Because Kmart is not a destination our teens considered when buying basketball shoes, we needed to convince them that there is a shoe made for them, at an affordable price.

Bringing credibility to the brand is NY Knick’s Al Harrington. Harrington’s vision that it doesn’t take money to play the game; it takes shoes lived across all media.Through messaging that spoke to the product features, we focused on product attributes with the price point being secondary. We had to convince our target that due to the craftsmanship of the shoe, it was built to ball at an affordable price.

The programme 'slam dunked' expectations. In the first 5 weeks, footwear sales exceeded plan by 60% and Protege apparel exceeded plan by 30%. Online sales were so strong, the campaign was extended two months beyond the launch to keep momentum building into the summer months. Thousands of wallpapers and 10K+ ringtones were downloaded as part of the mobile campaign, truly integrating the Protege brand into the daily lives of the target.