- Mar 7, 2018
Updated: Feb 18, 2021
Run by the UK-based website and data service Retail Week, this annual event brings together innovators and world-leaders in retail to share compelling content via a mix of speeches, interviews, workshops and boardroom discussions. Smartzer spent two days pitching and networking with major brands and innovators, discussing solutions for the rapid changes facing retailers in the digital age.
One of the stages at Retail Week Live is Launchpad, dedicated to introducing retail experts with start-ups. For the second time, Smartzer was chosen as one of the 20 most disruptive retail technologies and asked to present our game-changing solution to the event’s top retailers. Smartzer founder Karoline Gross, presented the Smartzer concept to a panel of judges including David Hennessy, CIO of Superdry and Dan Saunders of L Marks.
After an impressive first pitch, Smartzer made it to the final round and was able to pitch before finalist judges on the finale stage. Karoline persuasively explained how retail brands can utilize their video content to engage customers and drive more sales. Smartzer was shortlisted as one of the top three finalists. It was an honor to be chosen not only as one of Retail Week’s revolutionary start-ups but was especially exciting to get runner-up in the competition.
Other than our wonderful experience pitching on the Launchpad start-up stage, we enjoyed networking with big retailers such as Tesco and Shop Direct at our stand in the exhibition hall. It was an excellent way to meet with retail industry experts on an individual basis, showing them new system capabilities and discussing our 2018 road map.
- Sep 15, 2017
Updated: Feb 17, 2021
We are delighted to announce the release of our newest collaboration, this time with SimplyBe for their London Fashion Week ‘Curve Catwalk’.
Held at the Vinyl Factory in London last night, the Curve Catwalk, dubbed “the UK’s most size inclusive runway” featured models from size 8 – 26 in a celebration of real women of all shapes and sizes. The runway showcased trend-led products in a fully shoppable video which is currently live on the SimplyBe home page.
This collaboration is the most recent example of Smartzer’s rapid turnaround time when adding our innovative technology to pre-existing videos. The interactive runway went live at 20:30, one hour after we received it at 19:30. This has the clear benefit of engaging customers whilst a runway show is still fresh and relevant.
It’s been great to have positive feedback from SimplyBe, who have utilised our Instagram capacity by sharing a ‘shop the looks’ message via Instagram stories. This new feature of our technology is an extremely exciting one, meaning that a wider range of potential customers can be reached and so the content is more likely to be effectively monetized.
It was a pleasure to work with SimplyBe for this collaboration on their Curve Catwalk! Shop the looks here.
- Sep 4, 2017
Updated: Feb 4, 2021
On 31st August, Jonny and Maksym headed to Berlin to attend Bread & Butter by Zalando.
Launched in 2001, Bread & Butter is a fashion and lifestyle event showcasing the latest in fashion, music and food to both industry experts and members of the public. The three day event this year was packed full of brands showcasing their styles via panel talks, brand labs and exhibitions, with the highlight being fashion shows launching new products. Particularly exciting was the opportunity to hear Vivienne Westwood speak on the first day of the event. In addition to the focus on fashion, there was also emphasis on beauty brands.
There were nine food booths serving delicious street food inspired by this year’s theme of “BOLD” – including food from the world’s first Michelin starred street food chef, Chan Hon Meng. The event also showcased the best of international music acts and DJs spread over six stages and three after-show parties.
Jonny and Maksym were able to find time to enjoy the event but were also kept busy working with Zalando. Over the course of the event, there were nine fashion shows presented to audiences of thousands of people. These shows were filmed, and Jonny and Maksym worked to rapidly apply our interactive software to seven of them, meaning that a significant portion of the looks released were shoppable. These interactive runways then went live on the Bread & Butter homepage on Zalando’s website approximately two hours after they finished.
This quick turnaround meant that customers were (and still are) able to shop pieces taking their fancy almost immediately after the show was finished. The shows which Smartzer worked on were for The Kooples, Hugo by Hugo Boss, Selected Femme/Homme, Zalando, G-Star Raw, Topman and Topshop*. This experience is a great example of our capacity to produce shoppable videos on a large scale, and also of our ability to quickly and thoroughly turn traditional video content into interactive, cutting-edge products which monetize existing content.
It was a pleasure to be asked to return to work with Zalando, and to be able to do so within the context of such a vibrant, exciting and international event like Bread & Butter was a great experience.
Thank you to Zalando and all of the brands whose runway shows we worked on!
*Topman and Topshop runway shows are not currently shoppable in the UK or Norway.