Close-Up: My YouTube ad of the week - French Connection

Task: Experiment, innovate and drive sales using a video-driven shopping experience.

Execution: The French Connection YouTube channel provides interactive fashion advice via a series of interlinked videos, which direct shoppers to the brand's site for purchase.

Credits: Poke London for French Connection.

http://www.youtube.com/frenchconnection

Why I like this: Traditionally, video is seen as a linear experience: it begins, you watch it, and it ends. Youtique creates an interactive fashion experience on YouTube resulting in - if you'd excuse the pun - highly tailored shopping recommendations.

On YouTube, Louise Rose presents viewers with fashion advice for occasions ranging from work to winter weddings, and everything is available for purchase on the French Connection website.

Wish I'd thought of: French Connection is the first brand in Europe to use out-linking annotations on YouTube, and it has created a relatively seamless user experience by tying together personalised video recommendations and commerce.

As YouTube begins to allow links out to other destinations, it's potentially a slippery slope ridden with affiliate links and spammers. Clearly an early best practice, Youtique is a fantastic example of how YouTube will allow brands to use contextual links in a creative and meaningful way.

Discussions continue on how to further weave Youtique into the complicated buying cycle.

This article was first published on campaignlive.co.uk