- Oct 24, 2017
Updated: Feb 4, 2021
All-aboard! Our founder, Karoline, joins the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan on business trade mission to Paris.
Smartzer was one of the thirteen fastest-growing London based start-ups invited on this month’s business trade mission to Paris. The trade mission is part of the Mayor’s International Business Programme which focuses on establishing a global network of cities to help entrepreneurs develop their businesses across different markets.
This particular trip was part of Khan’s plans to strengthen the ties and investment links between London and Paris. The trade mission is supported by KPMG and Eurostar, and the scale-ups took part in an on-board mentoring programme as they travelled between the two capitals. Once there, Karoline and the other tech companies explored opportunities for investment and international expansion in the French capital.
Of the day Khan said: “The companies travelling with us on this trade mission to Paris represent some of the most exciting scale-ups in London. We look forward to helping these vibrant and diverse companies cement opportunities and partnerships in Paris.”
The trip was a great opportunity to connect with other London based start-ups and possible Paris-based partners. Although Smartzer already has some presence in Paris, the day provided valuable insight tips on entering new global markets.
Thank you to the Mayor of London for a wonderful day!
Not sure if you want to link here: http://gotogrow.london/upcoming-events#content
- 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.