Best Integrated Ad Campaign of 2012
The Web Marketing Association runs an annual Internet Advertising Competition and according to their judgement, "Wendy" was the winner. To sell their 2011 Fall fashions for, Macy’s hired Alloy Digital to develop an original online video drama series targeted at 18 - 34 year old females. (Although I’m pretty sure they want <18 year olds too.)
The original dramatic series is about, Wendy, a teenage girl who dreams about a hot mystery guy wearing Macy’s cloths that she then looks for in the real world and, luckily enough for all of us, she finds him. However, the real drama begins when she’s torn between her real boyfriend or the man of her dreams. (I hope Wendy chooses the dream guy because magic is cool and I’m pretty sure magic can defeat the life of cubicles that otherwise probably awaits Wendy.)
To bring viewers to its website, macys.com/mystylelab, Macy’s spent heavily on the campaign with ads: TV, web banners, online video, in-store events, online editorial placements, print ads in retail catalogs, and the Time Square Jumbo-tron. As a reward, fans get to watch the 6-part series (each about 6 minutes long), and download songs along with at least one music video. Furthermore, at the site, there are additional content of behind-the-scenes videos about how the characters’ wardrobes were designed and, interviews with the actors (hopefully talking about how great they feel wearing Macy’s cloths). Viewers will also get fashion recommendations based on the characters’ style. If people *Like* the series (expired last year) on their Facebook page they get entered into a contest to win $1000 shopping spree. Other social sites are used as well: Tumblr, Twitter, and YouTube.
In the works for this Fall’s back to school season are books and a possible big screen movie based on Wendy.
Macy’s has and is building mystylelab to have a lot of attractive content from concert series to game shows; plus a lot of information to inform their viewers about Macy’s fashion and their designers.
Discussion Questions:
1. Why “Wendy”? Isn’t the name most strongly associated with fast food?? A Google search on the word has this series appearing 8th on the first page of results. It seems unlikely to me that with the resources put in the SEO and the competing uses of the name Wendy (or Wendy’s), that this series could receive better placement.
