With $3.3 billion in worldwide sales in 2004, it’s likely that Nivea knows a thing or two about lotion, skin, massage, and, well, touch. To tout the brand’s latest advertising campaign, “Touch and Be Touched,” the worldwide mega brand launched the month-long “Nivea Touches New York” exhibit, which kicked off with a party on September 13.
Housed in Location 19, a 3,000-square-foot raw space at 31 West 19th Street, the mobile marketing program featured an interactive salon full of sensory-based artwork open to the public; regular Joes can come in and make their way through a narrow gallery of touchable artwork (no “please don’t touch signs” here), and make art themselves—new clay is provided to visitors on a daily basis. Also on display are five photographs of actual human skin magnified under a high-strength microscope; they are surprisingly colorful and sensual. And Spa Chicks on the Go is offering complementary five-minute head, hand, and neck massages.
“Fundamentally what we are trying to do is convey touch to consumers in a way that will help them forge an emotional connection to the Nivea brand,” said Diane Bates, co-owner of Blue Sky Communications, which planned the event. Bates worked with Nivea USA’s vice president of marketing, Nicolas Maurer, and marketing director, Arnisha Hallett-Jones, to create the pilot program. The companies plan to evaluate the New York exhibit’s success and bring the concept to cities like Chicago, Miami, and Los Angeles in 2007.
In its first 12 days, the exhibit garnered roughly 300 visitors a day—a huge success according to Bates, especially when considering the venue’s side street location and some rainy weather. To promote the program, Blue Sky has employed an ongoing team of people in and around the venue’s Flatiron neighborhood who are equipped with flat-screen TVs featuring running images and information about Nivea; they’ve also utilized a branded vehicle, street teams, and static signs placed on sidewalks.
—Courtney Thompson
Posted 09.27.06
Photos: Timothy McCarthy (Intuitive, Feel the Crowd)
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Housed in Location 19, a 3,000-square-foot raw space at 31 West 19th Street, the mobile marketing program featured an interactive salon full of sensory-based artwork open to the public; regular Joes can come in and make their way through a narrow gallery of touchable artwork (no “please don’t touch signs” here), and make art themselves—new clay is provided to visitors on a daily basis. Also on display are five photographs of actual human skin magnified under a high-strength microscope; they are surprisingly colorful and sensual. And Spa Chicks on the Go is offering complementary five-minute head, hand, and neck massages.
“Fundamentally what we are trying to do is convey touch to consumers in a way that will help them forge an emotional connection to the Nivea brand,” said Diane Bates, co-owner of Blue Sky Communications, which planned the event. Bates worked with Nivea USA’s vice president of marketing, Nicolas Maurer, and marketing director, Arnisha Hallett-Jones, to create the pilot program. The companies plan to evaluate the New York exhibit’s success and bring the concept to cities like Chicago, Miami, and Los Angeles in 2007.
In its first 12 days, the exhibit garnered roughly 300 visitors a day—a huge success according to Bates, especially when considering the venue’s side street location and some rainy weather. To promote the program, Blue Sky has employed an ongoing team of people in and around the venue’s Flatiron neighborhood who are equipped with flat-screen TVs featuring running images and information about Nivea; they’ve also utilized a branded vehicle, street teams, and static signs placed on sidewalks.
—Courtney Thompson
Posted 09.27.06
Photos: Timothy McCarthy (Intuitive, Feel the Crowd)
Related Stories
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Gap Takes Hippie Bus on the Road
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The "Different Strokes" sculpture created by artist Peter Cabot allows guests to touch a variety of materials, including sequins, velvet, and tile.
Nivea is reaching out to consumers this month by placing blue-colored advertisements on sidewalks within a few blocks of the exhibit.
Visitors can to run their hands over the smooth maple sculpture created by George Erikson.
A hand dryer is adjacent to a thermo-cromatic piece created by Patti Morris that changes color when touched by warm hands.
The "Touching Art" piece shows the work of the hundreds of visitors that have sculpted at the exhibit thus far.
Spa Chicks on the Go is providing free massages.
A product display counter is the final stop at the exhibit, where consumers can get free gift bags and advice from Nivea experts.
