Best&Less launches ‘The L&B Experiment’ pop-up store at Westfield in Sydney via Banjo

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image001.jpgTo prove Aussies shouldn’t have to pay a fortune for great fashion, Best&Less has launched ‘The L&B Experiment’, a pop-up store with a difference in Westfield Pitt Street this week via Banjo.

The idea used a pop-up store branded L&B (B&L backwards). The shop was designed to look like a boutique fashion store with high end fashion prices; however the garments were all current Best&Less products. Store customers were happy to pay the inflated prices only to receive a very pleasant surprise at the counter. Being told their dress wasn’t $140, but actually only $40. Customer reactions were caught on hidden cameras.

Since winning the account in June 2013 Banjo has been working with Best&Less to bring their brand purpose to life. To prove to Australian women that fashion and affordability doesn’t need to be mutually exclusive.

Whilst improvements have been made through merchandise, store design and the one size fits all pricing; the changes were being noticed by current customers only, not by the majority of Aussies who had rejected the brand.

In order to truly deliver affordable fashion to the masses we needed to engage our harshest critics.

Says Peta Morton, senior planner, Banjo: “We needed to remove the stigma attached with the brand name so that those who had previously dismissed us would have the opportunity to experience great affordable fashion for themselves.”

It was a risky strategy requiring a bold creative idea and a very brave client.

Says Jee Moon, head of brand and marketing, Best&Less: “I knew we needed to do something really different to the category in order to change customer perceptions. We’re not in a position to out-spend, so we need to out-smart. We’re passionate about making fashion accessible to all, and we’re taking a stand to prove that customers can have low price AND high fashion, without compromise.”

The pop up store marks the beginning of the campaign. The story was broken on A Current Affair last Thursday as part of an ongoing PR strategy for Best&Less, developed by Edelman. View here.

Following the piece on A Current Affair, sales in the LAB store doubled.

Says Fern Canning, director of consumer at Edelman: “We knew that the launch of LAB needed to be more than a stunt. It needed to be a social experiment which sparked debate. Content and data that was relevant, engaging and emotive was vital to gain reach across earned, owned and paid media. Many companies wouldn’t be courageous enough to do something like this. We’re impressed that Best&Less saw the potential.”

The L&B store will be selling product at Best&Less prices for the next month.

Jee Moon – Head of Brand and Marketing

Emilie Awadalla – Campaign Manager

Sara Mauceri – Campaign Manager

Advertising agency – Banjo Advertising

Richard Frost – Senior Account Director

Ashleigh Beddoes – Account Manager

Casey Schweikert – Art Director

Lewis Farrar – Copywriter

Georgia Arnott – Creative Director

Peta Morton – Senior Planner

Meredyth Judd – Head of Broadcast

Production Company – Syndicate Films

Matt Weston – Director

Rodrigo Vidal Dawson – DOP

PR – Edelman

Matthew Gain – General Manager

Fern Canning – Director of Consumer

Kate Spencer – Media Strategist

Sydney Spagnoletti – Content Strategist

Alex Erasmus – Digital Account Director