Strike a pose. Strut your stuff. Crush the goal.
VML — one of the most awarded creative agencies in the world — knew when they partnered with Louis Vuitton for Paris Fashion Week, they had to do more than just get likes and comments — they wanted to create a sense of exclusivity, a sense of connection, a sense…of high-fashion intrigue.
The challenge: How do you capture the imagination of an audience of LV’s 55 million Instagram followers meaningfully?
To get there, they built a completely hands-off Instagram DM automation that turned casual followers into content-loving fashionistas.
Now, they have a groundbreaking campaign and tons of industry buzz to show.
In two words? That’s hot.
How’d they do it?
Let’s talk about it.
The “Unseen Magic” Approach
First, you might be wondering: Who the heck is VML?
Let’s hear it from them! “VML is a leading creative agency that combines its brand experience, customer experience, and commerce to create connected brands and drive growth.”
But aside from that, a little history: VML formed from a combo of two of the most-award-winning creative agencies in the world —Wunderman Thompson and VMLY&R— so obviously, they’re no spring chicken when it comes to collaborating with big-name clients.
When famous fashion house Louis Vuitton wanted to raise awareness around their Paris Fashion Week show — let’s call it the “Daytona 500 of Fashion” — they turned to VML to create something tres chic.
And VML, for their part, knew just what to do.
They turned to us, Manychat, to launch an Instagram DM automation that created personalized fashion show tickets for Louis Vuitton followers. And it absolutely rocked all the fancy socks off of their fashion-forward audience.
The Personal Touch
As Louis Vuitton wanted to foment as much hype as possible for their upcoming fashion show as possible, VML ditched the tired old “watch our story” strategy and leveled up with an interactive DM automation — sliding custom tickets straight into followers’ DMs like a VIP hookup with their handle/name on the ticket.
The results? Oh, just 21,000 tickets sent. No biggie. Just casually filling a small stadium.
How they did it
Step 1: Louis Vuitton posted a story on their Instagram account inviting followers to get a personalized ticket to their fashion show.
Step 2: When followers interacted with the story, Manychat automatically sent said ticket with the date and time of the fashion show to the followers’ DMs. (Now that they had their information, they also reminded folks on the day of, importantly.)
Step 3: The ticket served as a brag-worthy shareable asset and a practical reminder of when to tune in to the show.
Step 4: The campaign established a vibe of exclusivity and personal connection between the brand and its audience.
The results
Morgane from VML explained, “When we saw the first real invite sent, it was a really exciting moment. One minute after the story, to see the number of messages that had been sent…it was awesome to see people use the activation and live this experience and probably feel an emotion to be connected with the brand.”
When Louis Vuitton Slid Into the DMs
Luxury brands have long faced the challenge of maintaining the aura of exclusivity while expanding.
This campaign solved the issue by creating what economists call “mass exclusivity” — where each follower received something personalized that felt special, even though thousands received similar experiences.
“The personalized ticket created an intimate moment between the brand and consumer,” said Dr. Vanessa Wu, a luxury consumer psychologist at INSEAD. “Recipients felt individually acknowledged by a prestigious brand, triggering the same neurological reward responses as exclusive in-store experiences.”
What Happens When a Luxury Brand Acts Like a Creator?
This remarkable campaign translated Louis Vuitton’s values — craftsmanship, personalization, and attention to detail — into a digital format. Rather than broadcasting content, the DM automation recreated the feeling of a hand-signed invitation traditionally reserved for Fashion’s most elite.
Easy to see why that would work, right? Let’s hit this point home.
Why this works
- The old way: Post a story or announcement and hope followers remember to tune in.
- The new way: Create a personalized asset that makes followers feel special while serving as a reminder of the event.
Behind the scenes
The most stressful part of the campaign?
“It was definitely stressful to connect an account with 55 million followers,” said Morgane from VML. “Some account managers at Meta were informed about the campaign and asked their developers team not to block anything if they noticed suspicious activity on the account.”
The team even did a soft launch within the agency, asking colleagues to test the experience precisely to ensure a manageable workload. Why not battle-test stuff before it goes live, especially with a global brand?
And when everything went off without a hitch? “There was this moment when everything is good,” said Celine from VML. “It was a very good moment.”
One of those times to raise a glass. 🥂🍾
What’s next?
For VML, the campaign proved that even the most premium brands can build authentic, one-on-one relationships with their audience — right where they spend their time: on social media.
“This operation shows brands that it’s possible right now to engage people differently on social media,” Morgane said. “Not just by having some likes or comments on stories or posts. You can create experiences inside social media, inside DMs, and it’s really cool.”
Seeing a brand as highly regarded as Louis Vuitton connect directly with people on Instagram didn’t just drive results; it sparked inspiration. Luxury no longer means distance. Now, even heritage brands are having personal conversations at scale.
They have to, as mediums change, and people want the connection.
The final results
Aside from the 21,000 tickets, VML didn’t just create a campaign that crushed — they pioneered a new way for luxury brands to think about cozying up with their followers in real ways.
And the best part? They did it in just three weeks from brief to deployment.
“If we are able to do that, we’re able to do anything we want,” Morgane said.
(We don’t hate it.)
Use us Too! (Here’s how)
Step 1: Sign up for Manychat (oh, did we mention it’s free?!)
Join 1.5 million+ users and sign up for a risk-free trial.
Step 2: Build your first automation (We’ve got templates.)
Choose from one of our ready-to-go templates and get it up and running before your espresso shot even kicks in.
Step 3: Secure the bag! 💅
No, really. Get more engagement and create connections with your audience every time you post. We believe in you.
Ready to try your hand at this? Launch your first automation here!
