Mid September saw Canon Europe activate around its dual roles its dual roles as official Imaging partner of the British Fashion Council and official sponsor of London Fashion Week and Vodafone London Fashion with several initiatives aimed at both professional photographers and consumers – from influencer video dairies to immersive experiences.
The world leading imaging solutions brand aimed to offer photographers and trend followers a behind the scenes look into Fashion Week.
For those not able to attend themselves, Canon aimed to bring the experience directly to them by linking up with a key team of industry influencers – from professional photographers to fashion models – who documented their experience of the event online.
The 2014 influencer team – which included lifestyle photographer Catalin Opritescu, fashion blogger Andy Torres, the design team SIBLING and model Anushka – shared photos and film interviews across Canon’s social media channels using the hashtag #canonfashion (including its Facebook and Twitter pages).
Another strand of its campaign saw Canon invite spectators out of their seats in the audience and up onto the catwalk to experience life as a model with an immersive video experience through Oculus Rift headsets.
The British Fashion Council’s post Fashion Week ‘pop-up’ party included a Canon 360 Studio offering an experiential taste of the world of the superstar model,
This 3D digital simulation used footage shot on the Canon LEGRIA mini X and formed a 360 degree experience.
Some of the weekend’s super star models, designers and photographers were captured during fashion Weeks hectic whirl.
The sponsor also continued its ongoing ‘Shoot like a Pro’ initiative and students from the Canon Student Network programme were given the chance to shoot the catwalk at Vodafone London Fashion Weekend.
Another aspect of Canon’s fashion Week partnership was its service based offerings and product promotions.
Canon-branded buses will transport professional photographers to and from various locations around London for catwalk shows
The Canon Photographers Centre was set up to ensure accredited photographers have everything they need while working at London Fashion Week.
The brand also provided onsite Canon Professional Services (CPS) technicians at Somerset House to offer support to accredited professional photographers on issues such as repairs, maintenance services and loans.
Plus Canon’s own printing facilities, created in tandem with UK fashion brand SIBLING, offered snappers a chance to create a ‘look book’ focusing on the quirky designs displayed at the SS15 show.
The collection itself was photographed by star fashion photographer Rob Oades
A product-promotional strand saw the fashionable, limited edition Canon EOS 100D White on show for visitors to test out with friends and family through the week.
Comment
Canon is a long-time partner of British fashion and it certainly makes strategic sense to leverages the synergies between its own business and an industry for which the image is all powerful.
So partnering with the pinnacle property of the industry in the UK is London Fashion Week (12-16 September) – which attracts more than 5,000 visitors for each season’s event – obviously makes a great deal of sense.
This is followed by Vodafone London Fashion Weekend (18-21 September), London’s largest and most exclusive biannual designer shopping event that is open to the public.
‘We are proud to be working, once again, with such a wide variety of talented influencers from the fashion industry to support them in sharing the events and experiences of London Fashion Week with followers around the world via social media,’ said Cyprian da Costa, Brand Communications Director, Canon Europe, Middle East and Africa.
But did its impressive set of activations, experiences and services offer quite enough data-capture and share opportunities amongst consumers? And did it start an ongoing conversation with a defined long term dialogue path?
Links
Canon Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/CanonUKLtd
Canon Twitter
https://twitter.com/CanonUKandIE
Canon YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/user/CanonEurope
London fashion Week Website
http://www.londonfashionweek.co.uk/
