The campaign will be setting off in France this year, under the name ‘Ultralin’, before turning into ‘Solo Lino’ to win over Italy in 2017, and subsequently into ‘So Linen’ in the UK in 2018. “This is the first consumer campaign launched by the federation, which was focused on B2B until now,” explained the General Secretary of the CELC (the European Confederation of Linen and Hemp), Marie-Emmanuelle Belzung. “We are now moving on to the next step, with linen doing its grand tour.”Initially, Ultralin will feature a dedicated information website and an intuitive, multimedia web documentary. Social media will also enter the fray, and journeys for the discovery of linen will be organised for the press. From 23rd May to 5th June, the promotion will reach the stores with Ultra Shopping Lin.
The BHV Marais department store will sport a series of linen lanterns on its shop-front, and will feature a bedecked route through the store’s linen offering. Comptoir des Cotonniers will, among other things, deploy a web portal dedicated to its linen range. Not to mention other initiatives by retailers Cyrillus, Merci, Majestic Filatures, Merci, Home autour du Monde, Front de Mode and Maison de Vacances.
In the same period, a linen field created by designer Philippe Nigro will be planted at the Place des Vosges. It will be the chance for professionals to illustrate the manufacturing process, both controlled and complex, required by this fibre, which is mostly produced in France, Belgium and the Netherlands. The initiative will be a key part of Paris’ Design Days, and will also extend along Rue des Francs-Bourgeois.Half of the campaign is financed by industry players, and it is also supported by the European Union. This is not the first campaign of its kind: in June 2013, the Place du Royal was turned into a linen field, the high point of the ‘Be Linen’ B2B promotional campaign undertaken by the industry over the course of three years. Since then, the industry has also created the European Flax certification, to identify the original premium fibres used for its products.
