Source: Lady Vans
Source: Sloane Stephens in Aqua
Catering to one demographic in two unique ways, which one works? Is a comparison unnecessary when the goal is to capture the diversity of a particular segment?
Women have long been overlooked by brands, but in the last two years there have been more activations for women than at any time in sneaker retail history. Vans has seen considerable growth across multiple demographics. Jordan Brand has also experienced growth with women’s footwear. It makes sense that both brands are continuing their strong push towards the ladies, but that doesn’t mean the approach is going to have similarities.
Jordan Brand is taking an empowering approach via traditionally male garments with a feminine style. They are also attaching a campaign to an athlete. This is all in keeping with Nike/Jordan Brands ethos and it works. The Aqua is given a narrative via Sloane’s tennis career and personal story. The 8 was released the year she was born and the brand connects her to MJ in this way.
Vans, in the picture above and at the lead where the woman is using the DIY function of this latest release from the brand, has delivered imagery that is equally as strong and empowering. I’m not certain of who the designer/artist is, but I do know that Zine culture and art is distinctly Los Angeles as it is popular in Latinx culture.
What is the most important aspect here?
Both Vans and Jordan Brand have delivered the information for the brands via their own CMS. They didn’t rely on sneaker or fashion blogs to reach their consumer. The stories are being told on the homepage of their sites and via their apps. It’s a strategy that seems like it should be utilized by every brand, but that isn’t the case. In the last few weeks I’ve seen several brands completely forego their own platforms to utilize social media solely or they have relied on customer generated content. This isn’t a bad thing, but it shows a lapse in longterm strategy. Social media posts last about 30 minutes unless it resonates in a profound manner. The posts on JB and Vans’ sites will be indexed and searchable for as long as the page exists. This improves ranking in Google which is important as customers begin more and more to utilize Amazon as a search platform.
What do you think about these two campaigns? While I stated they are different, are they really? Leave your thoughts and comments.