Campaign Summary

Louis Vuitton staged an immersive fashion show in the Chinese town of Aranya.

Strategy

Objective

Louis Vuitton has had a longstanding commitment to positively transforming travel, from creating innovative closing systems for luggage in the 1800s to turning travel trunks into treasure chests.

With China's borders closed in 2022, Louis Vuitton took its historical connection to travel to the next level, riding on Chinese travelers' newfound love for domestic destinations like the seaside town of Aranya and making their on-ground experiences even more memorable for its spring/summer 2023 show.

As one of the few brands daring enough to hold a live show within the uncertainty and instability of China in 2022, Louis Vuitton wanted to not only make the show happen with physical guests, but also go bigger than ever by creating more attention and buzz than ever before for its show.

Ultimately, Louis Vuitton's objectives were to build up mass awareness and buzz for Aranya's spring/summer 2023 men's fashion show ahead of the day and on the day.

Context

In 2022, China was closed off from other countries, burdened by the world's strictest quarantine and COVID-19 regulations, with city-wide lockdowns an imminent threat. In this context, major luxury brands cut their investment and shied away from outdoor activations.

Going against the grain, Louis Vuitton remained committed to China, not only by boldly planning one of the country's only live shows with physical attendees in 2022, but by going even further to immerse the entire town of Aranya in its own brand experience.

Target Audience

The activation was focused around three audiences:

• VIP show attendees who were critical business drivers for the brand, attending the runway show to identify, reserve, and purchase items on display
• Affluent tourists in Aranya
• Viewers nationwide

Creative and Media Strategy

Combining both offline and online activations ensured that Louis Vuitton dominated the conversation in Aranya and in online fashion communities leading up to and during the show.

Execution/Use of Media

Louis Vuitton's dynamic brand experiences immersed Aranya. The brand:

• Created installations and a runway show on the beach-sand
• Enhanced the transportation experience with creative out-of-home media on cross-roads, buses, and even golf-carts
• Elevated exploration of the city through activations in the town's cultural hotspots and communities

The activations didn't stop on the outside, with the brand hosting:

• 24-hour screenings of Chinese independent artists inside Aranya's cinema
• Contemporary dance shows
• Guided art tours in other major cultural locations

Every activation was designed to create lasting memories of Louis Vuitton in Aranya, memorializing late creative director Virgil Abloh's imagination and legacy. Through a live-stream broadcast partnership with the leading street culture community platform, Poizon, Louis Vuitton extended the entire experience to young fashion forward audiences across China and scaled its activations and show across eight major social channels to maximize social buzz and awareness.

Business Impact

This complete omnichannel brand experience made Louis Vuitton the topic in Aranya that mattered to VIP attendees and affluent tourists, as well as the center of attention in China's digital fashion communities.

The Aranya show drove a 77 percent conversion from show attendees within 24 hours, with total sales up 65 percent and total orders up 129 percent compared to the previous show.

With more than 290 million views, the show's live stream dominated the attention of China's affluent, driving a 34 percent increase in viewership compared to previous shows.

The experience led to a strong impact on business, with search spiking 900 percent across top digital channels.

This campaign was a perfect demonstration of the impact a powerful brand experience has across the engagement funnel, with powerful buzz, interest, and conversions coming from this unique campaign.