Black Friday is already a challenging time for retailers: the moment when most brands make an extra effort for their special offers to stand out. On top of that, Colombo had to find a way to generate awareness for its deals and take them to its target audience: men who wear suits and ties. So, how could we make people notice our brand during Black Friday in a positive and innovative way?

The strategy was to overcome this distance by making a creative use of a new technology and taking Colombo's deals directly to where its potential customers were. With the help of specially-adapted drones, we flew 8 modified mannequins wearing Colombo products and promoting its deals across the most important business district of Sao Paulo, Vila Olimpia.

The Flying Collection brought direct outcomes on how our audience perceived Colombo and its reputation on the eyes of the public in general: from a low-cost men's shirt store to a truly innovative male fashion retailer. The campaign was covered by the main Brazilian websites and by others from over 20 countries, getting approximately US$1.1 million in earned media, and it was the most commented brand activation on Twitter on Black Friday. Another praise for Colombo was focused on the creative use of drones for creating awareness for its special deals. Together, mannequins and offers brought a 48% increase in sales for the retailer during Black Friday.

Colombo didn't have the proper budget for investing in the conventional media channels that would work for its target audience. So the media team was key in pointing out that we'd have to come up with a truly innovative channel. Better put, we'd have to create a new channel. The eight flying mannequins were developed to promote brand, products and special deals at the same time, creating a different perception for Colombo's Black Friday campaign. All of that at the perfect place the find our target – among buildings of Sao Paulo Main business district.

The Flying Collection was covered by the main Brazilian websites and by others from over 20 countries, getting approximately US$1.1 million in earned media. It was the most commented brand activation on Twitter on Black Friday, which was a direct impact on how our audience and people in general perceived Colombo: from a low-cost men's shirt store to a truly innovative male fashion retailer. Another praise for Colombo was focused on the creative use of drones for creating awareness for a special deals. Together, mannequins and offers brought a 48% increase in sales for the retailer during Black Friday.