Marketing director, Laurens van den Berg and brand manager, Inez Valjee briefed Beiersdorf South Africa‘s marketing partner, Draftfcb, with developing an out-of-the-box concept to complement the brand’s existing communication utilising TV, print, in-store.

“We tasked the agency to get closer to the target market and connect with them in a meaningful and relevant way with a glamorous and memorable experience, while further entrenching the brand’s single-minded message: ‘Black stays black, white stays white for longer’,” said Van den Berg.

Interpreting this as ‘all about keeping your favourite fashion looking good for longer’, the Draftfcb team devised the Nivea Invisible Black & White Fashion Experience. Debuting at the Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Africa, this showcased two up-and-coming designers and their collections celebrating black and white. After the catwalk, fashionistas and VIP consumers who had won a Black & White competition lit up the night at an exclusive Black & White After Party.

According to account director, Delene Henrico, this foray into fashion was a local first for the Nivea brand. “The project was more than just a response to a brief, it was a revolution in collaboration between Draftfcb and Nivea in South Africa,” she said.

“Not only did Beiersdorf South Africa take a leap of faith into the unknown, the project came with its own challenges from selecting the right designers for the job to fine-tuning the logistics in terms of hosting the competition winners, creating a fabulous expo stand, devising and directing the fashion show and delivering a star-studded after party all in one go. It was exceedingly gratifying to see everything coming together perfectly – after months of hard work the expo stand, fashion show and after party were all a huge success. We’re very grateful for the support African Fashion International gave us, particularly when it came to selecting the designers, and ensuring they met the brief.”

In addition to the fashion show and after party, Draftfcb also delivered magazine ads in multiple formats, a 10 second tag to the existing 20 second spot, a magazine insert, media pack, online banner ads, the expo stand, after party branding and AV for the fashion show.

Concluded Van den Berg: “Beiersdorf South Africa’s criteria for success looked at three different measurements – sales, competition entries received and show attendance. The collaborative effort realised spiralling sales, record market shares, thousands of competition entries; and the first show at Fashion Week 2012 to sell out. Kudos all round.”