Opening your first Manhattan store is one thing. Getting New York interested is another. Primark was arriving in Herald Square, in a city that sees a launch every week of the year and has strong opinions about all of them. VCCP US set out to make sure this one was impossible to miss.
We started at the top. The Empire State Building was lit Primark blue, and the brand took over media at scale across Herald Square, the Penn district and Times Square, a first for Primark, with mobile billboards carrying the blue through the streets in between. And because there was another fashion moment happening in town that week (Met Gala anyone?), we took the chance to point out, in a suitably Primark way, that the real one was on Friday, not Monday.
Then came the bag. New Yorkers carry everything, so we made something that could keep up. “The Herald” is a statement carryall designed with New York label MNZ, polished but practical, the kind of bag that gets from a downtown meeting to a late dinner with everything you need still inside it. Made in limited numbers and inspired by the rhythm of the city, it went to some of New York's most stylish voices in the days around the opening, a nod to a brand that understands how the city actually dresses.
The store opening itself came in two halves. First the flagship launch event, with celebrities and influencers turning out to start the week properly. Then on Friday, a full block party in Herald Square Park: food, coffee, giveaways, photo moments and a DJ playing inside the store. Built for the whole neighbourhood and a signal that Primark had not just arrived, but was at home at its new address.
New York noticed. The launch drew more than 8 million organic social views and $9.6 million in earned media value, with 245 million out of home impressions across the city. Web traffic climbed 92% month on month, 3,000 shoppers queued on opening day, and the store hit 403% to budget on day one and 196% to budget across its first week.
That’s how you make a fashionable entrance in Manhattan.