For over 7 decades, the Volley has been the symbol of Australian youth. In recent years, the brand has been in decline due to lack of awareness of Volley’s ‘credentials’ amongst style commentators and influencers.Volley wished to leverage their retro appeal and relaunch 3 classic styles. We were tasked with retelling the original Volley story in a way that would firmly reconnect the brand with a youth audience.Following our discovery that many Volley designs were missing from the product archive, we launched a national search for ‘Australia’s Well Worn Volleys’ and asked Australians to search their homes for shoes that had been lost or forgotten.To ensure mass exposure, we enlisted a panel of experts to curate the search and select a ‘winning discovery’ that would be relaunched. The panel conducted a high profile press conference, where they appealed to Australians to upload photos of their Volley finds to Facebook.Our panel shortlisted 31 pairs which were exhibited in Melbourne’s Federation Square and then chose a pair of 1973 Volley High Leaps to be relaunched nationally in 2012.

The reaction from the media and consumers was extraordinary, achieving mass media exposure across TV, radio and online. Highlights included 21 pieces of branded TV coverage and the campaign reached over 17m people.The search uncovered a pair of 1973 Volley High Leaps, which have since been relaunched and also unearthed 10 other Volley styles previously lost, these styles will now be re-released over the next 2 years.

To ensure the campaign would achieve mass exposure, we enlisted a panel of experts to curate the search and select the ‘winning find’. To appeal to our style conscious youth audience, we appointed Simon ‘Woody’ Wood, editor of international fanzine ‘Sneaker Freaker’. To draw the mainstream media, we also appointed former Australian tennis champion Evonne Goolagong AO MBE, who won the Wimbledon Championships in 1971 wearing Volley shoes.Our curators fronted a press conference to launch the search at Sydney’s White City tennis ground. They appealed to Australians to get searching and asked them to upload photos of their Volley finds to Facebook.The panel shortlisted 31 pairs which were exhibited in Melbourne’s Federation Square and then chose a pair of 1973 Volley Hi-Leaps to be relaunched in 2012. The campaign launch, the exhibition and the announcement of the winning pair were each supported with intensive media relations strategies.

The response from the media was phenomenal, achieving mass media coverage across TV, radio and online. Highlights included 21 pieces of branded TV coverage, 15 of which ran on national news segments throughout the launch day. Over 23,000 fans were added to the Facebook page with no media spend. The campaign reached over 17m people and delivered over AUS$2 million in earned media. As a direct result of this campaign, Volley exceeded its sales forecast for the quarter, halting the decline, with sales up 14% in value.The search uncovered a rare pair of 1973 Volley Hi-Leaps, which have since been relaunched, achieving critical acclaim amongst fashion and lifestyle media. Perhaps even more importantly, the search also uncovered 10 Volley styles previously lost, these styles will now be re-released over the next 2 years, giving Volley a credible, long term vintage relaunch strategy.