Title	ZEEMAN SNEAKER
Brand	ZEEMAN
Product/Service	CLOTHING & TEXTILES
Category	A04. Travel, Leisure, Retail, Restaurants & Fast Food Chains
Entrant	Persuade 's Hertogenbosch, THE NETHERLANDS
Idea Creation	Persuade 's Hertogenbosch, THE NETHERLANDS
Media Placement	FELI HANSSEN Delft, THE NETHERLANDS
PR	GANBAROO PR Amsterdam, THE NETHERLANDS
PR 2	WITH LOVE NANS * Antwerpen, BELGIUM
Production	STUDIO MINSK Amsterdam, THE NETHERLANDS
Production 2	DEPT Amsterdam, THE NETHERLANDS
Production 3	BURO CRAFT Haarlem, THE NETHERLANDS
Production 4	HANS PIETERSE FOTOGRAFIE Amsterdam, THE NETHERLANDS

Name	Company	Position
Michiel Rijshouwer	Persuade	General manager
Stefan Keukelaar	Persuade	Art director
Wouter Kraaijvanger	Persuade	Copy writer
Yuri Van Poppel	Persuade	Art director
Luke Gohl	Shoes Unlimited	designer

Why is this work relevant for Brand Experience & Activation?

To open the eyes of new customers (age 18-35 year) and spread the story of low cost formula Zeeman (story: contemporary clothing doesn't have to be expensive if you keep everything simple), we have to break through some barriers. Additional to the brand campaign we therefore approach new customer by brand activations like this sneaker experiment. This activation has no commercial objectives. It was planned to create buzz, engagement and free publicity.

background

Zeeman is a Dutch retailer in low priced basic clothing and textiles, with more than 1.300 stores in Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, France, Spain, Luxemburg and Austria. For low price formula Zeeman continuous growth is an absolute must. How can Zeeman grow in a declining, changing (online) and competitive market? Therefore Zeeman has to win new clients, also in the home markets: Netherlands and Belgium. To convince new clients, Zeeman focuses on telling the brand story. The story is locked up in the core of the brand: Zeeman believes in the power of simplicity. The smart and efficient process makes it possible to offer responsibly made, quality products at the lowest possible prices. With this sneaker campaign we wanted to open the eyes of new customers and spread the story of Zeeman: contemporary clothing doesn't have to be expensive if you keep everything simple.

Describe the creative idea (20% of vote)

Why are some sneakers so expensive? To find out Zeeman designed and developed two sneakers. The first: the Hybrid Z with an extreme design. Marketed like expensive brands in fashion industry: a limited edition, packed in an exclusive box, with tempting marketing via social media and influencers. And for sale exclusive via a raffle and in two pop-up stores in Amsterdam and Antwerp (3 days open). The price: 200 euro. The second: the Basic Z. Produced and marketed the Zeeman way: a basic design, large production volume, no expensive packaging, for sale in Zeeman stores and the web-shop. The price: 12,99. Both are good sneakers but with a big difference in price. On the special website we explain what you pay for.

Describe the strategy (20% of vote)

This brand activation was targeted on a broad target group, with focus on 18-30 years old sneaker fans. As part of this experiment we copied the marketing approach of expensive brands. First: teasing campaign for the Hybrid Z (1,5 week before sales). We used influencers and pushed online animated teasers to sneaker freaks. We did set up an online raffle. Second: launch Hyrbid Z and release the story behind experiment (1 week before sales). Launch movie and website telling the story (online and small tv media-budget). Completed with press campaign. This created a lot of buzz and free publicity in all media. The campaign was planned to create a run for the exclusive 3-day sales of the Hybrid Z in two pop-up stores in Antwerp and Amsterdam. And the sales of the Basic Z in the bigger Zeeman stores. The objective: to create a media-hype and spread the brand story.

Describe the execution (30% of vote)

The story had to be authentic. So important was the design of two cool sneakers. One extreme, expensive, limited edition Hybrid Z, including a luxury packaging, attractive for sneaker freaks. And one cheap Basic Z sneaker, produced the Zeeman way, for a broad target group. The design and production process started secretly 1,5 year before the campaign. To create credibility at sneaker freaks, as well as a clear understanding of the brand story, the campaign needed the same high execution level as the top sneaker brands. So we put a lot of effort in developing content, like animations and websites. Also the pop-up stores had a high level of execution. All means and media were planned to create buzz, engagement and free publicity. And we used the power of creating scarcity to create a hype. This campaign did run in the home countries: The Netherlands and Belgium.

List the results (30% of vote)

The campaign created a lot of buzz and free publicity. In newspapers, magazines, online, on radio and many publications on national tv. And engagement of a broad target group including the young generations. Building up to a total of 91,8 million media contacts with a media value of 5,5 million euro (OBI4WAN method) in one week. The media-budget to push the teasers and movie was low (total 90.000 Euro incl tv). The Zeeman web-shop had record sales. Both sneakers were sold out fast. Online, in the pop-up stores and in the Zeeman stores. And the resell started immediately with prices up to 500 euro. With this campaign we did open the eyes of new customers and spread the brand story of Zeeman: contemporary clothing doesn't have to be expensive if you keep everything simple. And we underline the brand statement: Zeeman. It can be that simple.