After its tech-filled runway show dubbed “Techtopia” in September, Boss is bringing technology to its marketing once again.
“We’ve seen conversations based on our show,” said Nadia Kokni, svp of global marketing for Hugo Boss’s Hugo and Boss brands. “And it opened up a lot of discussion among our audience, fans and even associates about the [evolving] role of tech at large and how quickly everything is moving forward.”
Now, Boss is featuring model Gisele Bündchen and actor Lee Minho as 20-meter-high holograms projected in London’s Potters Fields Park, beside Tower Bridge. The activation, which is running from Wednesday evening until Thursday morning, is meant to promote the brand’s spring-summer 2024 collection and announce model Gisele Bündchen as a Boss brand ambassador.
According to Boss, the stunt will make it the first fashion brand to use large-scale holography in a major global campaign. “We’ve seen different iterations of hologram technology,” said Kokni. “And seeing what’s new and fresh, and working with the latest technology is something we’re keen to do.”
She added, “People will not yet have seen [Gisele] in our campaign, let alone meters-high in this kind of tech, so it’s going to be fun and quite disruptive.”
The brand chose to focus on London, as the U.K is one of its largest markets — it opened a local store on Oxford Street in June 2022. France and the U.S. are also top markets.
For another component of the campaign, Boss will post to its social channels computer-generated imagery featuring enlarged versions of its sunglasses, sneakers and “double B” motif situated in global locations. Brands including Jacquemus and Adidas have also used CGI imagery to engage consumers.
Both the holograms and the CGI displays are expected to generate UGC content for the brand’s social media channels, Kohni said.
“We’re always trying to maximize impact and try new things in our marketing, to disrupt the consumer’s journey in the most positive sense,” said Kokni. “If you’ve got a constant scroll, something that is on that edge of experiential is always interesting and makes you do a double-take.”
Boss’s spring campaign will also include partnerships with nearly 100 celebrities, athletes and influencers. They’ll wear styles from the collection in content posted to Instagram and TikTok. Videos will center on the concept of “Double B, Every Me,” referring to Boss’s new “B” monogram. In addition, the content will encourage consumers to engage by using a special Instagram filter, available in the app.
The hologram portion of the campaign is only running for one night. To pull off the activation, Boss is using two Disguise VX4+ media servers, which are the category-leading tech for displaying large-scale video content, according to the brand.
“We’ve always said, innovation is a key part of what we do,” said Kokni. “Of course, we want to make sure we’re balanced and have a good perspective, in terms of our investments.”
Hugo Boss, parent company of the Boss and Hugo brands, reported preliminary, unaudited sales figures for fiscal 2023 of €4.2 billion, or $4.6 billion, marking a 15% year-over-year increase.
Boss has increasingly incorporated tech into its products, too. At the Hahnenkamm Races in Austria on January 15, it launched a prototype of a “Magic Moment” wearable technology jacket, allowing wearers to access events and make contactless payments, for example.
“When you’re skiing and you’re not having to fumble around and worry where your money is, it’s brilliant,” said Kokni. “We’re using innovation and technology to enhance the consumer experience and add value.”
