Lingerie brand and retailer Victoria’s Secret recently live-streamed a preview of its Bombshell’s Day event on Periscope, capitalizing on how live events can go viral while pushing sales and awareness of a new bra line.

Bombshell’s Day encouraged women to think of themselves as ‘bombshells’ and spend the day pampering themselves and shopping while posting on social media with the hashtags #BombshellsDay and #BeABombshell. In-store and online giveaways and discounts were offered and promoted through social media, along with the chance to run into Victoria’s Secret models Adriana Lima at an undisclosed location and Candice Swanepoel at an early celebration event.

“Social media continues to be an important channel for driving awareness for a specific campaign and increasing customer engagement,” said Folke Lemaitre, CEO of Engagor, San Francisco. “Using new social platforms is a great way to generate buzz and reach a broader range of consumers, as it provides the brand with added credibility for being an early adopter of the latest platform.

The promotion is supporting the reinvention of its Bombshell Bra, which claims to add as much as two cup sizes higher for women with a better fit.

Total support
This type of sales event that takes the form of a holiday is likely to trend and take off via social media conversation. Victoria’s Secret is offering an omnichannel approach to this event, which is key to a successful campaign.

The encouragement of consumers to pamper themselves and post on social media is a simple way for users to get involved. Who would not love to be pampered?

Discussion of the event can trend and spread widely throughout social, which in turn can drive consumers online and in-store to spend more and get involved with the giveaways, discounts and chances to meet the models.

Utilizing an up-and-coming platform such as Periscope is beneficial as well. The live-streaming application has access to a wide range of consumers due to its association with Twitter, and reaches them on a personal level.

The event on Thursday, streamed through Periscope, was a precursor to the Bombshell’s Day event, creating even greater hype around the simulated holiday.

Staying relevant
Victoria’s Secret is no amateur to new social media platforms and getting creative with apps that its young demographic is using.

The lingerie brand ran ads for its Pink Date bra within Cosmopolitan magazine’s content on the new Snapchat Discover platform, another form of social with potential to help brands narrow in on a targeted group of consumers (see more).

Also, Victoria’s Secret recently added a new component to its digitally enabled catalogs that entices consumers to take a quiz to see their ideal bra size, type and fit, boosting its mobile merchandising capabilities in time for Valentine’s Day (see more).

“It is important to do these types of campaigns sparingly and strategically, as you do not want them to feel like they are a dime a dozen, therefore losing the interest of consumers,” Mr. Lemaitre said. “When launching such a campaign, however, it is vital to leverage social to generate chatter around the event and engage directly with consumers to build excitement.”

Final take
Brielle Jaekel is editorial assistant at Mobile Marketer and Mobile Commerce Daily