You hear the word ‘community’ used a lot in marketing these days as companies realise the importance of being part of a specific cultural group in order to bring customer loyalty (and therefore sales) to their brand. Often it’s just a buzzword thrown around during meetings about social media strategy so it’s good to hear that Zalando is actually following through with the concept in a new initiative called Cultural Ties that highlights counterculture in various European cities and relates it to local street style.
Focusing on places like Berlin, Antwerp, Warsaw, and Paris, the online seller tells stories of local heroes in music, art, fashion, and dance via interviews, photography, and city guides. The object is to celebrate the creativity happening at ground level and explore the similarities and differences between each location.
One of the cities involved in the project is Stockholm and Robin recently was taken there to meet some of the creatives featured on the platform. Of course, it involved some nice drinks in cool bars and some great food but there were panel talks, workshops and presentations by the likes of Wasima Ayad, Let’s Create and Marc UÅ, all heavily involved in the street culture of the city.
It’s encouraging that a large brand can focus on and enable small community-based projects and artistic enterprises but of course, there is a commercial side to it too. Here it comes in the form of a collaboration with Adidas – a collection of streetwear launched on the site in December – that hopefully balances underground with the mainstream in a way that appeals both to the communities they celebrate and the customers keen to buy into something maybe a little more niche than they are used to.
In any event though, the site is worth looking at if you are planning a visit to any of the featured cities as you might find a cool alternative to the usual tourist spots. Check it out here.
