Asics: "LEFT/RIGHT BLOGGER OUTREACH" Direct marketing by Amsterdam Worldwide

Category: Dimensional Mailing
Advertiser: ASICS
Product/Service: ASICS SPORTSTYLE
Agency: AMSTERDAM WORLDWIDE
Date of First Appearance: Apr 20 2009 12:00AM
Entrant Company: AMSTERDAM WORLDWIDE, THE NETHERLANDS
Entry URL: http://leftright.asics.eu/?paged=7
Executive Creative Director: Richard Gorodecky (Amsterdam Worldwide)
Creative Director: Andrew Watson (Amsterdam Worldwide)
Copywriter: Dan Goransson (Amsterdam Worldwide)
Art Director: Rickard Engstorm (Amsterdam Worldwide)
Planner: Ben Jaffe (Amsterdam Worldwide)
Producer: Samantha Koch (Amsterdam Worldwide)
Business Development Director: Nicolette Lazarus (Amsterdam Worldwide)
Account Manager: Liana Pekelharing (Amsterdam Worldwide)
Managing Director: Michiel Dekkers (Freedom of Creation)
Creative Director/Founder: Janne Kyttanen (Freedom of Creation)
Marketing Director: Michael Price (ASICS Europe B.V.)
Communications Manager: Maximilian Keen (ASICS Europe B.V.)
Digital Communications Manager: Raphael Mazoyer (ASICS Europe B.V.)
: Torben van der Voorn (ASICS Europe B.V.)
Digital Project Coordinator: Mairead White (ASICS Europe B.V.)
Media placement: Direct Marketing Piece - Blogs - 20 April 2009

Describe the brief/objective of the direct campaign.
Despite its sports heritage and retro cool, ASICS SportStyle is relative unknown in the competitive sport-fashion arena. With an economy in decline, our objectives for the ‘80s-inspired range were to: 1. Increase ASICS SportStyle pre-season orders by 5%. 2. Foster advocacy for ASICS and deepen understanding of our What's a left without a right? print campaign. Our target market are dynamic, twenty-something’s who use the web to stay up-to-date with cultural movements, fashion, and technology. With a budget of €8,000, we could not afford to shout. Instead, we invited our audience to be part of the idea itself.

Explain why the creative execution was relevant to the product or service.
Bloggers receive countless promotions from brands so to succeed, we had to capture their imaginations. Remaining true to ASICS’ brand values and their ‘80s-inspired SportStyle range, we decided to engage the bloggers with something irresistible to generate a genuine, global buzz. To complete their one-off pieces, bloggers had to enlist the help of their readers, friends and peers. The idea required co-operation and communication across borders and languages, a rare occurrence as bloggers usually work independently. All bloggers participated in a global, digital treasure hunt that spanned 38 countries, 29 languages, and hundreds-of-thousands of potential customers.

Describe the creative solution to the brief/objective with reference to the projected response rates and desired outcome.
We turned to the most influential amongst our target, handpicking and engaging the world’s coolest street-style bloggers in the hope that they would become ASICS’ brand advocates. If they could be convinced to interact with the ASICS SportStyle message, and communicate it to their readers, their credibility would have a far higher impact than any brand communication. Using rapid prototyping, we created 10 iconic objects from the ‘80s, including a DeLorean car and Rubik’s Cube. Separated into Left and Right halves, they were randomly paired, cast into a breakable cage with a personalised message, and posted to the bloggers.

Describe the results in as much detail as possible with particular reference to the RESPONSE of the target audience including deliverability statistics, response rates, click throughs, sales cost per response, relationships built and overall return on investment.
Pre-season orders rose by 18% (13% above target) and, in addition to blog coverage, Twitter and Facebook engaged over 200,000 people. In an unexpected but welcome twist, one blogger persuaded the others to exchange their pieces for limited-edition SportStyle sneakers. He reunited Left and Right halves, displaying the completed models at Bread & Butter, Europe's biggest fashion fair (attendance 90,000), generating free exposure worth millions. The bloggers continue to promote ASICS daily across the world's coolest blogs. From a campaign costing just €8,000, we created self-generating coverage and long-term advocacy from these important influencers.