Oh, Lady Gaga… What sort of counter-cultural shenanigans is that maven of marvelous self-promotion up to now?
Why, selling clothes and toys of course.
Gaga has partnered with Barney’s New York to present Gaga’s Workshop. (If you’re imagining a kind of North Pole run by Tim Burton, you’re half way there.) It’s a special holiday collection of designer whatnot available exclusively at Barney’s, with a portion of the proceeds going to Gaga’s new Born This Way Foundation. Barney’s has launched a special Facebook app linking to the Workshop’s whimsical website – part Nightmare Before Christmas, part Where the Wild Things Are.
Engagament: A marketing initiative seeking social engagement using a celebrity in a cross-promotional guise
As for the collection, we’ll leave that for others to review, though, having perused the offerings, it’s much more likely Gaga’s actual workshop is in Bangladesh and not the Purgatorial Nether-regions of Alpha Centari – or wherever she’s supposed to be from.
As a marketing scheme, however, there’s much to enjoy; the online promotion provides a fun and campy experience, encouraging interaction through creative portals like the Gaga Machine, a clever feature on the website that converts eight-letter promotion codes into fan goodies: exclusive videos, digital wallpapers, etc. (This is not to be confused with the other Gaga Machine, the Japanese robot that writes all her music.) These special codes can be found lurking on the Barney’s website (little monsters appear here and there to offer the codes). The codes can also be had on Twitter and, according to the Workshop website “around New York City.”
The Gaga Machine encourages exploration and investigation of the Barney’s site and offers those who can’t attend the Workshop in person, a chance to share in the fun.
Barney’s New York Track Social Profile
Barney’s New York Facebook Page
Barney’s New York Website
Track Social