Asos: URBAN TOUR

Credits & Description:

Category: Best Use of Digital Media

Advertiser: ASOS

Product/Service: ASOS.COM

Agency: BBH LONDON

Creative Director: Dominic Goldman (BBH London)

Head Of Strategy: Jason Gonsalves (BBH London)

Head Of Integrated Production: Olivia Chalk (BBH London)

Copywriter: David Kolbusz (BBH London)

Art Director: Dominic Goldman (BBH London)

Team Director: Ngaio Pardon (BBH London)

Team Director: Liz Harper (BBH London)

Agency Producer: Susan Liu (BBH London)

Technical Director: Jim Hunt (BBH London)

Head Of Digital Design: Eric Chia (Addictive Pixel)

Head Of Production: Josh Tenser (Stink Digital)

Creative Technologist: Marcel Kornblum (Stink Digital)

Director: Sebastian Strasser (Stink.tv)

Producer: Richard Fenton (Stink.tv)

Director: Ben Newman (Pulse Films)

Agency Producer: Charlie Dodd (BBH London)

Producer: Neil Andrews (Pulse Films)

Editor: Tony Kearns (Peep Show Post)

Post Production Company: (MPC)

Sound Design: (Hear No Evil)

Head of Integrated Communications Planning: Michael Iskas (Carat)

Director of Media Partnerships: Jennifer Hills (Carat)

Account Director: Victoria Gregory (Carat)

Integrated Planning Director: Nick Adams (Carat)

Media placement: Website - Asos.Com/UrbanTour - 13.09.2011

Media placement: Online - You Tube Pre Roll - 13.09.2011

Media placement: Online - Online Display Advertising - 13.09.2011

Media placement: Online - Promotion Films - 13.09.2011



Insights, Strategy & the Idea

ASOS is a global online brand that designs and sells on-trend fashion. Over the last decade it has become the UK’s leading online fashion retailer for young women, but amongst men, the brand remained largely unknown.



There was an opportunity to grow menswear sales, with particular focus on increasing the proportion of sales delivered by ASOS Own Label, which delivers the highest margins.



The key challenge was therefore to drive awareness of ASOS brand with men 18-25yrs, despite being massively outspent by competitors H&M and Uniqlo.



However, research confirmed that young men are less actively interested and engaged with fashion than young women. Influenced by their peers, they seek inspiration from people they admire, not from traditional fashion sources. Men look to culture, not the catwalk.



Creative Execution

The Urban Tour was born – a culturally relevant entertainment property bringing 18-25 year-old guys the very best of underground sub-culture from around the world. Taking our Autumn / Winter 2011 menswear collection across the globe, we created videos in various cities. With the products at their heart, the dancers, skaters, musicians and artists featured in the films became our ‘models’, the street their ‘catwalk’.



To ensure maximum reach we combined broadcast scale – achieved through paid placement on YouTube and media/content partnerships with Vice Media and Universal Music – with social propagation.



All films drove men to our online hub, an original, culturally relevant destination, where they could discover music and art – which seamlessly placed ASOS menswear in cultural context. Social by design, all content was instantly shareable. An in-depth experience, products could even be purchased directly out of our hero London film – a technological first.



Results and Effectiveness

7.36 million global views in just 11 weeks - 3rd most popular campaign on YouTube 2011 (UK)



32% of Men16-34 in the UK saw at least one element of Urban Tour resulting in nearly 500,000 additional men visiting ASOS.com within 3 months.



On a media budget of £500,000 (the cost of a dozen fashion spreads), Urban Tour delivered:

- Incremental revenue: £2,000,000

- Sales: 40,000 new male shoppers

- Awareness: Doubled from 13%-24%, overtaking Topman

- Acquisition: 24% of visitors were new to ASOS

- Conversion: 14% of visitors purchased - within 7mins of watching the content! (vs target 5%)