ABOUT

Zalando is Europe’s no.1 online fashion retailer. Yet, as a purely digital company, it rarely comes face-to-face with its customers. Recognising that this situation needed to change, they set out to create themselves a physical presence that would ignite a new wave of interest among fashion followers and trend-savvy twenty-somethings.

The answer was Bread & Butter: the world’s first Trend Show For Everyone. This weekend-long event combined fashion, music, food, celebrity and popular culture in ways Europe had never experienced before. As experts in fashion marketing, physical architecture and digital strategy, KEMMLER KEMMLER was commissioned to help realise that vision. 
 
Timed to coincide with the start of the new season in September, Bread & Butter by Zalando consisted of eight catwalk fashion shows, 25 interactive "brand labs", more than 30 live music acts and three awesome after-parties. Over three days, the event was attended by style-hungry guests from right across Europe, and was streamed live via Facebook to millions more who couldn't make it there in person.
 
As well as showcasing some of the most important fashion trends for the upcoming season, Bread & Butter also gave major brands like Nike, adidas, Converse, G-Star RAW, Tommy Hilfiger, TOPSHOP, HUGO and Marni a chance to connect with a socially significant crowd of millennial consumers. Meanwhile, these same individuals were given the chance to actively participate in the exclusive world of fashion – something that had remained off limits for so long.
 
Although only in its first year, Bread & Butter exceeded all expectations when it came to PR buzz and positive feedback. Having sold out all 20,000 tickets, it went on to generate some 800.9 million media impressions – of which 640 million came via the press, social media and recognised influencers. With 99% positive sentiment across all tracked mentions, the event created an impressive two euros' worth of positive media coverage for every euro it invested in production costs. 
 
Furthermore, when measured against the benchmark of a traditional Zalando Season Start campaign, Bread & Butter spent just 70% of the budget and achieved an incredible 840% more press buzz.
 
With such a remarkable return on investment, the inaugural edition of Bread & Butter by Zalando proved, without doubt, that creating an original, inventive and highly shareable experience is far more effective than purchasing traditional media when it comes to raising brand perception – especially among those elusive, yet vitally important, young tastemakers.