The Archies: Why brands want to join the Riverdale gang
Cohorts, collabs and content is the love triangle for the ages, say brands about teaming up with the Zoya Akhtar film
Netflix’s ode to the much-loved comics The Archies is all set for release today at 1:30 PM on the OTT platform. Even before its release, the film has been making a buzz all over social media, first for being the debut film for Suhana Khan, Khushi Kapoor and Agastya Nanda and now for its fun collaborations with brands.
Much like Barbie, The Archies has also tied up with big names like Flipkart, Maybelline Newyork, boAt, Starbucks, Visatara, and Skybags.
boAt X Archies - Limited Edition Speakers
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Audio tech company boAt has collaborated with the cast of Zoya Aktar’s much-awaited film for limited-edition speakers ‘Riverdale Rocker’ launched just for the movie.
The brand film also features Bollywood’s latest It boy Orry, Uorfi Javed, Baba Sehgal, Farida Jalal, Darshan Magdum, and boAt founder Aman Gupta along with Suhana Khan, Khushi Kapoor, and the rest of the cast.
Maybelline New York
The cosmetics brand came out with a special edition of makeup products in line with the movie. Suhana Khan, who plays one of the lead characters in the film, is coincidently the brand ambassador for the brand.
Starbucks: holiday-themed drinks with a The Archies influence
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TATA Starbucks has introduced "The Holiday Classics," a line of new beverages for Christmas, with a special film featuring the Archies crew. With the hashtag #ItStartsWithYourGang, Starbucks and Netflix hope to encapsulate the spirit of camaraderie and unity that is portrayed in the narrative. The drinks have been named after the characters in the film like Archie’s: Crunchy Red Hat Mocha Frappuccino, Veronica’s: Toffee Nut Crunch Frappuccino, Betty’s: Chestnut Mont Blanc Frappuccino and Jughead’s: Gingerbread Frappuccino.
Flipkart - Archies Merchandise
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The official merchandise for the film is being launched on SPOYL, a Genz-focused site by Flipkart. The Archies Gang line offers more than 300 limited edition items that span both modern and retro silhouettes in clothing, accessories, and footwear.
Skybags x The Archies' Backpack Collection
The Archies Backpack Collection' by Skybags is a range of new backpacks that celebrates the movie.
Even WhatsApp came out with stickers featuring characters from the movie:
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The collaboration
The film is based on young, teenaged characters and hence for brands who want to capture the attention of the GenZ population, the film is great opportunity to marry content with brand collaborations.
Talking to e4m, about the same, Abhishek Maloo, Senior Director, Flipkart Fashion, said, “India has a booming fashion industry that caters to a very diverse consumer base. Within this universe, Gen Z is growing to become a very important segment that is also different from the previous generations when it comes to their shopping habits. Based on our deep customer understanding, we identified the potential to bring their favourite styles to them through our SPOYL experience which was launched a few months ago. Identifying the right avenues for design inspiration has been key for us and this partnership with Zoya Akhtar's 'The Archies' on Netflix was the right way for us to end the year on a high. Through a partnership of this kind, which marries the worlds of entertainment and fashion, we are able to curate special merchandise that is unlikely to be available anywhere else.”
Speaking to e4m about their collaboration and why they chose Archies, Pankaj Sharma, Director, Consumer Products Division, L’Oréal India “Starting from our consumers Maybelline as a brand is targeting young consumers, genzs, millennials and we found that Archies, especially had that credentials. We thought that it would resonate with the consumers and every aspect of this collaboration between both the parties has fallen in line making it a right choice.”
In a press note, Vyom Prashant, Director of Consumer Marketing at Meta said, "We want to bring more contextual and engaging experiences on WhatsApp that resonate with our users. We are thrilled to announce our partnership with Netflix India on the special Archies-themed stickers, and foresee great traction, especially by Gen Z and millennials when they are texting their friends, family, or in their group chats.”
Brands go Va Va Voom
Brands have understood the importance of content marketing and brand integration but how does it help them? Does it impact the branding at a time when it is so easy to forget things in the blink of an eye? We asked brands about the same, and Sharma said, “It depends upon the depth of the integration, with Archies, we’ve done everything right from the brand ambassador being lead to brand integration in the film to come out with a collection. We believe that this kind of piece lasts long, if you’ve just been there for association, you might struggle to create a noise and sustain it but when you are well-integrated, it creates an impact.”
“The best litmus test to check whether this has worked on a number of sales, and of course the engagement we get with the integration. This collaboration will tell us whether we have a deep connection with genzs or not.”
Maloo shared examples from Netflix’s content and how it has influenced consumers. He said, “Netflix's impact on the fashion industry can be seen in the way people are influenced by the fashion choices of their favorite actors and characters. Netflix's original series like "Stranger Things" and "The Crown" have inspired fashion trends with their vintage and retro styles, while shows like "Emily in Paris" and "Sex Education" have influenced fashion choices with their contemporary and trendy outfits. Our research also helped us see the value in this kind of collaboration which we believe will make our customers happy.”
