Meet Biba Milioto. She’s the creative inspiration behind the social media fashion campaign that has women chasing hidden bags all over New
York City.

Here’s how it works:

Brooklyn handbag designer Rachel Nasvik is luring New Yorkers to her twitter account and blog offering clues as to where she will “loose”
her next bag. Each bag is stuffed with the essentials for a night on the town including a summer mix of music and a mysterious key. The bag
includes a note to the lucky finder which instructs them that the bag is theirs to keep. Finders are encouraged to log on to the blog and
post the story of how they found it under the corresponding picture of the bag’s location. The campaign has been very successful
in getting users excited and eager to participate in the hunt. It’s a great example of how to use social media creatively and effectively.

1. What was the creative inspiration for the campaign?

A few yards of neon pink leather and a desire to create something that was purely fun, and completely tailored to the target market—something that would delight them and engage them in the story of the Rachel Nasvik brand.

It’s actually two separate ideas that happily fused together, amazingly enough. Rachel and I conceived of the bag-hunt aspect separately from what we’re now calling ‘phase two’ which is launching this weekend.

Michael Hastings-Black of Desedo cooked up this fantastic idea of joining forces with street vendors in NYC and getting the bags to have some full-on street level face time- his inspiration was trying to further tease out the totally dedicated relationship that the Rachel Nasvik brand has with New York City, since the brand is so rooted here, where it was born. I love that it has brought the two separate ideas into one cohesive campaign. It’s been great, great fun.

2.  You mentioned there’s a second phase. What can fans expect to see?

Well- that’s where Mr. Hastings-Black comes in. He conceived of this great idea where we hook up with some street vendors (the guys that sell the knockoffs) and slip some of the Rachel Nasvik bags into the mix. It’s meant to be surprising, funny, and irreverent, and also meant to be a bit of a love letter to New York- so much of Rachel’s brand is inspired by the New York lifestyle. What’s neat about this second phase is that since we’re cutting out the middle man of the retailer, there will be maximum street-level presence. We expect to roll that out this weekend.

3. What results have you seen?

The reaction has been overwhelming- on the first day we picked up about 700 followers on Twitter thanks to some web press from DailyCandy.com- that number has grown to nearly 1,000.The blog we set up www.wherethenighttakesyou.blogspot.com has seen lots of commenting and clicks.  And the media loves the idea as much as the NYC audience does- we’ve had such great coverage, which has continued to spread the word. It seems to have offered everyone a reason to smile and pay attention. We’ve also witnessed girls running down the street to be the first to grab the bag!

4. How have you used Twitter to promote the brand and the campaign?

The Twitter account is the lifeline of the campaign- we use it to drop clues, to ask questions, to post pictures. It’s the bridge that is directly connecting us to our rapt audience.

5.  What is the most surprising aspect of the campaign?

How constantly evolving it is- and how because it’s small and tightly managed, it can change every day to up the ante. If Michael has an
idea, or Rachel wants to try something different, we can just go for it and see what happens. It’s exhilarating, and really gratifying. The flexibility of the web and the immediacy of the Twitter feed has totally changed the game in terms of interactivity.

6. What did you do to make sure this campaign truly represented the Rachel Nasvik brand?

I had worked with Rachel previously when I was the Marketing Director at Ravinstyle.com. So I had a very precise idea of where the brand was positioned, and since I live in New York, where there are lots of RN fans, I usually spot at least one bag on the subway each day (full disclosure- I have a closet full of them myself!). So I know there’s a street style, an edginess, and a spirit that is very specific to her customer. She’s the kind of girl who knows where the get the best cocktail in the city, who peruses the smartest bookstores, and eats at the coolest new restaurant- you know, the one that doesn’t have it’s liquor license yet? She’s also not flashy or showy and appreciates subtlety in design.

So- I knew we had to be fresh and smart and that dreaded word: cool. And cool here in New York has an atmosphere & an address- we figured if we showed up where that girl was, with a gorgeous bag and a neat strategy, we’d embody the essence of the brand perfectly.

7.  You called this an “experiment.” What were you testing?

We were testing the waters of interactivity and looking to see how far people would follow us into the game. Will they trek all the way across town for a bag? Will they use a password and ask for what they want? We were experimenting with removing most of the boundaries that usually exist between a brand an it’s audience—we are directly interacting with them in a way that usually doesn’t happen. I’m happy to say it worked!

8.  Can you provide my readers with any advanced clues to where the next bag may be dropped?

That would ruin the fun of the anticipation! Follow the Twitter feed!

**Recognition: Special thanks to @JennMorales for recognizing the campaign and support all aspects of this posts.

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