A new youth-focused marketing campaign from Converse, linked to the sneaker brand’s new $1m young leaders accelerator program, is introduced with a new commercial which was inspired by a viral video created by James Mathew and Ify White-Thorpe – two students campaigning for president and vice president of Harvard’s student council.
That video featured a rap about how theirs was ‘the most inclusive campaign’ and it featured a diverse cast of friends from a campus arts community.
As well as helping them into office, the video also brought them on board with Converse’s latest initiative aimed at connecting with young consumers which will fund creative ideas that align with Converse’s corporate priorities of environmental sustainability, diversity and inclusion and youth development.
The new initiative has introduced by a hero video posted on 18 September and created by All Stars for All Stars (and by Mathew and White-Thorpe) urges people to dare to be bold, to embrace what makes them different and have the courage to take the first step forward.
The hero film is backed by a behind-the-scenes style social spot which was also rolled out across its online platforms on 18 September.
The Nike-owned, Boston-based sneaker company will invest $1 million in an accelerator program for young leaders over the next two years and the programme will fund creative ideas that align with Converse’s stated corporate priorities of environmental sustainability, diversity and inclusion, and youth development.
The money will be spent via quarterly stipends for 13 ‘captains’, starting with Mathew and White-Thorpe, to fund for their creative passion projects.
“Converse is saying, ‘We’re not just here for you, we’re here with you,’” White-Thorpe said.
“I was almost confused by how loud a voice I had,” Mathew added. “They would just call a meeting to ask what Ify and I thought. … They really want to get to the core of what young people are thinking and what we want to see.”
Converse has started accepting applications from this group for the ‘Captains’ program and will pick the other 11 Captains this fall.
These youth ambassadors will also act as a sounding board and research unit for Converse as an additional route to plug into and understand emerging youth culture.
Converse will also promote these captains and their work via the brand’s own social media platforms and its other digital channels.
“It will build this broader brand halo, and will put Converse back into the heart of this generation, which we believe will have an impact on this business,” Stollak said. “We think you have to align with the values of this generation, and this generation will choose you.”
Outcome:
Since it was first posted on 18 September, the hero spot has generated 382K views on the brand’s YouTube channel, while its supporting making-of video has generated a further 14K views.
Comment:
Of course, Converse isn’t the only sports brand looking to engage consumers through youth-led creativity and corporate activism. Indeed, this is a growing trend amongst companies seeking to link to 18-to-25-year-olds.
But the recruitment of, support for and partnership with artistic and passionate creator captains in the demographic segment is a fairly fresh approach – albeit one which has echoes of Converse’s 2015 ‘Rubber Tracks’ music programme.
Links:
Converse
https://www.instagram.com/converse/
https://www.facebook.com/converse
https://www.youtube.com/c/converse
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