Mackage

When a brand we love launches in our neck of the woods, it’s kind of special. Even better when said brand (spoiler alert: it’s Mackage) makes buttery soft leather jackets and incredible outerwear — sign us up. With a loyal following around the world, Mackage was perfectly positioned to enter the West Coast market with their first flagship location and campaign in Vancouver — and Very Polite was on board to make it a huge success. We concepted a multi-tiered, layered approach to ensure maximum impact and ROI. The agency designed a strategy that would generate buzz, amplify brand awareness, create product demand, and drive traffic to the store post-launch. We designed engaging and unique experiences for influencers, media, and key demographics in-market to ensure multi-platform exposure. But more on that later, we promise.

Mackage approached Very Polite to lead the FW Campaign which was shot here in Vancouver. We cast the campaigns with fresh faces that would resonate with the demographic of this specific collection. We cast celebrity influencer and model Sofia Richie as the leading face of the campaign, as well as model Christian Hogue. This entailed the agency to handle all top tier talent management, key facilitation, negotiations, and liaison leading up to the campaign shoot. The creative direction of the campaign was based on the concept of ‘Urban Camouflage,’ a merging of a dynamic city energy tempered with the natural beauty and cool temperatures of the West Coast. Our photography and production team managed all aspects of the campaign shoot from casting to location scouting, permits, day-of management, and photography directives.

Now as promised, more on the launch. We began by inviting an exclusive group of influencers and press contacts (including FASHION Magazine, Montecristo, Global TV, and The Vancouver Sun) to an exclusive chef-catered lunch and preview presentation of the FW Collection at the Audain Museum in Whistler — the ideal mountainous West Coast backdrop. Guests were gifted their pre-selected coat upon arrival and with the help of our photographer, captured original content wearing their coats throughout the striking venue. Pic or it didn’t happen, right? We secured over 700,000 social impressions that day.

For the launch party we were inspired by the idea of not discarding your outerwear at the door — relaying the brand’s perspective that outerwear should not always be confined to the closet. The idea that if one wears a beautiful coat, they don’t have to coat check it if they want to show it off. This evolved into the ‘Mackage Coat Check’ party, a playful nod to the concept in which guests were instead invited to wear, style (and purchase) the newest collection of coats during the event. Details of the event included customized step-and-repeat, balloon installation, decals on floors and mirrors, and a contest in which one lucky guest using the hashtag #mackagecoatcheck during the event would win a coat. Each guest also left with a limited-edition leather wallet.

Prior to the event, Very Polite facilitated 1:1 interviews with the co-founders of Mackage, to secure coverage that would time accordingly with the store opening. The layered strategy allowed us to deliver on a 100% guestlist turnout, heavy social engagement, exceptional opening-week store sales, and secure press coverage exceeding 9.3 million impressions in the first week of launch alone. In addition, we produced lasting in-market relationships for Mackage that offered long term value for the brand.

Following the success of the store launch, Very Polite was requested to unveil the Mackage Spring accessory collection in Vancouver. The collection of bags and purses was a departure from the heavier palette of the colder months, featuring warmer tones and prints reminiscent of a tropical oasis. Inspired by the design direction, we concepted a ‘Mackage Oasis’ party hosted by Jessica Mulroney, to showcase the collection to exclusive clientele in a playful way. Mackage Oasis was our version of an urban tropical escape located in the heart of the city. We took over a cocktail bar and transformed the space with lush tropical greenery, large scale prints taken from the collection, and created a showstopping vignette of a flora-filled tub with floating Mackage bags in various pops of colour. VIP guests were able to select the accessory of their choice which would be shipped directly to their home. Guests included Vancouver Canucks players, Jessica Mulroney, Michael Bublé (that’s “boo-blay” not “buh-blee”), Luisana Lopilato, and the cast of shows including The 100, Arrow and Riverdale.

And that’s a wrap (for now) …until next time, Mackage.