Made to Measure’s logo
Consumer electronics maker Apple is furthering its high-fashion push through an exclusive content channel available only to Apple TV users.
Developed by entertainment conglomerate WME-IMG, the Made to Measure channel is the first fashion video network, and will cover the past, present and future of the fashion industry through multiple storytelling efforts. Given the importance storytelling has within the fashion industry, M2M, as the channel is referred to, will screen fresh and relevant narratives in multiple forms to keep consumers tuned in.
“Competition has shifted from breadth of coverage to depth of coverage and, in that sense, it is all about original content,” said Thomaï Serdari, Ph.D., founder of PIQLuxury and adjunct professor of luxury marketing at New York University, New York. “The exclusive contract between WME-IMG and Apple TV may very well result in an increase of Apple TV’s fan base.
“Considering that most fashion forward consumers are both fashion savvy and apple enthusiasts the agreement between the companies comes as no surprise even if M2M content is later distributed through other platforms as well,” she said. “Additionally, Apple is reinforcing its closeness with the creative world and optimizes on the opportunity to explore, first hand, innovation in fashion, including luxury and wearables.
“The collaboration between M2M and AppleTV is a testament to major structural shifts happening right now in advertising. First of all, the marketer’s point of view is not enough for the consumer who demands a more complete experience around the product.”
Ms. Serdari is not affiliated with Made to Measure, but agreed to comment as an industry expert.
Made to Measure did not respond by press deadline.
The fashion tube
Made to Measure will debut exclusively on Apple TV, but will be available on other yet-to-be announced platforms sometime in 2016. Content on the channel will vary from originals to fashion-related films and will include runway shows from the industry’s leading designers.
According to Business of Fashion, M2M’s original content will include “Tea at the Beatrice,” a talk show hosted by writer Glenn O’Brien, set in Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter’s New York restaurant, where Mr. O’Brien will interview the likes of model Gisele Bundchen and the designers behind Proenza Schouler.
Other originals will be titled “Iconic,” a profile series of notable individuals and brands in the fashion industry and “Visionaries,” a docu-series concentrating on technology and design, a rising interest in the sector. Programming will also include behind-the-scenes looks at runway shows of rising designers in New York.
M2M’s Web site
As its first long-form documentary, M2M has also produced a film titled “Battle of Versailles.” The documentary recounts the 1973 fashion showcase that “pitted” French designers from Yves Saint Laurent and Christian Dior against their American peers, including Oscar de la Renta and Halston.
In addition, M2M will screen feature-length films and documentaries such as “Valentino, The Last Emperor” and Tom Ford’s “A Single Man.” They will be available for viewing from December 2015.
Rounding out its content offerings for Apple TV users, M2M will also show runway presentation footage from luxury brands such as Givenchy, Alexander Wang, Tom Ford, Saint Laurent, Celine and Marc Jacobs.
To market M2M, WME-IMG worked with creative agency LLOYD&CO to conceptualize the look and feel of the newly formed network. Included is promotional content as well as brand identity via digital channels down to M2M’s logo.
This includes M2M’s first branded content, a video featuring fashion icon Kate Moss, among others, in a six degrees of separation-like film. The content works to capture M2M’s “aura” and how cultural icons and their interactions have affected the fashion industry.
6 Degrees of Kate MossAt the heart of the modern zeitgeist, Kate Moss proves that there are very few degrees of separation between her influence and pop culture. Mark Wahlberg Rihanna Ben Stiller Cara Delevingne #M2Mtv #AppleTV
Posted by M2M on Wednesday, October 21, 2015
Also, this was the consideration when visualizing the M2M logo, which features two “m’s” stacked between the number “2″ to speak to the “dynamic energy and timeless style of fashion.” To show this, the stems of the m’s extend beyond the box to show how the channel also goes beyond fashion and into other cultural sectors.
Watching your stories
M2M’s programming and the brand strategy implemented to promote the channel is supportive of luxury’s penchant for storytelling and visual interactions.
Consumers’ brains are programmed to connect more with stories and retain information more through narration. Feelings and ideas can be empathized through narration, which can be a significant tool for brands and marketers.
A brand that accesses human emotion through marketing will make a consumer more likely to be loyal, especially if the content incorporates her problems with a solution. The solution is the product, of course (see story).
French fashion house Dior is a prime example of a brand that has appropriated its storytelling into targeted digital marketing efforts, DiorMag and DiorTV, that are engaging and insightful.
Most recently, Dior let consumers experience its spring/summer 2016 runway show as if they were there through its new DiorTV mobile application.
By downloading the app, which launched in September, fans can move their device to get the same range of view they would have if they were sitting in the room during the show Oct. 2. Increasingly, fashion labels are toying with new ways to make their consumers feel a part of the action during runway shows, expanding the audience beyond the venue’s physical capacity (see story).
“Video is paramount in promoting brand stories as much as it is in showcasing product. M2M content, ‘the new face of fashion storytelling,’ is thoughtfully designed around the customer’s wish to learn more about favorite brands, designers and fashion icons as well as to be immersed in experiences,” Ms. Serdari said. “While we know that there has been substantial progress in technology that supports shoppable video, at the moment, M2M is more about contextualizing the work of designers as well as interpreting the identity of brands.
“Brands can build strong communities by giving the complete story to the interested customer and can leverage their presence on other social media as well (for example Instagram where storytelling has been particularly powerful because of its visual nature). Finally, brands gain an opportunity to prove their creative power beyond product design,” she said. “The M2M launch on Apple TV is another proof that entertainment is penetrating all creative media and fields of production. The consumer is as intrigued by the identity and personality of the fashion designer as by the garment.
“The same applies in all creative fields where the narratives between artist/art, brand/product, venue/experience have started to merge to such a degree that our lives are becoming more and more branded. Having said that, establishing a platform where the creator’s voice can be heard is a positive change in a world that has been primarily concerned with consumption of expendable items that are ‘in’ only for about three months at the most.”
Final Take
Jen King, lead reporter on Luxury Daily, New York