How Snapchat AR Ignited Christian Dior’s B27 Launch
Luxury brands are flocking to augmented reality — among them, Christian Dior, whose B27 launch on Snapchat soared, thanks to the tech.
Christian Dior Couture's augmented reality sneaker try-on in Snapchat was one of its most successful activations to date, the company said.
When Christian Dior brought its B27 footwear to the world in the fall, the company decided that not just any old sneaker drop would do. To drum up awareness and excitement, the fashion house went to Snap Inc. in a tech partnership that would pour accelerant on the occasion.
One of the first brands to take up Snap’s business profiles when it made its debut last year as a closed beta test, the maison worked with the developer to create augmented reality experiences, so consumers could virtually try on the shoes.
Christian Dior Couture released a realistic Snapchat Lens that allowed people to try on six pairs of B27 sneakers through AR. It then promoted the experience through the Snapchat Lenses Carousel and the Snap Ads to AR Lens format, with videos showing runway models and users playing with the Lens and encouraging users to try it. Interested users could buy the shoes directly from there.
The strategy worked: According to Dior, the Lens and Snapchat advertisements alone nearly quadrupled the brand’s return on ad spend at 3.8x, and promoting the experience in the platform’s Lenses Carousel saw return rocketing up to 6.2x.
It also leveraged its business profile, effectively turning its home on Snapchat into a digital showroom, complete with virtual try-ons, at the product’s launch. This move alone generated more than 2.3 million views of its AR Lens.