Henri Bendel launched its official foray into social networking with a presence on Facebook and Twitter this past Monday. As a part of a nearly monthlong call to appeal to young female shoppers, the Bendel Girls campaign features a lineup of models using the retailer's Facebook page and reading its Twitter feed live from the storefront of its Fifth Avenue flagship.
Drawing inspiration from—or just plain capitalizing on—Gossip Girl's successful hybrid of fashion and social networking, Bendel's new push aims to build its Facebook fans and Twitter followers but starts in the stores themselves. Computer kiosks in each of its six U.S. locations will give shoppers a 20 percent discount when they become fans of the new Facebook page, and through Monday afternoon, the storefront stunt will showcase models perusing the Web site on a giant monitor throughout the day.
Shoppers who participated in the stunt will also be entered in the store's Bendel Girl of the Weekstakes contest. Weekly winners will get a $1,000 store credit while the initial phase of the campaign extends through September 13.
