Debenhams is stepping up its advertising activity for its autumn/winter collection as it doubles spending on print advertising and introduces in-store augmented reality.

The campaign is being led by a new TV ad featuring the department store chain’s  Designers at Debenhams, which includes Henry Holland and Julien Macdonald.

Debenhams marketing director Richard Cristofoli said: “Nobody else gives their customers the level of access to names that really dominate the headlines of London Fashion Week.”

Cristofoli added that this year’s activity “will be noticeably bigger” than last year’s autumn campaign, with additional spend on TV, print and digital, according to Marketing Magazine.

He said Debenhams will reinvest in print because “we didn’t do enough print advertising at the launch of the new season and therefore we wanted to address that this time”.

The in-store augmented reality activity will allow people to hold their mobile up to promotional material in order to play videos featuring the designers’ new collections.

Cristofoli said more interactive elements would not be added in store for the sake of it because “it’s very easy to get into a box-ticking exercise”.

Debenhams will also run designer takeovers of its Facebook page across the next four weeks to allow fans to ask for advice.

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