Foot Locker, a globally renowned retailer of athletic shoes and apparel, is known for its diverse product range and premium service. With numerous stores worldwide, the company is dedicated to offering customers the latest and trendiest footwear. To further enhance its brand image and market influence, Foot Locker frequently launches innovative marketing campaigns.
Campaign Overview
For the Back to School (BTS) Campaign, Foot Locker aimed to have an engaging and interactive social AR filter as part of their Sneaker Season ad campaign. Targeting sneaker enthusiasts, the campaign sought to make an impact through Instagram interactions, promoting the back-to-school season, boosting sneaker sales for the upcoming season, and enhancing brand awareness.
Project Execution
In collaboration with Meta and Dept, we launched the “Sneaker Season” AR filter. Utilizing AR technology, users could select different types of shoes based on various scenarios, ultimately choosing the most suitable athletic footwear. This AR filter won the Best AR/VR Application at the Best Social Awards.
Strategic Planning
Before initiating the project, we defined the campaign's purpose: Foot Locker wanted everyone—whether returning to school, work, or daily life—to wear the latest sneakers and present their best selves. We proposed three different AR filter concepts and ultimately chose a game mechanism resembling a "tournament bracket" system. This system is commonly used in various competitive scenarios, including sports, esports, and other knockout competitions.
Users triggered the game mechanism by moving their heads left or right to select scenes and shoes. Scenarios included space adventures, green walks, music festivals, street basketball, and Friday nights. Shoe options included 16 popular models like Puma Exotek Nitro, New Balance 530, Nike Air Max Tuned 1, and Adidas LA Trainer, offering a total of eight choices.
To ensure a smooth AR filter experience, we meticulously designed all the whole experience. Each shoe and scenario was carefully crafted to provide a seamless and engaging user experience. This involved high-quality assets, motion effects, and responsive animations. We conducted extensive testing to ensure that the AR filter performed well across a variety of devices and operating conditions. User feedback was collected during a beta testing phase to identify and address any potential issues. Additionally, we optimized the filter's performance to minimize latency and ensure smooth transitions between different scenes and shoe options. This attention to detail helped create an immersive and enjoyable experience for users, ultimately enhancing their interaction with the Foot Locker brand.
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Marketing Strategy
We collaborated with Dept to use AR Ads and targeted specific countries (UK, NO, DK, SE) to increase engagement. Users could swipe down directly to the Foot Locker website to purchase the shoes featured in the campaign.
Project Results
The “Sneaker Season” campaign provided an unprecedented experience, combining retail athletic brands to meet user needs, engaging them, and creating brand impact through sharing. By integrating AR technology with social media, Foot Locker successfully enhanced its brand appeal and customer loyalty. Many brands later drew inspiration from our idea for their own campaigns after Foot Locker's success.
Conclusion and Future Directions
Collaborating with Foot Locker through social AR established a new communication method, combining interactive ads and social media communication, becoming an essential tool for marketers. We are honored and eager to continue exploring and providing high-quality AR integration for clients. Developing an AR effect integration strategy is crucial, with coverage, views, and experience quality retention being key. Moreover, having a highly refined workflow within the team significantly promoted communication and outcomes between the client brand and the agency.
Key Takeaways
- Innovative Engagement: The AR filter provided an engaging way for users to interact with Foot Locker's products, enhancing the overall customer experience.
- Effective Collaboration: Partnering with Meta and Dept ensured the technical and creative aspects of the campaign were top-notch.
- Brand Impact: The campaign successfully boosted Foot Locker's brand awareness and customer loyalty.
- Valuable Insights: Challenges faced during the campaign offered valuable lessons for future AR and social media initiatives.
By continuing to innovate and refine our approach, we aim to deliver even more impactful AR campaigns for Foot Locker and our other clients.
