2021 Brand Experience & Activation

ZALANDO - HET NIEUWE STERKSEL

TitleZALANDO - HET NIEUWE STERKSEL
BrandZALANDO
Product/ServiceFASHION
Category A01. Consumer Goods
Entrant BOOMERANG AGENCY Amsterdam, THE NETHERLANDS
Idea Creation BOOMERANG AGENCY Amsterdam, THE NETHERLANDS
Media Placement BOOMERANG AGENCY Amsterdam, THE NETHERLANDS
PR BOOMERANG AGENCY Amsterdam, THE NETHERLANDS
Production BOOMERANG AGENCY Amsterdam, THE NETHERLANDS
Post Production BOOMERANG AGENCY Amsterdam, THE NETHERLANDS
Credits
Name Company Position
Carlijn Van Wulften Palthe Boomerang Agency Senior Strategist
Frank Visser Boomerang Agency Lead Creative
Han Schuurman Boomerang Agency Senior Producer
Eldin Fetahovic Boomerang Agency Creative Director
Rico de Lange Boomerang Agency Creative Director
Anouk Facee Schaeffer Boomerang Agency Project Manager
Fikret Fetahovic Boomerang Agency Client Service Director:
Annika Drion Boomerang Agency Project Manager
Jim Strolenberg Boomerang Agency Creative
Glenn da Silva Boomerang Agency Creative
Matthijs van Asselt Boomerang Agency Copywriter
Steven Kuijs Boomerang Agency Director
Olaf van Dam Boomerang Agency DOP Lighting Cameraman
Sico Van der Plas Boomerang Agency DOP Lighting Cameraman
Maurice van der Meijs Boomerang Agency Director Of Photography
Saskia de Vos Boomerang Agency Styling
Joris Talman Boomerang Agency Editor

Why is this work relevant for Brand Experience & Activation?

The amateur football team RKSV Sterksel stole the hearts of the Dutch people. We did not only help the worst amateur football team in the Netherlands, but got our audience to help us do so. Together, we turned the team into true national heroes. And with engaging content, social activations, UGC, predicting scores online, and much more, everyone was able to join the team every step of the way. Because of its great success, we've launched our long-term platform “Supporter van Sporters” (Supporter of Athletes), on which we inspire and activate everyone to be motivated.

Background

Zalando is known in The Netherlands, but not yet loved. The brand is perceived as an international player that has little relevancy with the Dutch culture. And Dutch men are even more unaware of Zalando's motives. Zalando wanted to be a 'Love Brand'. We decided it was time to show The Netherlands that Zalando is all about 'reimagine fashion for the good of all'. To conquer the hearts of Dutch men we needed to create an emotional connection that fits with the Dutch culture.

Describe the creative idea (20% of vote)

The first team of football club RKSV Sterksel had lost their motivation in football. They conceded 106 goals in 16 games last season; an average of 6.5 goals per game. Family, friends and supporters no longer attended their matches and the number of members was drastically declining. The club was on the brink of collapsing. To regain motivation and self-confidence, the team received a star treatment: new home and away kits, casual clothing, bags, football shoes, tracksuits, a makeover, a photoshoot, a training session by former pros, and an official player bus. And the icing on the cake: a friendly match with the RTL VIP team of influencers.

Describe the strategy (20% of vote)

This campaign focused on Zalando’s strategic pillars for 2020: sports, men and Dutch relevance. The sweet spot is the most popular sport among men in The Netherlands: football. Research shows that the right clothing can make you feel good, so we searched for a team in need of a boost. We wanted to build an emotional connection and not focus too much on sales (since this was not a KPI). That's why we told the stories of real people with a real struggle. Typically, football clubs are taken over or sponsored by major brands. While, in our opinion, the smaller local amateur clubs could use that help much more. Therefore, we decided to support a football team in need of a motivational boost.

Describe the execution (30% of vote)

We created a multiple asset campaign and the run time of the campaign was 3,5 weeks. We started with influencers showing the new RKSV Sterksel jersey. We didn’t mention Zalando anywhere, creating an online buzz first. We then officially launched the campaign with a multiple asset strategy and created assets for various media touchpoints. From a hero video telling the story of Sterksel, to more in-depth retargeted content. We created a dedicated landing page where the players got to be models, and a local OOH campaign making them true local heroes in their hometown. For even more impact and credibility, we also partnered with radio station SLAM FM and relevant media partners such as VICE and Voetbal International. A perfect mix of touchpoints that generated the right reach within our target audience, but also partners that ensured our credibility within the football culture.

List the results (30% of vote)

What started as a social activation idea, turned out to be a campaign that really caught the interest of everyone. We got local coverage of the campaign by multiple newspapers, and even national television picked up the story. This was due to the unique story that really touched our audience, but also because of our smart media strategy in which we partnered with media titles and influencers. The results in numbers: - 34 million impressions - €4.3 million earned media value - Brand heat +6.6ppt in the Netherlands (brand heat = % of high quality engagement with the brand) - Engagement Rate +200% on YouTube and +119% on Facebook / Instagram - 3ppt increase in emotional bond (MoM) to 59% - 2 ppt increase awareness sports category (QoQ) to 78% However, we believe the true success was not our great campaign results, but the fact we really helped