Students are a key target audience for the footwear brand, but Schuh were struggling with a performance decline of 80% year on year. As such they wanted us to target them with a big campaign idea to ignite relevance and raise awareness of the brand as fun and fearless.
Research with the target market group revealed perceptions of the brand were that it was a ‘pedestrian’ choice. To overcome this we came up with a 3-month campaign to drive discount card sign-ups and data capture through experiential and social. Tapping into key moments in a student’s new university life, ‘Start it up’ was born. Based on the idea that from the second students arrive at uni everything is ahead of them, we wanted to show them that Schuh is just the same. By signing up to the student discount they can kick-start exciting opportunities and watch their savings go up and up.
Bringing 'Start it up' to life, we created an urban, funky feel for the campaign with hand-drawn type and illustration combined with a rigid monogram. Using their signature vivid green against black and white, we were able to refresh their identity and reskin storefronts around the country to draw students in. Throughout the 3- month period, activities were strategically planned to link in with key moments for students starting out at uni. From student union dance competitions to win the latest “must have” trainers, ‘Finders Sneakers’ treasure hunts, humorous digital games and pop-up experiential spaces, each activity was created to be amplifiable via social.
