Secret society

London – Adidas has launched a dark social marketing campaign to promote its Glitch trainers, which are not available to buy in stores.

• The customisable Glitch trainers feature interchangeable uppers and inner-shoes
• Dark social is a term used to describe social platforms that cannot be tracked by analytics programs

The trainers are only available to buy through the Glitch app, which can only be accessed with a unique code. To be in with a chance of earning a code, users engage with Glitch on Twitter or Instagram, and wait to see if they are accepted.

Glitch is being promoted by members of Adidas’ Tango Squad, a network of dark social influencers that comprises some of London’s best freestyle footballers and futsal players.

The app belongs to a new breed of social networks that promote exclusivity and foster a tribe mentality among their members. Glitch users can access videos created by the app ambassadors and in-house production team, and can browse different upper and inner-shoe combinations.

The Glitch team operates outside of the wider Adidas brand and is working closely with Tango Squad and a small inner circle of customers to develop new products for the line.