DKNY partners with Meitu on AR fragrance campaign

Brief:

DKNY and selfie app BeautyPlus partnered on a digital marketing campaign to promote the fashion label's new fragrance, "DKNY Stories" in Asian-Pacific countries. The campaign will run for two weeks in each target country and last until the end of 2018, according to a statement.
BeautyPlus, which was developed by Chinese mobile internet company Meitu, features an exclusive DKNY branded augmented reality (AR) filter that shows a pink-hued background image of Midtown Manhattan, the hashtag #NYMADEME animated over the Empire State Building and pink-tinted sunglasses that reflect the New York skyline.
The campaign also offers an online giveaway for people who use the BeautyPlus DKNY filter, in addition to offline events such as pop-up stores and product sample giveaways. The promotion is aimed at Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, Malaysia, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.

Insight:

DKNY's campaign for its latest fragrance seeks to engage beauty-conscious consumers who show their enthusiasm for new products by using BeautyPlus. Meitu, the app's developer, has an extensive reach of 454 million app users worldwide. The Chinese company also has worked with beauty brands such as L'Oréal Paris, Estée Lauder and Sephora, and partnered with Facebook on a test of AR camera technology.

DKNY's BeautyPlus campaign isn't the first time the fashion brand has tried out mobile campaigns using AR, which overlays digital images on a real background seen through a smartphone camera. DKNY in 2013 released an AR app for iOS and Android that gave smartphone users a chance to take pictures of art installations in cities worldwide to see a related video, according to Mashable.

DKNY is among the fashion and beauty brands that have used AR technology to demonstrate products. Reality TV star and cosmetics marketer Kylie Jenner last month launched a custom face filter on Instagram that let people virtually try on her lipstick products using AR overlays. L'Oréal this year acquired AR beauty platform Modiface, marking the first time the cosmetics giant acquired a tech company after decades of buying up other beauty brands. The company also partnered with Facebook this month to let the social media giant's users try on virtual makeup samples. Covergirl and Coty also increased AR usage to urge virtual makeup trials while tapping into the popularity of beauty-related content on digital channels.