2020/2021 Winners & Shortlists

Background

In the UAE, Converse’s target audience are the young, the rebellious and the leaders of the pack in the world of Skate/Action, Music and Street Art .The spaces where the our audience lives is currently saturated with brands vying for their valuable attention.The flagship store opened in May 2018. CHALLENGES: 1. The brand has strong recognition for its legendary silhouette that has been imitated by many fashion brands. 2. Sales were spiraling 3. The brand never marketed locally, and created its Instagram account on the 20th of October, 2018, after the flagship store opened. 4. When Converse releases exclusive drops, it generated a lot of excitement but rarely sells out nor is as coveted as competitors.

Describe the strategy

TARGET AUDIENCE The cool, rebellious, and anti-authoritarian youth of the UAE (GenZ). CHALLENGES: Moms were purchasing and wearing the shoes. We had to bring Converse back to the centre of culture, where it belongs. If there’s one thing GenZ knows, it’s authenticity. Anything that isn’t for or by the culture is immediately cancelled. INSIGHT: Culture is made by those in it. STRATEGY: Make It Theirs.

Describe the execution

We commissioned a local sneaker designer, Waxfeller, to create a custom collection that celebrates the local culture, which took two months to design 200 pairs. The iconic sneakers were designed in collaboration with Project Chaiwala, a homegrown karak tea social enterprise whose brand is loved by the youth. We created culturally focused, insight driven content. A promo video that was wholistically created by a team of all young innovators, homegrown in the UAE - from the videography, photography, animation, design and production. They owned the project, making it a collaborative piece for the youth, by the youth. The music and sound design was created by a local music producers - who used the sounds of the Chaiwalas as the backbone. We got the word out of the campaign through our networks.

List the results

The noise generated online and offline by the youth was unprecedented. The results: 1. A collaborative piece that made a deep and authentic contribution to the culture. 2. 50% of the shoes were sold out on Day 1 and completely sold out in a week. 3. 57% increase in sales 4. 54% increase in footfall 5. Some of the most influential personalities joined and posted about - for the love of Converse and culture. Making our campaign a true success...coveted by collectors, sneaker-heads, GenZ of the UAE and lovers of the culture.