In early 2017, ASICS released the FlyteFoam™ Fast Series, a trio of lightweight footwear utilizing ASICS’ groundbreaking midsole technology, FlyteFoam. Weighing approximately 55% less than the industry standard EVA, the built-in organic super fibers provide instant bounce back between every stride, enabling you to run longer and faster. Recognizing the opportunity to build more brand equity surrounding the FlyteFoam trio, ASICS and Red Door teamed up to create and execute an integrated social media and influencer campaign to target a specific audience of active, millennial consumers.
To effectively communicate with this audience, exhilaration was the name of the game. Termed, “The Fast & Furious Consumer,” this group is composed of ambitious, constantly moving, early to mid-career millennials in pursuit of bettering themselves and finding a competitive edge. They largely turn to social media for inspiration from running experts, athletes, and fitness lifestyle brands. Fast & Furious know that life is short, and they want to do as much as possible with the time they have—their biggest challenge is fitting it all in.
Our own challenge in this task was finding a way to connect the product to this consumer base as a whole, no matter their current fitness levels or personal endeavors. We wanted the campaign messaging to focus on the notion that speed is fully obtainable for everyone.
The Face of Fast
Enter: the Pace Academy, a speed-obsessed social community and unique training resource to help our audience attain their goals. The goal of the Pace Academy was to inspire runners to increase their speed by following specific training plans and workout tips from elite ASICS athletes—with the help, of course, of the FlyteFoam Trio. Ultimately, the overall messaging communicated that with ASICS, FlyteFoam, and the Pace Academy, everyone is able tap into the power of fast.
Campaign Objectives
- Create buzz and maintain conversation around FlyteFoam technology and the ASICS brand
- Drive sales for the FlyteFoam Fast Series: NOOSA FF™, DynaFlyte™, and GEL-DS Trainer™ 22
- Create content that can be adopted globally to support campaign narrative
Execution
We began with a content rollout plan to strategically and cohesively support the overall campaign. Our first task was to boost awareness of the FlyteFoam Fast Series, directing fans to learn more about the products. As the campaign gained steam, the social conversation shifted to focus on ASICS athletes and their experiences putting the FlyteFoam shoes to work.
Once consumers were familiar with the products, we introduced them to the Pace Academy. We promoted content through featured videos, recruiting users to join the ASICS Pace Academy to access the tools they need to get faster.
To complement the branded ASICS posts, we briefed our influencer athletes to share their own “fast moments” through tips, goals, and moments of personal realization, driving users to browse the new FlyteFoam series on the ASICS website. They also encouraged their personal followers to share similar moments using the #dontrunfly campaign hashtag, adding to the hype.
Results
- $172,741.64 in sales can be attributed to the associated utm_campaign parameters
- $38,972 earned in overall eCommerce sales
- 6,777 pieces of earned content using #flytefoam and #dontrunfly, resulting in potential impressions of over 7.6M
- 8 pieces of partnered content posted by ASICS Athletes, resulting in potential impressions of over 54K
- 2.7M global FlyteFoam video views, the highest for all 2017 campaigns
- 67% of total FlyteFoam SS17 social engagements from Instagram, averaging 1,075 eng./post
- 20% of all landing page traffic arrived via social channels
- 225,401 visits recorded across all global FlyteFoam landing pages
- 43% of visitors that entered the site through the FlyteFoam landing page were between the ages of 18-34