Versace's V-Signature watch
Italian fashion label Versace is introducing a new collection of women’s wrist watches through a dedicated Pinterest board to expand awareness for its entire range of timepieces.
Officially debuting at Baselworld in Basel, Switzerland, March 27 through April 3, Versace’s Pinterest board will allow consumers not attending the watch fair to explore the new collection before it hits retail locations. Touting a new watch will also drive traffic to the Pinterest board where consumers may repin other watches available from Versace.
“Pinterest is an excellent medium for introducing new products,” said Apu Gupta, CEO of Curalate, New York.
“Both J.Crew and Neiman Marcus have been recognized for introducing products on Pinterest in the past, and I believe you’ll see these types of launches increase and become more creative in the future,” he said. “Pinterest is a highly visual and viral platform that is centered around the discovery of products and content.
“Already, Versace’s collection of 37 watches has been repinned over 1,000 times, which means there are now at least 1,000 more opportunities to discover Versace watches on Pinterest.”
Mr. Gupta is not affiliated with Versace, but agreed to comment as an industry expert.
Versace was unable to comment directly.
Armed with time
To introduce the V-Signature watch to its followers, the brand used its social media accounts.
On Facebook and Twitter, Versace accompanied the watch series’ details with a large image of the V-Signature in black. The included link lands on Versace’s dedicated Pinterest board where the brand includes many of its watches.
Versace’s V-Signature in black, Tweet
As of press time, the board has 37 pins and 15,349 followers interested in Versace horology offerings. The two most current pins on the Versace Watches board are from the V-Signature series.
The V-Signature watches are available in a rose gold case with either a white or black patent leather strap with detachable wrist cuff. Both include Versace’s Greek key motif engraved on the bezel and the brand’s Medusa logo at 12 o’clock.
Versace’s white V-Signature features diamond indexes and central section of diamond pavé. Both watches have a Swiss-made quartz movement and measure 35mm.
Versace‘s V-Signature in white on Pinterest
On Pinterest, the watches include a brief paragraph citing the maison’s inspiration for creating the series. The V-Signature watch was inspired by the latest fashion accessories and is meant to reflect “the iconic style and glamorous aesthetics of the maison.”
At press time, the black V-Signature had been repinned 54 times, while the white version had been repinned 47 times. By tracking the number of repins, Versace can gain a better sense of which version will sell better.
All watches seen on Versace’s Pinterest board have been pinned by the brand, with no user-generated content available. Versace has included the hashtag #VersaceWatches and #Versace to each pinned watch to increase conversation among consumers.
Featured watches on Versace’s dedicated watch Pinterest board
Also, watches can be easily purchased via Versace’s Web site. The brand has included the direct link to its watch Web page for purchasing. Versace also included both men’s and women’s watches to the Pinterest board to appeal to both genders.
Reevaluating tradition
In many ways, Pinterest has changed how brands conceptualize the traditional catalog.
For instance, Italian linen brand Frette added an interactive browsing experience to its ecommerce site with a Pinterest contest.
Frette’s “What do you love @ Frette?” contest asked consumers to pin their favorite items from the brand’s ecommerce site and then submit the link to their board on Facebook. The brand’s contest reflected the marketing through the mail and online for its summer 2014 collection, allowing consumers who have not received a print catalog the opportunity to explore its latest offerings (see story).
Similarly, Pinterest has been used to create a product-driven narrative.
For example, French fashion house Lanvin posted a series of black-and-white photography on photo-sharing platform Pinterest to celebrate the little black dress, a staple design for the brand.
Lanvin enlisted photographer But Sou Lai to document the house, including both runway shots and behind-the-scenes images, and then incorporated the photos into the series titled “Shades of Black.” It made sense for the brand to post this kind of series on Pinterest rather than Instagram because of the social network’s board format (see story).
By tracking how well a new product does on Pinterest, brands like Versace can more accurately allocate marketing funds.
“Introducing products on Pinterest allows brands to get feedback that they simply cannot get from traditional catalogs,” Mr. Gupta said. “In many ways, a repin on Pinterest represents both inspiration and aspiration.
“These are the products that move people and by measuring engagement around their watches, Versace now knows which watches excite people,” he said. “This has broad ramifications.
“For instance, the green Vanity watch and the pink DV one cruise watch both are performing very well in terms of repins. These may be watches that become featured more prominently in paid media campaigns, email campaigns, or even highlighted more prominently on other social channels.”
Final Take
Jen King, editorial assistant on Luxury Daily, New York
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