Why is this work relevant for PR?

HOME OF SPORT was the brand’s most ambitious, multi-faceted influencer-anchored program in SEA region. We launched the brand’s region-first future of Sport Music Anthem and MV – Who Could Imagine, co-created hyper-local signatures in a store’s physical space and products to customize purchases at “MakerLab”, as well as activations to support the community’s sporting pursuits. Why influencers? We wanted the new store experience to be for the people, by the people. We wanted to achieve our brand mission - through Sport we have the power to change lives - by working together with the local community and its influencers.

Background

2021 remained tough for businesses to say the least. Coupled with Singapore’s ever-evolving Covid-19 policies, the brand wanted to find a way to engage with the public in ways that were meaningful. From our primary research (social listening and commissioned survey among 1,009 Gen Zs and Millennials), we found the “Covid Consciousness” to be very real. We found the state of “Covid Conciousness” among 1 in 2 persons whom participated at least once a week in fitness activities. They displayed traits such as “living in unprecedented sedentary cocoon-lifestyles”, coupled with “declining sport participation”, and were “uninspired and experiencing a strong virtual fatigue”. With the opening of the brand’s largest Sports Performance store, we decided to reframe our thinking from “how do we launch a new store during the pandemic” to “what role should we play to support the local community, and how will this destination bring that purpose to life”.

Describe the creative idea (20% of vote)

Our raison d’etre was clear. We wanted to inspire consumers out of the “Covid Consciousness” they were facing and inspire them through sport. Enter, HOME OF SPORT (Change starts here). We decided to do things differently and redefined the idea of Sport. We looked at areas we could viscerally create impact among consumers and defined sport in 3 “change pillars”: Feeling, Form and Function. In each pillar, we wanted to inspire people to make their own pivots/write their own comeback stories/create the change they want to see for themselves. Most importantly, we wanted people to see Sport differently. HOME OF SPORT became the brand’s most ambitious, multi-faceted influencer-anchored program in 2021. We activated more than 30 influencers to co-create products, physical art installations in the store, produce and write the brand’s first-in-region future of sport music anthem and music video: Who Could Imagine.

Describe the PR strategy (30% of vote)

Why influencers? We wanted to achieve the brand’s mission (through sport we have the power to change lives) together with the local community and its influencers. We also wanted to create a sense of pride in the space for local key opinion leaders, as well as in the products and service that’s offered to people in Singapore. We were cognizant of tropes that surrounded sports marketing. Visuals of sweaty athletes powering through. Messages of empowerment, self-belief, etcetera. While those elements had relevance, we wanted consumers to see sport as more than that. Through multi-faceted influencer-anchored programme, we would execute over 3 change pillars - Form, Function and Feeling. Feeling – be moved by ‘future of sport’ anthem, as well as be inspired by the installations in-store depicting the nation’s greatest sporting journeys. Function – make your gear your own with local customization designs. Form - learn, unlearn, relearn your sport.

Describe the PR execution (20% of vote)

Feeling: The five-way collaboration between Rauzan Rahman (Producer), MEAN (Rapper), Mickeyleano (Rapper/Singer), PRAV (DJ/Beatmaker) and Weish (Vocalist) represents the athlete’s journey – in its sound design and lyrics. The anthem was loaded on music platforms like Spotify and teased on socials pre-launch (2-weeks before opening). The MV was released on launch day on the store’s LED façade, and loaded onto Youtube after. We collaborated with local artists such as Space Objekt, ClogTwo, Aeropalmics, to design art installations in-store that represented key moments in Singapore’s own sporting journeys, and achievements in Sport. Function- the brand collaborated with Marina A., Reza Hasni and Yana&Jun for consumers at Singapore’s first Makerlab, to customize their sportwear and make it their own. Form: lastly, targeting the two most popular Sports in Singapore – Football and Running – we organized decentralized activations and exclusive in-store experiences for consumers to help them return to sport.

List the results (30% of vote)

The programme helped consumers see sport differently – to come and be inspired, and leave inspired to write their own comebacks/pivots/create their own change. We measured these 5 fronts: 1.Footfall - The integrated programme (PR, Influencers - Earned, Digital Advertising) drove strong footfall to the store which exceeded targets, benchmarked against previous store openings. 2.Organic media value and share through - Through PR and SM syndications, we generated over SGD1.1m in PR value and 2.7m impressions. 3.Social Media traction - Through own SM and paid executions on Facebook and Instagram, content reached more than 2 million people on Facebook and Instagram. 4.Anthem acclaim – more than 57,000 Spotify plays and MV views, and was reviewed positively by Singapore’s most prolific music writer, Eddino in “The Straits Times”. 5.Consumer impact – the 10 activations impacted more than 1,000 people who attended in-person, or streamed the content online.