Media Decoder: Armani's A/X Brand Offers Quite the Groovy 'Pad'

When it comes to the Internet, fashion brands have been all over the map. Some have embraced being online, while others have welcomed the Web as much as they would being forced to sell a million garments to Filene’s Basement or T.J. Maxx.

One fashion brand that has already been aggressive digitally, A/X Armani Exchange from Giorgio Armani, is upping the ante on Thursday with a new multimedia feature on its Web site, armaniexchange.com. The feature, called the A/X Stylepad, brings together in one place a veritable, and virtual, shelfful of video clips and other interactive branded content.

“It’s our take on iPad interactivity,” said Tom Jarrold, chief marketing officer at A/X Armani Exchange in New York, which creates its campaigns internally.

In this instance, Mr. Jarrold worked with a San Francisco agency named Clickthrough to develop the Web site section at armaniexchange.com/stylepad.

The digital ardor demonstrated by A/X reflects that “the audience, the A/X customer, is definitely totally wired,” Mr. Jarrold said. In a survey, half the respondents said they have BlackBerrys or iPhones, he added.

A/X Stylepad will include video interviews with models who appear in A/X ads; information about their looks like their hair and make-up; information about where the ad campaigns are photographed; and some photos that are more provocative than the already sultry shots that appear in the ads, accessible with an advisory that visitors must be 18 and older.

The Stylepad also offers a feature where visitors can create their own versions of A/X ads, which can be shared on social media outlets like Facebook.

And there is, of course, a link to the sections of the A/X Web site where shopping can take place.

The campaign will be promoted on the Web site, Mr. Jarrold said, as well as through ads in stores and in e-mail messages and text messages sent to customers.

The campaign will also be promoted on the Armani Exchange Facebook page and Twitter feed.

Mr. Jarrold said he could not be specific about the budget for the Stylepad. It is “a big digital initiative,” he said, but costs “significantly less than the cost of a photo shoot.”...Media Decoder