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“Empowered by Lightness is our multifaceted motto"
In conversation with Atissa Tadjadod — Brand Director, Silhouette on the company’s new brand communication strategy
As you may have heard, change is the only constant. The beauty of a brand lies in its evolving identity. That’s why Silhouette, the Austrian eyewear brand, has also announced its new brand campaign, focusing on lightness.
Eyewear that redefines elegance, minimalism and speaks volumes about the wearer’s style is what sets Silhouette apart from its competitors. Recently, the Austrian brand announced a new brand campaign focusing on the lightness of its eyewear designs. In this edition, VisionPlus speaks to Brand Director Atissa Tadjadod to learn about Silhouette’s renewed focus.
Brand Director,
Silhouette
VisionPlus (VP): Give us an overview of your new approach: Empowered by Lightness.
Atissa Tadjadod: Lightness is a key feature of any Silhouette eyewear. The new campaign translates the functional aspect of lightness of an eyewear product into a feeling which you can see and emotions you are attracted to in contemporary visuals. Visionary people express lightness through their attitude, their style and their emotions. This is what we call “Empowered by Lightness”.
VP: Tell us something about your association to this campaign and how you see it shaping Silhouette’s identity globally?
AT: ‘Empowered by Lightness’ is not just a new brand campaign. It is a fundamental component of Silhouette’s new brand strategy and more than just a new claim. While the campaign focuses on lightness as a feeling, it is the expression of what we mean by “lightness of being” for our consumers. When you bring the product in addition into the equation, it is a brand promise.
VP: Has the campaign started? Tell us a little more about the initial phase?
AT: The new marketing campaign launched in February this year. Our ECP distribution partners had the opportunity to decorate the campaign in their windows. In addition to static content featuring models who embody lightness through graceful, fluid movements this was even more expressively expressed in videos which we showed online or on social media. As a recurring element we show a lot of sky as we think it transports the lightness and our visual thinking in an optimal way. The campaign has received a lot of attention and consumers and our partners have noticed a refreshed look in the brand’s imagery.
VP: Summarize the campaign in a few words for the wearer…
AT: Ultimate lightness is the unique feature that unites all Silhouette eyewear. It is lightness that people feel the moment they try on a pair of our glasses. This is exactly what we want to visualize and emotionalize in our brand identity. We are shaping the future of eyewear: total freedom of vision.
VP: What does Silhouette aim to achieve with this new campaign?
AT: By refocusing our communications, we want to boost our brand's desirability worldwide. We also want to strengthen our position in the premium market, and recharge and develop our core brand in all its facets and touchpoints. One of our objectives is also to develop new customer segments and to address a younger target group.
VP: Sounds very interesting. Now, please tell us something about the eyewear featured in this new campaign?
AT: This campaign showcases primarily our recently introduced Purist rimless collection. In addition to its ultra-lightness, the Purist collection is a tech-oriented contemporary style. The shape of the hinge and temple changes in perception, depending on how you look
at them.
But we have also expanded the campaign from Purist to many new eyewear models such as a new Sun collection, our rimless shades. Oversized rimless round shapes give the wearer a feeling inspired by the sunshine city Miami. This collection won a Best-of-Best Red Dot Design Award. The full-rim Lite Wave Collection - which won an IF Design Award - also incorporates the theme of lightness if you look at the high-tech, lasered titanium frames.
And, of course, we also have our two Red Dot Design Award winners: The Limited Edition Futura Dot, which is an updated version of our original 70s Futura design, and our New York Sky Collection, which has 23-carat, gold-plated frames. The New York Sky is all about matching style with innovation, which is something we like to do a lot at Silhouette.
VP: Tell us something about the grand reveal of this campaign?
AT: Our new brand identity premiered at the Art Basel in Miami. We set up a pop-up store there and did an influencer campaign to reach out to new fans. At the same time, we launched an out-of-home campaign and a social media and influencer-marketing campaign to promote the new brand image.
We presented our new brand identity, Empowered by Lightness, earlier this spring around the world and at Mido in Milan, which gave us an opportunity to showcase our signature attributes throughout our collection. The campaign can be seen on silhouette.com and in-store at premium eye care professionals’ shops around the world.
VP: What is in the pipeline with this new brand strategy?
AT: Silhouette is known and loved by celebrities around the world for creating ultra-light eyewear. To reach even more new audiences with our new brand identity, we partnered this summer with musical supernova and fashion icon Rita Ora for our Sun collections.
Our signature designer eyewear is the perfect complement to Rita’s vibrant looks. In addition, we want to transfer more to the general public that Silhouette eyewear is used in space and has been worn by astronauts on more than 40 space missions. Space has become a highly interested topic and we would like to integrate this into the brand’s message to the general audience even stronger.
