The Campaign

Once the leading sports brand in Taiwan, Reebok’s brand awareness had fallen out of favor due to strong competitor marketing and a recent lack of investment. With the challenge of announcing Reebok’s re-entry into the Taiwan market, the agency was tasked with strategizing a creative campaign to support the launch of Reebok’s EasyTone sneakers, changing perceptions of Reebok as an out-of-date sports label and positioning it as a relevant brand to a new generation of consumers. What followed was a landmark campaign for Reebok Taiwan that captured the attention of the country – a ‘No Pants Day’ for Taiwan. A strategy was designed to engage audiences at a special time - the day after Valentines - with ‘No Pants Day’ and fuel various consumer touch points with creative visuals that communicated product benefits and tied back to Reebok’s mantra of ‘redefining sports to bring back joy.’ The integrated PR, social media, events, and advertising campaign caused a storm both online and offline helping Reebok’s brand perception shift from old and dated to young and fresh, increasing in-store traffic by 150% and driving EasyTone sales by 20% in March. This gave Reebok much-needed interest and sales results to recharge the brand.

The Brief

The goal was to devise a strategy that secured business results for Reebok, as well as leveraging ‘redefining sports to bring back joy’ to ignite the business’ brand building efforts in the market. Consumer research into young professionals and female consumers aged from 18 to 35 years old (core audience) showed this group to use mobile, internet connected devices during their commute and leading busy work and social lives. It showed that they were extremely conscious of ‘looking good.’ Research also showed that this socio-economic group enjoy pushing boundaries and are open to bold ideas - a key insight.

Results

EasyTone sales grew 20% in March 2011 following the agency campaign and momentum continues to grow. The campaign generated a total ad value of US$1,285,400 and 10,000,000 impressions through 295 media clippings, 98 of them broadcasting in total 162 minutes of free airtime across news and culture TV programs. Ten broadcast channels reported on “No Pants Day” during Prime Time and all TV news channels in Taiwan covered the news, with over half describing Reebok as a ‘leading’ and ‘famous brand’ – driving positive perceptions. The campaign’s impact spilled into other markets, with online articles in Singapore, Hong Kong, the United States and China. A YouTube viral of the events has generated 838,788 views to date and the various campaign touch points increased in-store traffic by 150%.

Execution

Riding post-Valentine sentiments, on 15th Feb, 20 female models participated in a flash mob with their upper body dressed in formal, work clothing and lower halves in underwear only, causing a storm of interest amongst professionals commuting to work, with many capturing and sharing footage on smartphones, triggering a word-of-mouth effect. The agency secured an exclusive with Taiwan’s leading online news site, Apple Daily in addition to creating a bite-size viral to seed onto popular social media platforms to build on the wave of interest. As awareness peaked, the agency leveraged conversations by issuing a challenge to the public to participate. Held the next day to maintain momentum, a combined models and public ‘No Pants Day’ was undertaken in tandem with spokesperson media interviews on the brand’s reemergence in Taiwan. To drive impact, images from the events were adapted for use in advertising and in-store consumer events to engage consumers.

The Situation

Reebok’s presence in Taiwan was at an all time low. After several years of inactivity in this key market, the business was keen to secure positive industry awareness and consumer attention in the athletic sneaker category once again. Absence from the Taiwan market meant that competitors such as Nike and Adidas were streets ahead on building brand loyalty and a positive brand identity in the market. The business required a campaign to kick-start the EasyTone product launch in Taiwan, but also to act as a catalyst to drive brand recognition and stimulate Reebok’s growth trajectory in the country.

The Strategy

The campaign had a strong visual impact and novel content would be imperative in driving awareness amongst consumers. This campaign was Reebok’s take on ‘No Pants Day’ often celebrated abroad. Inheriting the spirit of the original event, Taiwan’s ‘No Pants Day’ was designed to be bold while linking to the notion of being healthy, being sporty and being yourself which insights told us would chime well with our audience. The strategy entailed targeting key MRT (metro trains) and public locations during busy commute time with a staged flash mob of models without pants to show the benefits of EasyTone in a fun, but daring way. These visuals triggered an online and offline viral effect which formed part of the agency’s integrated multi-phase, two-month campaign that incorporated digital outreach, traditional media, in-store events and promotion to create experiences for consumers across a variety of touch points.