This idea capitalizes on the fact that media usage of Zoom calls increased exponentially with the start of the pandemic and the changes in office work patterns due to people working from home. With millions of Canadians suddenly ‘zooming’ daily, the platform became a viable way to reach people, especially the white-collar office worker.

The idea created an innovative way for men to ‘dress’ for their never-ending zoom calls to create some levity in these trying times, which included ‘Zoom Fatigue’. Harry Rosen joined meetings across the country and showcased the brand’s resilience and understanding of consumer behaviour.

For 70 years, Harry Rosen had built its luxury menswear retail franchise on a high-touch personal approach. When men needed impeccable suits for work, they would visit the store and talk to their “guy.”

The COVID-19 pandemic upended that approach. Stores closed. Harry’s business shifted to online. And Harry’s customers’ clothing needs changed dramatically.

While the new virtual business culture freed many men from more formal attire, hoodies and sweatshirts were indeed often frowned upon and men were searching for ways to express their style appropriately.

Harry’s challenge: Maintain brand affinity and keep Harry Rosen top of mind to drive online sales and bring people back into stores when they reopened.

With overall media budgets limited due to the effect of the pandemic, we needed to drive views for this initiative organically to earn buzz on its own merit. An ambitious target of 40,000 organic views was determined.

We brought a surprising twist to a platform that was quickly becoming all too familiar: Zoom. In the first months of the pandemic, the number of total minutes spent on Zoom went from 100 billion to two trillion a year.1

To engage our audience taking video calls on Zoom all day, we created the Green Screen Shirt. The shirt was manufactured in Pantone 354 C, the exact same shade as a green screen. This That enabled wearers to simply hit the Green Screen checkbox on Zoom and choose a pattern, instantly changing their shirt’s design. It was that simple. There was no software to install or patch to download; we created new use for the functionality that was already built in to Zoom.

It enabled men to showcase their fashion sense and ingenuity while looking like tech geniuses at the same time. It created conversations about the brand very organically.

Retailers have had to pivot and most have suffered tremendously from the instantaneous effect of the pandemic on how people shop. Most didn’t have the luxury of much in the way of media budgets. They needed to leverage all their owned media assets and social media followings for survival.

Knowing the luxury market loves a fashion drop, Harry Rosen used their website and engaged an Instagram following of 37,000 to launch the idea. Because there was no media budget, the campaign launched as an organic contest.

A landing page on HarryRosen.com promoted Harry Rosen’s latest innovation and gave instructions on how the shirt worked while prompting visitors to shop the latest arrivals.

After people had won a shirt, they attended their next Zoom meeting in the design of their choice and often discussed the Harry Rosen personalization of their look to great fanfare, as evidenced by the social media reaction.

The contest promoting the Green Screen Shirt went live June 8, 2021 to June 20, 2021. It was promoted with video, showcasing the shirt, on Harry Rosen’s Instagram channel and home page.

The shirt itself was made of a light, breathable cotton, perfect for the summer weather. Its polo design was well-suited for the work-from-home business environment. Most importantly, the shirt was manufactured in Pantone 354 C, to easily innovate the green-screen functionality already built into the Zoom platform.

Described as a ‘technological marvel’, it became a sensation on the platform – disrupting ‘Zoom fatigue’ and created a bit of an amusing fashion milestone in these trying times. It also helped illustrate that Harry Rosen understood the challenges men were going through and could relate to how they were feeling.

Results and Impact:

? The video generated more than 111,000 views on Instagram – three times Harry’s

follower count – with zero paid media

? All shirts were immediately claimed in the contest – Harry is exploring a product rollout

? It was the most engagement Harry has ever had for a contest, sparking a flurry of comments:

o “Ummmm shut up and take my money!!!” – @linniex

o “now this is versatile fashion” – @badenroth

o “oh nice work Mr Rosen” – @sandynicholsonphoto

? It earned glowing global press coverage:

o “The best marketing idea since Diamond Shreddies” – Reddit

o “The most versatile shirt ever” – AdAge

o “A technological marvel” – The Message

It was one of a series of innovative initiatives that Harry Rosen undertook to effectively evolve the relevance of the brand – from formal attire to suiting the needs of the new business world.