To see and to be seen: with its Playground, Krys brings its biggest game

Krys wanted to attract younger generations and created a “Playground” to that end. Its goal didn’t originate from nowhere: two thirds of French people, according to a study by Odoxa, still visit their optometrist when buying sunglasses, but half of the people aged 18-35 prefer fashion stores because they can combine practicality and style. It was a big mountain to climb for them: they had to create viral content as they were presenting products that had fallen from grace for the younger generations. Instagram is just the right medium to bridge the gap: Krys’s ephemeral and uncommon Playground was opened to visitors on May 17 and 18, 2019 and staged its glasses collection amid unexpected settings. You won’t be seeing the same endless rows of glasses you’re used in retail stores: what matters here is to show off an appealing variety of products that’ll help generate likes, shares… and that’ll keep crowds coming.

The playground had a twofold effect: visitors could come and stage their creativity, but also wear the company’s glasses on the very pictures they took. That interactive moment brought forth everyone’s personalities and let them shine on social media for a viral effect. Krys made its sunglasses fun again and benefited from a strong visual identity thanks to its staging and retail arrangement. The youth now scrolls on their phone for fashion accessories from the comfort of their homes. If Krys intends to get them to buy, then it must use a visual marketing strategy that should have as much impact as possible. That is what got them to create nine rooms that work similarly to these “selfie corners” that many English-speaking countries are so fond of. You could pose in front of walls covered in graffiti, in an underground nightclub or next to a swimming-pool filled with blue cubes… That in-shop experience reasserted a fundamental principle: the image of a brand becomes the brand. Krys chose fun as its wildcard to seduce passers-by, curious visitors and expert Instagram users looking for the picture that’ll hit the bullseye.

Getting customers to immerse themselves in a novel client experience and take pictures to be shown to everyone—similarly to what Krys did—is a big challenge with many hurdles. Brands do struggle on Instagram: about a fourth of Instagram posts only directly name some. When these brands aren’t restaurants or hotels, the divide is even bigger since those two make up 27% of what’s shared on Instagram, compared to 11% of posts dedicated to stores. The key here is to dare to set up your own non-retail space while it doesn’t generate profit per se for every square meter you use. These colorful and diverse showcasings, which are meant to draw in young Instagram users, must then have an actual ROI. On Instagram more than on any other platform, one truth prevails above all else: ephemeral content ends up being a way to impact people’s memories and to stay there.