Thursday October 25th at 10 o’clock on the dot, we were all but sneakers fans preparing our Halloween costume. And them? They were having their own event on Kenzo’s website for the release of the new Sonic Sneakers. A very exclusive limited series – what’s the point otherwise? To fully appreciate the event, the brand imagined a different but a bit odd e-shop they cleverly baptized Shopping League. This time it was not enough to be among the first ones to get access to the Holy Grail (anyway, e-bots arrive always before) or to be sorted out to get a winning number.
No. This time fans had to fight. Not like in an airport duty-free area, but with neurons and agility. Like in a real game. Enough to discourage many candidates. Albeit ephemeral, this web site inspired by gaming reinvents the e-commerce rules: a limited number of players, each of their action being visible in real time and “shopping gamers” clicking on a product at the same time and having to meet in a battle in order to determine who wins one of the hundred exclusive pairs. This unprecedented brand experience could inspire the business world, either real or virtual.
Because commerce is always looking for unprecedented experiences. Consumers sometimes maintain passionate relationships with brands they feel close to, isn’t it so? In a way, they’re similar to sports fans. And the youngest are used to battles and challenges of all kinds in the social networks. Finally, all brands dream to build enthusiast’s clubs they can engage with, through targeted events and messages.
Reality is often set against virtuality. But is playfulness also opposed to “normality”? Because it’s sometimes hard to sell and stir up desire, could playfulness become the new standard? After all, we accepted Michel and Augustin, Bagelstein and Monoprix’s funny little jokes. Why couldn’t we go a bit further?