In the middle of 2021, the COVID-19 pandemic hit a critical point in Vietnam, causing nationwide lockdowns and threatening footwear brand Biti's Hunter's sales during the typically lucrative back-to-school season. In order to stave off disaster, the brand created a digital tarot card deck meant to connect with the spiritual side of Vietnamese members of generation Z while also inspiring them to buy shoes online.
Objective:
Normally, the back-to-school (B2S) season marks an exciting time for footwear sales. But in the fall of 2021, Vietnam experienced one of its most challenging periods during the COVID-19 pandemic. The health situation was very serious, and a lockdown was implemented. As a result, footwear consideration seemed like a luxury, completely irrelevant in the moment.
That situation spelled trouble for footwear brand Biti's Hunter. Not only did the situation threaten the brand's sales, it also created the risk of losing touch with a valuable portion of its market — young people who were confined indoors with no need for shoes.
Target Audience:
This campaign aimed to reconnect Biti's Hunter with young millennials and members of generation Z — specifically those living in urban areas and poised to experience turning points in their lives, like starting a new job or attending a new school.
Creative Strategy:
Generation Z has a reputation for being a tough nut to crack, and Vietnamese members of the generation are no different. Because generation Z has a reputation for being rebellious, it seems as if the more an adult or a brand tells them what to do, the more likely they are to do the opposite. In order to excite this cohort, Biti's Hunter needed more than just a basic and boring campaign.
In doing a mountain of research, the brand found a key insight that would help power its effort: Generation Z often uses memes to express sentiments or commentary on very serious issues. Sugarcoating serious societal issues with humor is the generation's signature method of coping and connecting with one another and the world around them. Among Vietnamese members of generation Z particularly, social media is often littered with memes and messages that translate to, "Claim the universe's energy," "Pick a card," or "Sending signals to the universe." Such messages are a reflection of the spirituality of Vietnamese culture and perfectly signifies how generation Z can sometimes use funny memes alongside very serious sentiments, choosing to turn to cosmic forces around for support. This unique insight became the inspiration for the campaign.
Context:
Biti's Hunter had to be tactful and convince its target audience to buy shoes without explicitly telling them to do so. The brand had no other choice but to seek support from generation Z's most influential voice: the universe. The idea was to create messages that centered upon the phrase, "Vũ trụ mở lối, N-sao chưa bước tới," which translates roughly to "just follow the universe."
Overall Campaign Execution:
To launch this effort, Biti's Hunter homed in on one of the most signature assets of generation Z's spiritual lifestyle: the tarot card deck. Collaborating with generation Z artists, the brand redefined the fashion look-book format by creating a deck of real tarot cards.
The cards' topics consisted of three key themes, which were inspired by the three key activitites performed by young people: working, studying, and flirting. Each card was elegantly designed and represented a unique real-life situation on one side while presenting a pair of sneakers on the other.
The tarot deck was released on August 8 — a perfect day to not only capture the attention of generation Z as they were beginning to think about returning to school, but also because the date 8/8 seemed to be perfectly symmetrical, suggesting that the universe's energy would be positive.
Once engaged with the deck of cards and the mystical energy of the date, target consumers were directed to Shopee — the most powerful e-commerce platform in Vietnam — where they could find the sneakers featured on the cards at discounted prices. A combination of digital, social, and PR initiatives maximized the campaign's impact and ensured it was seen by the digitally native target audience.
Mobile Execution:
All assets of the campaign were adapted in vertical format to maximize mobile impact. Additionally, the Shopee display was a mobile-first design. Social and digital collaborations with other local brands, communities, influencers, and collectives were activated and the campaign had strong offline and online integration.
In a chaotic time when footwear seemed irrelevant, the campaign earned unprecedented numbers despite the limited budget and resources. For instance:
By smartly approaching media and shopping channels with a clear understanding of generation Z and a strategic roadmap to capitalize on its insight, Biti's Hunter successfully distinguished its brand from the competition in a chaotic period for the fashion category, resulting in strong engagement and keeping the brand as a topic of conversation among influencers and creative communities for weeks after.
