
Remember the days of BBM? Whilst Instagram hasn’t exactly given its users a pin to broadcast, it may well have done the next best thing, by introducing a ‘notes’ feature in February.
What is it, you ask? Well, notes essentially mimics the much-loved Instagram story, but in a text specific way. Think virtual post-it notes, to audiences that you get to pick. Users can choose to post these notes to followers that they follow back, or onto their ‘close friends’ lists. Beware, they’re only a maximum of 60 characters long, so there’s no space for long rants or diary-style writing.
Whilst this is still a very new feature, we’re excited to see how well it resonates with Gen Z users, who might’ve missed the days of MSN and BBM, but are certainly having their chance to emulate them through Notes!
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