• by Larissa Faw , October 8, 2015

Diesel has launched a new kind of global programmatic campaign with its "Decoded by Diesel" initiative promoting its fall/winter 2015 catalog. 

Developed with WPP's Mindshare, the programmatic campaign -- Diesel’s largest ever -- features a dynamic creative production process that delivers 404 different tailored ads in real-time, based on the content and context of the page.

It playfully decodes the content for the user with the messaging. 

Retargeting is also activated within the campaign, with ads asking viewers if they “Got cookies?” It then directs them to experience the brand new Diesel site. 

"This campaign sees Diesel and Mindshare rewrite the rules of programmatic, harnessing its intelligence and scale to deliver a sophisticated and very modern brand campaign," says Charlotte Day-Lewin, partner luxury and fashion, Mindshare Worldwide. 

At the same time, the campaign is aligning with high-profile partners in order to maximize its global reach. Spring Studios serves as the creative agency and worked with Diesel's artistic director Nicola Formichetti to develop the concept and theme. 

Dating app Tinder is involved in its first ad campaign with a fashion brand through a native advertising collaboration. Several 15-second video ads mimic Tinder language and appear as profiles, prompting the user to swipe left or right, and ultimately delivering Diesel fashion models as matches.   

Music platform Shazam is running amusing and unusual ads that comment on the Shazam App functionality with messages like ‘I didn’t get it either’ when the service fails to recognize the track and ‘I know please don’t judge me…’ for when the track is a ‘guilty pleasure.’ 

Viewers are also being targeted through fashion and "gender-neutral" tracking content. 

These highly customized initiatives are a result of research carried out across seven countries (and polling 14,000 consumers) by Mindshare and sibling shop Lightspeed. This data uncovered a new segment of so-called “Smart Rebels” that presents what the agencies believe is the greatest opportunity for Diesel from a targeting standpoint. 

Combined these initiatives are designed to drive traffic to Diesel's newly launched Web site. Diesel executives say visits, time spent and CR will be important key performance indicators to determine its success. 

Still, Diesel isn't forgoing its traditional roots. In addition this extensive digital component, the effort is complemented with a global print and out-of-home campaign appearing in major cities, including New York, L.A., Chicago, Miami, Paris, London, Milan, Berlin, Tokyo, Shanghai and Mumbai.

The embrace of programmatic illustrates the pivot that the brand has made toward digital initiatives and technology since Formichetti took over as artistic director in 2013. Diesel executives credit Mindshare Luxury (which has worked with the brand since 2006) with helping it execute optimally. 

Diesel has used programmatic for a few seasons in a bid to be more effective and efficient with its ad strategy, company executives say. “We can smartly manage investments in many markets and focus more on the planning itself. We are a global brand, so this is key,” says one Diesel executive.