HUGO BOSS

The Objective

Opposites attract, irresistibly: an enigmatic truth that HUGO BOSS (@boss) showcased in magnificent style with its collection at the 2023 Miami Fashion Show. The German premium fashion house created a tailored ripple in time, presenting classic office wear draped in the silhouettes of the future. Aptly hashtagged #BeYourOwnBoss, the collection demonstrates what it means to embrace self-determined individuality in an ever-changing world.

More community engagement, more video views, more followers – the fashion scene’s annual lighthouse event in Florida provided the ideal opportunity to drive key results. And there was one perfect platform to go after these goals: TikTok.

The Solution

To achieve these objectives, HUGO BOSS developed a comprehensive campaign strategy consisting of three incredibly effective elements. At the top of the funnel, a teaser campaign launched in 28 countries created a crescendo of buzz and anticipation one week prior to the show, culminating in a BOSS livestream right from the Miami Fashion Show on 15 March.

Another campaign using focused views of 6 seconds as a goal complemented the strategy in the days leading up to the event and riding the waves of excitement after its conclusion.

Both the videos in the teaser campaign and the livestream from the catwalk starred A-listers such as Naomi Campbell, Pamela Anderson and DJ Khaled as well as TikTok icon Khaby Lame showing off the new collection in all its glory.

Smooth like water: the creatives were delivered as In-Feed Ads with Reach & Frequency flowing through a fascinating aquatic theme that transported the audience into another dimension. The In-Feed Ads appeared on the For You page together with community-generated content, giving them a native look & feel. By leveraging the TikTok Business Center, the HUGO BOSS creative team was able to manage campaign content centrally and flexibly.

From exclusive behind-the-scenes and pre-show moments through to exciting live footage from the catwalk – the water-inspired visuals weaved some of the hottest TikTok trends into the campaign, making excellent use of best practices. Targeted production for TikTok meant that all campaign content was native to the platform and optimally adapted to viewers’ preferences.

The Results

Fabulous fashion, ravishing results: the teaser campaign was a major success. It allowed community engagement to lead directly into the livestream and helped deliver a turnout of 225k viewers for the main event.

The HUGO BOSS team was able to triple the average watch time for 6-second focused views. Cost per mille (CPM) for video views was reduced by 25% compared to the company’s first paid livestream six months prior, while the cost for the total livestream was cut by an incredible 30%.

The campaign’s click-through rate exceeded the benchmark across segments by 35%, and the rate for view-throughs came in 200% above the category benchmark thanks to native content and trends. It also yielded 160k new followers – 90% of them through the video view campaigns.

Excellent results – and emphatic proof that a seamless combination of community engagement and livestream action, native ads, and awareness boosters has highly fashionable potential.