RockOrange Wins PR News Social Media Award with History-Making Facebook Campaign

RockOrange has added another award to its growing list of accolades by taking top spot in the ‘Facebook PR Campaign’ category at this year’s PR News Social Media Awards.

Why did we win? Quite simply because, with Macy’s and Thalia, we made Facebook and Fashion history.

In early 2015, RockOrange incepted and managed the first-ever Facebook Fashion show to promote the launch of Macy’s first-ever Hispanic-backed exclusive clothing line Thalia Sodi for Macy’s. The show aired live on Thalia’s Facebook page to millions of fans around the world and RockOrange reached across social media platforms and promoted the hashtag #thaliaformacys, which became a top trending term during the event and in the hours that followed.

The activation was a drop-dead success on all levels. As the first-ever Hispanic-backed exclusive clothing line to span several internal departments at the quintessential department store, the Facebook runway reveal also became the first of its kind in the history of the ubiquitous social network. The launch was one of the largest in Macy’s history.

More than 5,987 people viewed the show live and 410,134 more engaged with the event live. In its first 15 minutes of broadcast, some 34,000 people viewed the video of the fashion show. Over the next two hours, that figure ballooned to over 300,000. Today, more than three million people have seen the show.

Beyond the immediate success of the show, our Facebook Live Streaming was a trendsetter for numerous other brands that would execute similar campaigns in the following year. The trend has been followed most recently by Versace, Kate Spade, IDENTITIES, organizers of London and New York Fashion Weeks, and, ahem, Crochet Empire’s jock strap fashion show, just to name a few.

The full list of winners from this year’s PR News Social Media Awards can be found here.

Billboard Shines a Spotlight on Miguel Piedra & David Naranjo

Our very own “Rock” and “Orange” — agency principals and managing partners Miguel Piedra and David Naranjo — spoke to Billboard about some of the work we do best: connecting celebrities to brands (and brands to celebrities) through multi-channel marketing campaigns, tailor-made digital strategies, and by taking traditional and non-traditional public relations initiatives to a new level.

Miguel and David shared some of the wisdom they’ve acquired over their careers with Billboard’s Angie Romero, chatting about everything from their journey to launch the agency, to some of the mistakes major brands make when talking to consumers. The article highlights some of our major and most successful projects, including the launch of Macy’s Thalia Sodi collection, Cotton’s 24 Hour Runway Show and the launch of Gloria Estefan’s 27th album, The Standards.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE!

The Magic of Thalia and Macy’s

On the heels of an unprecedented fashion show, it was time to head back to the Big Apple to join two of our most iconic clients in celebration of a groundbreaking launch.

Earlier this month, RockOrange marked the official launch of the Thalia Sodi collection at Macy’s legendary Herald Square flagship store. What better place than the world’s largest store to celebrate a star who is larger than life?

Our RockStars were tasked with U.S. Hispanic media outreach to make the event — and the collection — a total success. The team supported Macy’s internal team, with everybody, from the event team to the PR team, coming together for a night to remember.

Different factors set this project apart for us. First of all, this is the biggest launch in Macy’s history, and the events surrounding it matched the scale of a superstar like Thalia. This main event, which took place on March 4, was a spectacular celebration spanning several floors of the Herald Square location. This is the first time that Macy’s presents a collection that spans so many departments, from apparel, to shoes, to accessories.

The official launch of the collection was a must-attend style event that featured media, VIPs, influencers and an appearance from Thalia herself. We started by coordinating several one-on-one interviews with a few of our top media friends, followed by an intimate VIP reception at Stella 34 in Macy’s. We then collaborated to help put on a fashion show, which was introduced by Terry Lundgren, chairman and CEO of Macy’s, and featured more than 50 vibrant looks from the collection. We also engaged some of Thalia’s most devoted fans, who were able to meet the star, take pictures and get her latest album signed by the star.

The store’s salute also encompassed six Broadway windows dedicated to showcasing the collection, with graphics and mannequin strike points along the main floor and a branded display atop Macy’s Broadway marquee.

We’re proud to have brought our RockStar power to the table, to ramp up buzz around a collection that is as sparkling, dynamic and fresh as Thalia herself.

Follow the buzz with #ThaliaSodiCollection and #ThaliaForMacys on Twitter and Instagram.

A RockOrange Guide to Making Facebook and Fashion History

By David Naranjo

When our new client, Macy’s, and our longtime client, singer/songwriter/author and all-around-superstar Thalia, both approached RockOrange about activating a fashion line, we saw an opportunity to make history.

RockOrange was engaged to drum up US Hispanic media interest for the launch of Thalia Sodi, the Mexican icon’s clothing line with Macy’s, through an intimate, short lead media event. The collection officially launches in early-February at 300 Macy’s stores nationwide (and on macys.com) and was inspired by Thalia’s personal style. The line features bold colors and animal prints in dresses, tops, pants, shoes and jewelry, all designed to make women feel comfortable, confident and beautiful.

The collection is beautiful, and we needed an activation strategy to match. RockOrange envisioned a high fashion event of live looks for an intimate crowd of media, with the added dimension of giving access to a virtual crowd made up of Thalia’s fans.

It all came together at Gold Bar in New York’s Little Italy, where an exclusive, invitation-only soiree was held for select media. Those in attendance, who included all major US Hispanic networks, the Associated Press, People en Español, and many more, came in out of the cold to get a front-row seat for hot new styles.

But media was just the beginning. In a social media first, we coordinated the debut to stream live on Thalia’s Facebook account where it promptly broke the Internet (ok, not really, but the traffic was still huge). Together, we made history. Fans from around the world tuned in to watch the live feed of the show, and continued to stream it with more than 3 million viewers to-date.

The activation was a drop-dead success on all levels. As the first ever Hispanic-backed exclusive clothing line at the quintessential department store, the Facebook runway reveal also became the first of its kind in the history of the ubiquitous social network. The launch was one of the largest in Macy’s history.

And, let me just say, I love this project as a case study for what we do, because we satisfied all manner of requests and work types in one job. From digital to outreach to on-site event management and production, we brought together so many of our key capabilities into a multi-directional campaign that hit all the right notes for the client.

That’s because RockOrange, if I can be a bit self promotional – and this is our own blog, so I can – is a value-adding agency. We aren’t just order-takers. We are an organization built on ideas and execution. With every client, and especially these two, we develop creative, innovative solutions that break down walls.

In this case, we broke down the walls separating Thalia’s fans from a first look at her latest endeavor. Both clients won big, and RockOrange put another idea and execution firmly in the “fresh” column.

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