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Adidas’ Confirmed is storytelling for sneakerheads

CONFIRMED BY Adidas, Global

Global – Sports brand Adidas has relaunched its Confirmed sneaker app with a greater focus on community, creativity and storytelling.

The updated app now provides users with access to new drops, alongside the background stories to its designs and collaborative partnerships. Providing specialised sneaker content and sneak peeks into upcoming shoes, Confirmed lets Adidas fans feel part of the brand’s creator community.

‘Whether it’s working with outside partners or coming together internally to produce innovative products, at the heart of Adidas is a deeply collaborative spirit,’ explains Ebru Ercon, design director for Adidas’ statement department. ‘This collaborative ethos extends to Confirmed and we’re incredibly excited that the platform will allow us to showcase our most forward-thinking products that we’ve brought to life with our partners.’

By building this form of microcommunity within the Adidas eco-system, the company is positioning itself as more of a peer and curator than a retail brand. Indeed, consumers are increasingly seeking conversational interactions with the brands they love; in Feedback Frontiers we explore the two-way potential of these relationships.

PrettyLittleThing moves into gin production

Gin by PrettyLittleThing, UK

UK – Fast fashion brand PrettyLittleThing is seeking to raise the spirits of staycationers with the launch of a pink gin.

Targeting those who have had their summer festivals and holidays cancelled by Covid-19, the limited run of 99 bottles of PrettyLittleGin is designed to remind drinkers of the good times. Crafted by Liverpool-based Handmade Gin Company, the strawberry- and vanilla-flavoured spirit is infused with juniper, cardamom, coriander and vanilla, and fruits including orange, lemon, strawberry and pineapple.

The bottles are only accessible through competitions run by the brand on its social media channels. ‘PrettyLittleThing aims to bring a taste of holiday back home,’ says Amy Simon, the brand’s head of PR. ‘Yes, we may not be able to go to festivals and embark on that amazing gals’ summer holiday we had planned. But we can still raise a glass of PrettyLittleGin in our garden with our mates.’

As consumers’ hunger for new and novel products grows, fashion brands are increasingly tapping into the food and drink industry. For more, explore how food brands are getting a taste for fashion.

ASOS targets TikTokers with AR challenge

#AySauce by ASOS, UK

UK and US – Marketing technology agency Byte is working with online retailer ASOS on a TikTok takeover that combines a bespoke challenge with augmented reality (AR).

Centred around the retailer’s latest hashtag #AySauce – a play on its name – Byte's campaign comprises a bespoke music track created by music production agency KARM, to which 25 leading content creators from the UK and US are showcasing three chosen outfits in 15-second creative challenges.

An interactive AR layer is activated by particular hand gestures, with bold graphics spelling 'Ay' and 'Sauce' appearing on the screen in response.

Inam Mahmood, managing director of global business solutions at TikTok UK, says: ‘TikTok’s format and joyful tone encourage brands to be authentic and creative in a fully immersive, non-judgemental world. The team at ASOS has really leaned into this and shown with its campaign that it understands what makes the platform unique – community, music and creativity.’

As TikTok continues to gain traction among Generation Z, marketers are using the platform to establish trust and ongoing connections with customers.

Stat: Patriotic consumers vie for Chinese beauty brands

Banana Magazine

New research from Mintel reveals how the pandemic is shaping attitudes to beauty brands in China.

As the nation's economy recovers from Covid-19, Mintel reports that the majority of Chinese consumers are showing greater interest in domestic beauty brands – 77% would prefer to buy from local beauty brands as a way to show their support following the outbreak.

Mintel's Covid-19 China tracker, which ran from 25 March to 1 April 2020, also reveals an optimistic attitude among luxury consumers, with 45% of those surveyed disagreeing with the statement that ‘domestic skin brands do not have many prestige products'. ‘Niche domestic brands are indeed expected to develop high-end product lines and gain market share,’ explains Amy Jin, beauty analyst at Mintel.

Learn more about how luxury retail is evolving during the inter-Covid period with our recent China Luxury Retail Market.