That’s Amore

Victoria’s Secret figured Italian love songs and a televised lingerie show were a perfect combination to get shoppers in the mood. They were right.

Looking to generate more interest for its sixth annual fall fashion show — yes, that televised fashion show — and thereby drive holiday sales at retail, the chain negotiated its first broadcast TV coverage with ABC, added musical performances and, most importantly, struck a partnership with renowned classical vocalist Andrea Bocelli.

“We wanted to bring the energy, hype, and enthusiasm of the fashion show into all of our stores and help drive transactions,” says Steven Schreibman, director of marketing for Reynoldsburg, OH-based Victoria’s Secret. “To reach a broader audience, we broke the show apart and added entertainment value” including performances by Mary J. Blige and Bocelli, he says.

In addition to booking Bocelli for the Nov. 15 broadcast, the singer’s U.S. label, Universal Classics, worked with its sister Universal Special Markets unit to provide Victoria’s Secret with a custom CD containing seven tracks — including one from his soon-to-be released recording, Cieli Di Toscana. Packaged under the name Victoria’s Secret Presents Mistero Dell’Amore, the CD was an ideal match for the company, which plays classical music in all its stores. “We have used CDs successfully in promotions, but we had not tied in with one specific artist before,” says Schreibman. “Bocelli has a tremendous following and such an inspirational tone. That’s a feeling we use in our stores.”

The exclusive CD was offered for $5 with any purchase or $12 on its own at all 900 of Victoria’s Secret flagship lingerie stores, at its 400 beauty product shops, and through its catalog and Web site, from mid-November through January. Packaging included a bounce-back coupon for $10 off purchases of $75 or more, along with advertising for Bocelli’s new release.

A TV spot aired during the broadcast encouraged viewers to visit stores or victoriassecret.com to buy the CD. The company also promoted the compilation in its holiday catalog, which was mailed to more than 19 million homes. Parallax Marketing, San Francisco, handled.

The only concern among the campaign’s various players (which included Bocelli’s promoter, New York City-based Gelb Promotions, and his Italian management company, Sugar Music) was timing: The promo came so soon after the Oct. 16 release date for Cieli Di Toscana that Universal executives were worried the Victoria’s Secret CD might hurt sales.

That fear proved unfounded. “There is always a concern of cannibalizing record sales. But in this case, it was done right,” says John Dalton, vp-marketing for Universal Classics, New York City. “By placing just one cut from his new album on the CD, it whetted [consumer] appetites and made them want to go out and buy it,” says Peter Kohan, a manager of premium sales for Universal Special Markets.

Victoria’s Secret was ecstatic about the wide range of attention the tie-in brought. “Since the TV broadcast was so successful, we got a lot of exposure and customers very easily made the link to the promotion,” Schreibman says. “We were thrilled to be a part of something so successful and to combine in-store, online, catalog, and TV efforts.” ABC posted an 8.5 percent share for the broadcast, far better than the seven-percent share it had projected.

“The association with Bocelli brought a level of credibility to the Victoria’s Secret brand,” adds Parallax co-founder Tommy Rosen.

The chain sold 1.2 million copies of Mistero Dell’Amore in the campaign’s first eight weeks and four million CDs overall. That made it a bigger seller than 97 percent of all recordings released in 2001, according to the Recording Industry Association of America.

That kind of success would put anybody in the mood.

Supporting Cast

Ed Razek, Steven Schreibman, Victoria’s Secret
Peter Kohan, Universal Special Markets
John Dalton, Universal Classics
Tommy Rosen, Parallax Marketing
Bruce Gelb, Gelb Promotions