Victoria's Secret runway show stumble
Victoria's Secret was seen as a pioneer in more than just women's underthings when the lingerie company announced a Feb. 3, 1999 online airing of one of its famous runway shows. Supported by a considerable media buy that included ads during the Super Bowl, the event promised a front-row seat for the festivities.
Unfortunately, one of the first major webcast events stumbled on the runway. Crushed under the surge of approximately 1.5 million visitors, the Broadcast.com site slowed to a crawl. The few web viewers able to load the show were treated to choppy, postage-sized video clips. Victoria's Secret was undoubtedly hoping for kudos for doing something innovative. Instead, they got complaints. While guys looking to ogle scantily clad supermodels were left wanting, marketers looking for lessons in how not to use streaming video got an eye full.
Why it's important:
- Online video technologies have vastly improved, but the medium is still relatively young. Make sure the available technology will support the desired strategic execution.
- When planning online video events hope for the best, and prepare for the best. Don't let best-case-scenario campaign response turn into a worst-case-scenario technical issue. Preemptive bandwidth is much cheaper than damage control after an online meltdown.
