Periscope has been London Fashion Week’s BFF this year, but why is the most socially shy vertical already the platform’s biggest fan? And what can other brands learn from it?

The premium fashion industry has long toyed with social media like a bride with a plate of BBQ ribs – flawless, ravenous but wary of the mess. In order to play in social media, a brand must be willing to step closer to its fans, to be more real and accessible, all of which is entirely at odds with an industry built on aspiration, a sense of exclusivity and other-worldliness.

Bearing in mind fashion has been fairly late to the social media party, why is it that at least 11 designers adopted Periscope at London Fashion Week 2015?

To engage die-hard fashion fans

Most of the Periscope streams from LFW were viewed hundreds, not thousands, of times. However it’s not the reach that matters – these few hundred viewers represent the most dedicated, loyal, and most likely vocal fans. The un-edited aspect of the footage and the “VIP eye-view” access is as close as fans can get and will be coveted over polished and edited content available post event.

To give access to the brands’ biggest events

Whilst the quality and polish of the streams isn’t on a par with the brand’s normal productions, Periscope allows brands to extend the reach of their most expensive and impressive events for free. Periscope is designed to maximise viewers with reminders directly to your phone. As the platform and behaviour grows this should be a very effective way of extending the reach of events.

It’s “in the moment”

Periscope streaming offers fans un-edited access to the brand for a limited period. This has two key benefits for premium brands. Firstly, it gives the brand a big spike in buzz amongst all the LFW excitement – out of the top ten most talked about brands at LFW, eight streamed via the app. Secondly there is a lifespan for the content – after 24 hours it’s gone. So whilst it’s a rough and unedited glimpse behind the scenes, there is less risk of the content or the comments hanging around if things don’t go to plan.

There’s no expectation of interaction

By streaming via Periscope the brand is giving the user a ticket to the event. The expectation is to see what the brand is doing – nobody is going to get upset if the brand doesn’t speak to them but it’s a bonus if they do.

Most brands have access to something interesting, entertaining or useful that no-one else can offer. This should lead to some exciting streaming opportunities.

 

By Gabrielle Sillars, the7stars. 

PrivSec Conferences will bring together leading speakers and experts from privacy and security to deliver compelling content via solo presentations, panel discussions, debates, roundtables and workshops.
For more information on upcoming events, visit the website.

comments powered by Disqus