While planners at ZenithOptimedia said the objective was to announce H&M’s summer collection, the use of giant outdoor billboards suggests a wider branding campaign is underway.
Using the creative work developed by H&M headquarters’ in-house team in Sweden, the campaign is more overtly sensual than most Hong Kong advertising, featuring full-colour shots of a blond, bikini-clad model in exotic locations.
“We’re using impactful and dominant deployment of media to reinforce brand awareness and overwhelm the competition,” said Natalie Lui, media planner at ZenithOptimedia in Hong Kong.
The swimwear space is highly competitive, as H&M faces pressure from specialised brands, such as Arena and Speedo and beach lifestyle brands like Quiksilver and Billabong, all of which are launching similar products.
H&M’s summer collection is also up against fast-fashion rivals Mango, Zara and Club Monaco.
The campaign, which will run this month, focuses heavily on out of home. The OOH is backed up by a print campaign in Elle, Cosmopolitan, City Magazine and Milk.
“We are targeting women between 21 and 45 who are fashionistas,” said Lui. The campaign includes the prices of the shown items.
Last year’s opening campaign relied heavily on superstar Madonna, who not only designed a special line for the company, but also adorned billboards dressed in her creations. For the 2008 summer collection, however, H&M has moved away from obvious celebrity endorsement.
Instead, the team behind the campaign has chosen to emphasise exotic holidays as the inspiration for the collection.
