A ‘Festival Summit’ by Hunter

Last December, Hunter — the British wet-weather brand — announced that it was giving up its slot on the London Fashion Week schedule.

To some, Hunter’s move came as a surprise. The brand, best known as a leading manufacturer of the Wellington boot, had completed just four seasons of shows, all by the creative director Alasdhair Willis, husband of the fashion designer Stella McCartney. While not a favorite of the fashion critics, the company’s playful runway shows (inspired by music festivals, where wellies are a wardrobe staple) generated lots of reaction on social media.

But in the months since that announcement, that decision has proved a prescient one. Other brands, including Burberry, Tom Ford and Diane von Furstenberg, have all unveiled significant strategic shifts away from the accepted fashion-show system as the industry grapples with the challenges posed by the growing consumer demand for immediate gratification.

On Tuesday, deep in the dark belly of Ronnie Scott’s jazz club in the Soho neighborhood here, Hunter held its own alternative event, and there wasn’t a model, buyer or editor in sight.

Instead, it hosted a technology- and market-focused “festival summit” breakfast, with speakers from the likes of Google; EE, a British mobile and Internet provider; Live Nation; and J. Walter Thompson presenting key insights and forecasting for the 2016 music festival season. The audience, far from being a fashion insider coterie, was predominantly made up of advertising and marketing executives, all tackling how best to build long-term relationships with festivalgoers.

“The nondisposable moments at festivals carry so much weight: They are unforgettable, watertight, locked-down emotional memories that, as a brand, you want to access and be associated with,” said Mr. Willis, adding that Hunter would be rolling out a permanent digital hub on festival-related content like playlists and styling advice for its fans as well as pop-ups at major events.

“Festivals are more than just a destination for live music,” he said. “The reach and commercial opportunity of festivals makes them a very serious business that would be foolish to ignore.” Recent research from J. Walter Thompson Intelligence reported at the summit showed that three-quarters of millennials in Britain attend at least one festival per year, and 76 percent would now prefer to spend their money on experiences over “stuff.”

With Ralph Lauren entering the restaurant business, Bulgari opening hotels and Christian Dior starting spas, Hunter would not be the only label vying to become a lifestyle brand.

But the decision to create a permanent information portal and share that information with collaborators makes Hunter’s efforts more radical than most. Festivals are cool and defined by roots in Britain (just like the brand), but with events all over the world, constant music trends shaping lineups and hedonistic associations, it is a gamble that could prove harder to control than most made by luxury players.

“Our search insights have revealed how demand for Hunter festival product starts in April and grows massively from June, all the way through to September, which as a wet-weather brand was not a trend we ever expected to see,” Mr. Willis said.

“We know now we need to have a sustained narrative from April right through to September, an ‘always-on’ festival conversation which in the long run will enable us to have a much closer relationship with our customer. And it’s what we are going to do.”

By ELIZABETH PATON

Source New York Times