Come and play with me! Topshop's "Playland"

Well, last weekend you would have had to also go around those participating in the brand’s shop window Twitter lead gamified activation.

The concept is simple: Tweet @Topshop the code that appears in the screen. If you happen to be the first one to do so (slim chance, but hey no risk no fun) then they will tweet you back. Keep an eye on your tweets though because you will need to respond to Topshop using the #STOP to “try and grab a prize”. All in the short time span of 30 seconds. Simples, really.

The activation is as one would expect from a brand like Topshop: colourful, shiny, lots of flashing lights and a giant blow up sign with computer avatars. It was unclear what the prizes to be won actually were but it is probably safe to assume that it was more about the game than the prize in this case. Either way, the crowd was already formed around the screen at 8.55am on the Friday morning.

Want to come and play? Unfortunately the activation only lasted a few days and was gone by Monday morning, so I never got to play. It did look like fun and clearly proved popular among Topshop’s audience, however for me it lacked a certain appeal. Whether this was due to the slim chance of actually being the first tweeter or having to tweet as much as I would have had to actually win I am not entirely sure. Maybe a mix of both.

It was certainly interesting to see a major clothing brand using brand activation on such a big scale without being associated with either a major event or launch. I cannot help but wonder what it did for both Topshop’s Twitter followers and tweet reach. And to what extent it raised brand awareness and likeability. Or why it only lasted a few short days. The most important question for me has been since then: Would you have played?