FOOT LOCKER: THE FOOT LOCKER COLLECTIVE

Executive Summary

We have positioned Foot Locker as the gateway to sneaker culture across Europe through the creation of ‘The Foot Locker Collective’ – a cross-market Influencer Community that drives connection and desirability within the brand’s younger target audience. This has been made possible by tapping into their culture and activating initiatives that contribute to the grassroots communities that matter to them most. In 2020 alone, the ongoing collaboration achieved nearly 2 billion in coverage reach. While consistent influencer engagement has resulted in constant conversation with a monthly average of 780 pieces of creative content.

Objective - The Change We Needed to Make

As a mass market retailer, Foot Locker needed to convert its high brand awareness into a credible and meaningful connection with its target audience – the highly engaged and purpose-driven Gen Z.

Insights from our research revealed that 18-24-year-olds are not brand loyal when it comes to their sneaker retailers, so while they were aware of the ranges stocked at Foot Locker, they needed a solid reason to choose Foot Locker over rivals time and time again.

We took key considerations concerning the Foot Locker audience into account, including the fact that they seek brands that represent their values and take an active and authentic stance on issues that matter to them. With this front of mind, we set about building an emotional connection with the audience, positioning Foot Locker as a purpose-driven curator of sneaker culture.

Approach – The Conversation We Created

We first needed to establish what Foot Locker stood for, and how connection with our young and passionate audience could be created through these values. We identified three key pillars to serve as the core of Foot Locker’s values and ensured these would be met through our strategy:

1)     Basketball: with its roots in basketball culture and supporting grassroots sport, basketball is the perfect vehicle for Foot Locker to engage its target audience while also tapping into street culture. Through the “Raise the Game” programme, we have sought opportunities to give back to these communities by investing in the development of courts in underprivileged areas and help basketball culture thrive.

2)    Stripers: Foot Locker’s in-store staff, known as “Stripers”, are the intersection of purpose and reputation. They live and breathe sneaker culture and make the Foot Locker experience what it is. Therefore, our strategy positions them as influencers in their own right, putting them front and centre alongside influential creative partners to demonstrate cultural credibility.

3)    Exclusivity & Hype: Foot Locker is the original retailer for some of the most exclusive and iconic footwear of all time. We have chosen to lean into this heritage and work with talent at the heart of hype culture, as a result, driving customers to Foot Locker as their go-to sneaker retailer of choice time and time again.

At the heart of our strategy is showing Gen Z that the Foot Locker brand aligns with their values through actions – not merely claims and words – and through taking a stand on issues that Foot Locker has the authority to – and can authentically – discuss.

We created ‘The Foot Locker Collective’, a hand-picked group of ‘Sneakerheads’ and lifestyle influencers that we have built an exceptional relationship with.

All influencer partners are rigorously selected for their relevance to the three pillars and then assessed to ensure they match Foot Locker’s commitments to diversity, support of both the creative community and sustainability to ensure their purpose-led values are demonstrated through brand actions and partner collaborations.

Relaying Foot Locker’s commitment to diversity is a crucial element of our influencer selection, with sneaker culture being rooted in Black Culture it is important as a brand to authentically engage in the fight against racial injustice.

For our collective this means a focus on both ensuring racial diversity across the people we work with, but also selecting influencers who have a point of view and are taking action against racial injustice. These “Voices of the Future” create content heroing causes close to their hearts which plays throughout our ongoing content calendar.

We work with our influencer collective to co-create engaging content around new launches and well-loved brands, develop new concepts and attend pan-European events where they have the opportunity to discover more about the brand and fully immerse themselves in the Foot Locker universe.

Our collective is also supported by a targeted earned media strategy, creating bespoke content and angles to generate brand hype and creative press that appeals directly to Sneakerheads and fans of street culture on their level, tackling the topics beyond footwear that they are engaged with.

Outcomes Achieved – The Change Made

For the past two years, we have enabled Foot Locker to partner with over 1,000 Sneakerheads & lifestyle influencers and in 2020 alone achieved:

•        9,400 pieces of coverage across Europe in 2020

•        Average 780 pieces of content per month in 2020

•        1.9bn total coverage reach in 2020

In dedication to Foot Locker’s commitment to sustainability, we are currently working on a long-term sustainability strategy with the client team, but we have already committed to running a press office that is as sustainable as possible considering the sample-led scope that we deliver on.

The below policies were all formalised as part of our 2021 strategy planning and have successfully been implemented across all markets, achieving:

·         Commitment to no extraneous packaging: all our influencer product is sent out in the cardboard boxes that the sneakers come in, within a paper Foot Locker bag. An initiative driven by the Marketing team with M&C Saatchi TALK’s recommendation

·         Encouragement for influencers to meet us in person to collect their gifts rather than transport via courier. However, if this is not feasible, wherever possible, we send out gifts using electric or sustainable couriers

·         The implementation of a 100% no unsolicited product policy to prevent waste – we always confirm send-outs with influencers that we work with in advance of sending any product.