In the cold weather of the splendid capital of Paris, UNIQLO – the fashion from Japan promoted tight hugs on the streets with a unique interactive campaign called “Hug To Unlock”. With just a vending machine integrated with a touch screen advertising screen, UNIQLO brought a bonding experience to passersby participating in the challenge.
Inspired by the warmth of hugs, UNIQLO France has teamed up with Creative Agency The Pill to launch an innovative experiential marketing campaign – Hug To Unlock. Launched in early January 2024, in the midst of the still-cold winter, the campaign quickly attracted everyone’s participation and response.
Accordingly, the Brand installed a special vending machine at Contrescarpe Square (Paris) – a famous tourist destination with a large number of visitors. The machine is decorated with the main color tones of red – yellow – orange, standing out on the French streets and attracting the attention of passersby.
The special thing is that instead of using cash or coins to get products like normal vending machines. All buyers need to do is stand in the designated position, in front of the screen and… hug each other tightly. The machine will measure the warmth of the hugs and when the temperature increases hot enough, players can receive attractive rewards such as thermal clothing in UNIQLO’s HeatTech collection. Through that, the brand wants to convey the message: When using HeatTech products, users will feel warm as if being given tight hugs.
The warmth of the hugs will determine the reward for the player.
According to the rules of the game, the longer the hug, the warmer the hug. Players can hug anyone, friends, relatives, pets and even strangers passing by. Depending on the level displayed on the screen such as HeatTech (normal warm), Extra Warm (very warm) and Ultra Warm (super warm), players will receive a gift corresponding to the warmth of the hug. After the player completes the challenge, the LCD Advertising screen on the vending machine will display a Video introducing the HeatTech collection.
HeatTech is a famous heat retention technology developed by UNIQLO over the past 20 years.
HeatTech is known as one of UNIQLO’s most famous technologies because it has a thin fabric that can convert moisture into heat and contains air pockets to help retain heat. This technology was first introduced by UNIQLO in 2003. Over time, the brand has increasingly improved and upgraded HeatTech to bring the best experiences to customers.
Hug To Unlock – Spreading warm hugs on the streets of London
More than just promoting the new collection, this unique idea of UNIQLO has spread warm hugs on the streets of Paris, creating connections and interesting interactions. Not only bringing direct experiences to players, the activity also attracted the attention of many people and tourists. Many passersby have recorded the moments of “Hug To Unlock” and shared them widely on social networking sites, thereby helping UNIQLO’s campaign to spread widely and spread the brand’s product image more strongly.
This is not the first time UNIQLO has used experiential marketing to “capture” customers’ hearts. Previously, in 2016, UNIQLO made a strong impression with the “Heat Tech Window” campaign. Taking advantage of the cold Korean winter and the rising cost of home heating, UNIQLO “lent a hand” by launching the “Heat Tech Window” heat-retaining window film.
UNIQLO clothing keeps customers warm the way it advertises its homes
This film can increase the room temperature by about 2-3 degrees Celsius, just like HeatTech clothing can bring warmth to customers. Heat Tech Window is distributed to the entire UNIQLO store system in Korea, any customer who buys a product in the Heat Tech collection will receive a “warm-up patch” as a gift. Through this, UNIQLO strongly affirms that the brand’s clothing keeps customers warm in the same way that UNIQLO advertising can keep their homes warm.
Conclusion:
With Hug to Unlock, UNIQLO has succeeded in bringing experiential marketing closer to customers by excellently integrating interactive and emotional elements. With a smart idea, a new way of expression, and the right timing, Hug To Unlock has brought an emotional bonding experience through hugs to feel the true warmth – what UNIQLO wants to convey through its HeatTech collection. It is these outstanding factors that have contributed to the success of UNIQLO’s early 2024 marketing campaign.
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