Direct > Channels
LAUNDRY SERVICE, New York / FOOT LOCKER / 2019
Overview
Credits
Why is this work relevant for Direct?
We crafted a package that took 150 influencers (and two iconic brands) through a time machine. A trip to the past, inspired by the future.
Discover Your Air Network is a 90’s themed cable network celebrating #AirMaxDay. It’s inspired by Nike products combining retro design with futuristic elements, and launched in partnership with Foot Locker, a global retailer.
To engage cultural tastemakers, we meticulously crafted a seeding kit inspired by 90’s cable boxes. It included a functioning remote, network guide, and the latest Air Max sneakers. We sent out 150 boxes to influencers with a combined social following of 51M+.
Background
Nike is the world’s largest and most iconic sportswear brand, and Foot Locker is one of the world’s largest sneaker retailers. Foot Locker’s goal is to maintain relevance with younger Gen Z sneakerheads without alienating their Millennial consumer base.
Our goal was to leverage Nike’s Air Max Day to spotlight Foot Locker’s heritage as the go-to destination for sneakerheads.
To reach audiences at scale, we used a 90’s themed cable network construct to create a high volume of content for Gen Zs and Millennials.
A critical element of engaging with our audience was building meaningful relationships with influencers and tastemakers in the sneaker community. We knew we had to provide them with a unique experience they would be excited to share with their fans and followers. With a truncated timeline and a limited budget, we were tasked with driving impactful results with 150 seeding kits.
Describe the creative idea
A classic cable TV network, made for the internet.
Five shows, three commercials, two dozen actors, athletes and influencers.
And the most entertaining cable box you’ve ever seen.
We present to you: Discover Your Air Network.
We took shows Millennials loved in the 90s and reimagined them with the influencers Gen Z cares about today: sitcoms, cartoons, fitness, news and live shopping.
Making a meaningful impact on our audiences required more than just reaching them with our content. We had to build relationships with the people who influence sneaker culture, and inspire them to share our campaign as well.
We sent Cable-box-inspired seeding kits including the latest Air Max product to influential tastemakers.Each box included a remote that played audio from the shows and a robust network guide featuring vintage-style ads, word puzzles and sneaker-themed horoscopes. The kits provided an unforgettable experience that each influencer had to share.
Describe the strategy
We had two audiences, each equally important.
Gen Zs (13-20) obsessed with sneakers, always looking for the newest, coolest product, and often assume that if it’s sold at a retailer it’s not cool.
And older Millennials (21-34) who are out to collect rare products that have a story behind them.
We knew we needed a campaign that could appeal to both of them, and that would champion Foot Locker’s heritage.
A cable network gave us the perfect construct.
But what’s a cable network without a cable box? Our strategy included creating a 90s-inspired “cable box” with the latest Air Max Product, a retro-styled TV Guide and functioning remote, and seeding them to 150+ global influencers to share on their channels, reaching both audiences at scale. As a result, our influencers’ shared videos produced an incremental viewership of 35,000 hours of content.
Describe the execution
We redesigned the traditional cardboard shoe box into an early 90’s cable box. Keeping the same original cardboard material, we printed wood grain textures in glossy, and aluminum in matte, to resemble the aesthetic of a real cable box both on the exterior and interior.
We designed three-dimensional elements including buttons and foot pegs, and carefully created ventilation panels and custom metallic warning labels. To further bring the “cable box” to life, we applied a lenticular panel to simulate the movement of the clock, highlighting Air Max Day (AMD) and its official date showcased as time (3:26).
What’s a cable box without a remote control and TV Guide? As part of the campaign, we created a real functioning remote for people to interact with different DYA channels, as well as a retro-styled TV Guide that showcased Foot Locker’s show line-ups, sneaker horoscopes, crossword puzzles, full-page vintage ads and more.
List the results
The cable boxes were sent to 150 global influencers with a combined following of over 51 million people. The unboxing experience was intentionally robust, and the influencers shared enthusiastic, detailed videos of the box and corresponding elements on their social channels.
The content shared by the influencers drove over 35,000 hours of total viewing from their audiences.
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