Mid March saw sportswear brand ASICS launch a fresh phase of its ‘I Move Me’ brand platform across EMEA through an integrated campaign spearheaded by digital storytelling to connect to its core audience of runners, performance athletes and to inspire the next new generation of ‘movers’ to join the brand.
The work, which will roll out across a three month period, revolves around nine stories from nine ASICS ‘Movement Ambassadors’.
This 1000 piece content series, developed to primarily run across the brand’s digital and social channels, features stories from a cross-section of athlete society: each endorser’s own story focuses on how movement has affected their life.
This manifests through creative that explores overcoming personal hurdles and/or societal judgement. What movement offers them and how it has helped them lead healthier and happier lives.
The multi-platform campaign is led by a central hero spot,
before opening with an initiation strand of work themed around ‘food’.
and including ‘Food & Lycra’.
This creative phase includes ‘Food & Lycra’: a group of friends and food bloggers who want to take the pressure away from unhealthy relationships with food and fitness seen on social media.
Individual stories range from endurance athlete runner and mother Susie Chan – who went from not being able to run one mile, to breaking a world record in a few years later.
Other stories in the initial content set will feature Welsh runner and shepherd Dewi Griffiths (who surprised the UK running establishment by running the fastest marathon by a Brit since 2014, plus French handball star Ludovic Fabregas.
The campaign’s 1000 content pieces target different demographics and have been individually tailored for each specific, separate social channel: spanning Facebook,
Instagram,
Twitter,
This is Food and Lycra. They're not into re-touched selfies, boring workouts done out of obligation or tiny portions of tasteless food. They're best friends and they're kicking social body pressure in the butt. Go to https://t.co/EJwVrEiGJF for their story. #ASICS #IMoveMe pic.twitter.com/DNd29mb60S
— ASICS Europe (@ASICSeurope) March 19, 2018
as well as other platforms such as Snapchat and Spotify.
The campaign will expand across the region primarily through local, market-relevant ambassadors and in ASICS’ brand stores in 13 markets.
The initiative was developed in harness with brand communications agency SUPERLARGE: ASICS’ lead pan-European agency.
“I’m extremely excited for ASICS to bring its unique DNA to life with the most inspiring and integrated campaign we’ve ever produced,” explained ASICS EMEA marketing VP Björn Hamacher.
“At ASICS our mission is to get the world moving and with this campaign we empower personal movement, encouraging you to get the most out of life. We believe that a sound mind fuels a sound body, and we aim to inspire and encourage as many people as possible to do what they love to do in their own personal way.”
Alvin Chan, SUPERLARGE creative director, added: “We had a great brief to discover and share the true motivations and drive behind why athletes do what they do. It was really refreshing and inspiring to find out from our various movement ambassadors that there was no such thing as the right way to move, just as long as you do. This creative platform is powerful in its honest portrayal of how movement leads to a happier life. We’re pleased to help ASICS launch a campaign that’s true and human; in contradiction to the over-hyped, music-video, sports superhero content out there. Hopefully, it motivates people to get up and start moving!”
Comment:
While the 1000 pieces of content might fire some headlines, it’s the thematically atypical silos that catch our eye: engaging young athletes through food is an inventive angle of advertising attack.
This latest wave of work runs on the back of the global I MOVE ME campaign from global lead agency Saatchi & Saatchi (see case study).
Links:
Asics
https://twitter.com/ASICSeurope
https://www.youtube.com/user/ASICSvideo
https://www.facebook.com/ASICS.GB.IE
https://www.instagram.com/asicseurope/
SUPERLARGE
