Valextra's new series is surreal and funny. Image credit: Valextra
Italian luxury goods company Valextra is turning to Instagram for a series of short, surreal films promoting its handbags.
In a social video series, Valextra is offering a peek into the lives of five different unique and eccentric characters as they stop at a bar in Milan, where the company is based, for a break from their hectic lives. Each short film will also highlight a different one of the brand’s handbags as well as star a different notable Italian actor or actress.
For the road
While the platform is primarily known for still images, Instagram videos have been slowly becoming some of the most popular types of content in the digital sphere.
Brands are embracing this, offering more Instagram-exclusive video content to keep up with demand.
Valextra’s latest campaign, "One for the Road," is a perfect use of Instagram to deliver short, memorable video content that can be consumed piece by piece.
Each episode of One for the Road is a short story showing a brief glimpse into the protagonist's life.
The first of five episodes. Image credit: Valextra
For example, one episode, titled The Intruder, actress and model Benedetta Barzini is shown in the Bar Basso in Milan sipping a drink while looking through her sketchbook. A man walks in and bumps her shoulder, causing her to spill her drink all over her book and earning the man a nasty scowl.
Another episode, titled The Talking Bag, sees Guia Zapponi taking a brief respite from her Christmas shopping until her shopping bag begins to talk thanks to a chatty new toy purchased for one of her children.
The videos are altogether lighthearted and fun, presented in a retro style with '70s patterns and visual effects.
So far, only two of the five episodes are out, with the rest to be released over the coming months.
Instagram exclusive
Hosting the video series on Instagram has proven to be a smart move given recent research into the platform’s reach.
While video marketing continues to thrive on YouTube and Facebook, Instagram has emerged as a surprisingly strong platform for film-based consumer engagement.
Facebook and YouTube both routinely see more brand engagement in general, but according to recent findings from L2, Instagram actually outperforms both when it comes to video views between customers and brands. Luxury brands in particular can use this information to their advantage and plan their video budgets around the highly engaged Instagram audience (see story).
Guia Zapponi. Image credit: Valextra
Luxury marketers’ strategies for Instagram should revolve around not only presenting attractive images, but achieving measurable business goals, according to the platform’s head of luxury.
Instagram offers luxury brands the opportunity to speak to a growing, global audience of 500 million daily users, who are turning to the platform to explore their passions, whether fashion or travel. Speaking at Women in Luxury, the executive explained how a number of brands are mixing organic and paid media to drive both conversations and conversions (see story).
Valextra has made a smart move in keeping the series Instagram-focused, which will help it target a millennial audience as well as keep engagement high as the series continues.