DEBUT TV-SPOT: MARC O’POLO LAUNCHES FAR-REACHING SUSTAINABILITY IMAGE CAMPAIGN. IT’S ON US.

STEPHANSKIRCHEN SEPTEMBER 2021 – Marc O’Polo continues its new, modern brand direction with a strong message. The premium brand reaches another milestone with its Fall/Winter 2021 campaign: For the first time in the company’s history, the campaign centres around a monumental image film. The accompanying, far-reaching media strategy will be rolled out worldwide on October 7, 2021. The focus of the first TV campaign from Marc O‘Polo: Brand modernity, sustainability and the message: IT’S ON US. SUSTAINABILITY SINCE 1967. A clear statement for Marc O’Polo: A movie at the centre of the brand campaign.

Emotional. Intense. Concise. The director and photographer, Jonas Lindstroem, is renowned for his iconic visual language. The campaign concept was developed by Marc O’Polo marketing in collaboration with Lindstroem. The cast: young, authentic, cool, and with an honest diversity. The backdrop: A boundless natural view encompassing dark forests, deep lakes, raging rivers and soaring mountains. Powerful. Moving. Rough. An iconic element: The white cube. State of the art and radically modern. A deliberate contrast. A reference to man and nature, which deserve to be balanced. The message: IT’S ON US. SUSTAINABILITY SINCE 1967. For Marc O‘Polo, the topic of sustainability is not new—the brand has expanded together with, and on, this topic since its founding in 1967. Today, Marc O’Polo understands sustainability first and foremost as a mission. In a time of division and polarisation, the brand is trying to send a clear message: “It’s up to us to do something. As a company. As individuals. As a society.”

Replacing individual egoism with unity is what matters now. The group of young people who appear in the film, their strength drawn from their diversity, symbolize this idea. Besides presenting the product, these individuals voice a truth, “It starts with me”, and give the campaign the necessary framework, “We all have to take responsibility”, to reach a clear conclusion: “IT’S ON US.” The products featured in the film underline the fact that sustainability and fashion do not have to be mutually exclusive. The focus lies on more sustainable outerwear such as iconic puffer styles made with recycled materials—one of Marc O’Polo’s most important product groups. The brand also focuses on radical modernity and a new coolness through high fashion styling. The entire image campaign is CO2-neutral, with all production emissions offset in cooperation with ClimatePartner. In addition to the director’s cut (90‘‘), which is intended for the Paris launch event, the Marc O’Polo website and social media, there is a main spot (20‘‘) for paid media and, for the first time, also for TV, online video, social media, digital OOH and much more. Additionally, the campaign package includes seven single films (10‘‘) as well as still images expressing a new modernity. A behind-the-scenes interview film underscores the “IT’S ON US” message. Providing unscripted answers to the question, “What does sustainability mean to you?”, the models capture the essence of the campaign as well as the brand DNA of Marc O’Polo. Sophisticated interactive landing pages and a presentation at points of sale complement the campaign. The wide-reaching international media strategy—developed in parallel with the new brand identity and campaign concept—has also been significantly modernised. With one flight per season instead of three, the strategy is much more focused and, with 70% reach in the target group, more present than ever. The TV advert is a historic milestone for the brand, as is the planned international reach of over 300 million contacts. The choice of media ranges from classic TV in high-quality environments to connected TV to online video, paid social, performance media, and digital OOH in key cities such as Paris, Amsterdam and Warsaw. The premiere of the director’s cut and presentation of all campaign assets is planned for October 6, 2021, in Paris as part of fashion week. Around 300 selected representatives of the international fashion scene will be present, generating additional reach on a global level. From October 7, 2021, the holistic campaign and media concept will be supported by numerous national and international retail partners, as well as by 360° efforts on the company’s own channels (online shop, windows, in-store, CRM, social media, newsletters, etc.). Zalando plans, among other efforts, to launch a homepage takeover on an international level. Other strategic partners, including Galeries Lafayette Paris, De Bijenkorf Amsterdam, KaDeWe Berlin and Ludwig Beck Munich will run the powerful campaign both in store and online, extending it further through window displays, pop-ups, all digital touchpoints and more. The campaign and tailor-made media strategy are key elements of the overall corporate strategy, which focuses on internationalising, increasing brand appeal, expanding the menswear business and attracting younger customer groups to Marc O’Polo. These significant changes in the marketing strategy, together with the interplay between campaign creation and media, are based on, among other factors, the results of a large-scale study of brand desirability. The overarching vision: Marc O’Polo will become the leading modern casual and sustainable lifestyle brand in the global premium segment, offering high-quality and innovative products.