2020 Brand Experience & Activation

H&M WEARABLE LOVE

TitleH&M WEARABLE LOVE
BrandH&M
Product/ServiceWEARABLE LOVE JACKET
Category A03. Durable Consumer Goods including Automotive
Entrant WYNKEN BLYNKEN & NOD Hamburg, GERMANY
Idea Creation WYNKEN BLYNKEN & NOD Hamburg, GERMANY
Media Placement VIZEUM DEUTSCHLAND Hamburg, GERMANY
Production ELEMENT E FILMPRODUKTION Hamburg, GERMANY
Production 2 WEAR IT BERLIN GMBH Berlin, GERMANY
Additional Company H&M Hamburg, GERMANY
Credits
Name Company Position
Matthias Erb Wynken Blynken & Nod Chief Creative Lunatic
Jens Theil Wynken Blynken & Nod Chief Creative Lunatic
Larah Timm Wynken Blynken & Nod Group Head Account Management
Sebastian Weber Wynken Blynken & Nod Creative Director Copy
Christian Baur Wynken Blynken & Nod Creative Director Art
Muhamed Braimi Wynken Blynken & Nod Creative Lunatic/Art
Vanessa Fehst Wynken Blynken & Nod Junior Art Director

Why is this work relevant for Brand Experience & Activation?

H&M is a value-driven, customer-focused, creative and responsible fashion company. The brand wondered whether it could communicate all of these brand beliefs in one single brand experience. It came up with a new wearable technology that does just that and it built a campaign around the innovation that invited customers to take part in the development of the new product range. These efforts led to a groundbreaking fashion concept that sparked global interest and reached more than 300 million people all over the world.

Background

H&M wanted to launch a new fashion range that could overcome physical distance between people through the use of technology. The task was to give the concept a name, a visual identity and a creative way to activate customers to take part in the further development of the product.

Describe the creative idea (20% of vote)

What better way to show the determination of H&M to its brand values than using fashion to provide valuable support to its customers? So in times of social distancing, the brand launched “Wearable Love” – the first fashion item that’s not just an expression of style, but an expression of love. It’s a jacket equipped with technology that transmits a physical touch sent to you by your loved ones. Flexible sensors and tactile elements incorporated into the fabric evoke the sensation of a gentle hug. The Wearable Love app connects to the jacket and enables users to show affection from anywhere. To activate customers in a meaningful and engaging way, the launch campaign invited them to share their opinion on a special website and to become part of the further development of the product.

Describe the strategy (20% of vote)

Whether it’s a long-distance relationship or any other reason why you can’t be close to your loved ones: The concept of a jacket that lets you hug each other in spite of physical distance has many potential users. The intended target group was 18-49, tech-savy, digitally well-connected people who are interested in innovation and fashion. But in times when the whole world is experiencing first hand what it means to be forced to keep your distance, this concept was bound to make everyone else talk about it as well.

Describe the execution (30% of vote)

To kick off conversations, "Wearable Love" was introduced with an emotional online film on social media. A landingpage explained how the Wearable Love jacket works and asked if people would wear it. H&M also used the extensive reach of their loyalty program to help spread the word by reaching members through owned digital channels. At the same time, a press release was issued to national and international media in relevant markets across Europe, Asia, North and South America.

List the results (30% of vote)

The campaign created a positive response rate of 25.4% among H&M members. Hundreds of tech, fashion and news media around the world including opinion leaders such as Vogue, Huffington Post, RTL and HLN covered the innovation by H&M, creating more than 300 million impressions in earned media with a budget of less than 15.000 €. And the idea sent a message to the whole fashion world that the latest trend doesn’t just have to be clothes that people love, but ones that help people love each other.