Clarks teamed up with Raheem Sterling for the back to school drive – and it worked
Clarks and Playmaker Film have won the Social Film category at The Drum Awards for Social Media. Here is the award-winning case study.
Clarks, a national institution in children's shoes, partnered with footballer Raheem Sterling for its annual Back to School campaign. Playmaker Films, tasked with creating a supporting TikTok campaign, aimed to capture the attention, consideration, and affection of Millennial parents. The campaign, featuring Sterling, focused on playfulness, humor, and 'old school' nostalgia, promoting the new 'Goal' kids shoe.
Objectives:
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Awareness and Affection:
- Drive mental availability and brand salience.
- Appeal to Millennial parents during the school uniform purchasing period.
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Product Exposure:
- Expose the new 'Goal' kids shoe to prospective customers.
Strategy:
1. Humorous and Authentic Content:
- Leverage relatable humor as per a 2022 Oracle study, with 80% of consumers valuing humor from brands.
- Create scenarios based on familiar primary school situations with authentic interactions between real schoolchildren and teachers.
2. Comedy Style:
- Adopt a comedic style reminiscent of early 2000-2010s comedy classics (e.g., People Just Do Nothing, This Country).
- Use a mockumentary style with first-person narration for comedic surprises and misunderstandings.
3. Raheem Sterling Back to School Journey:
- Showcase Raheem Sterling's return to school, encountering various scenarios from music and PE to breaktime and school photo day.
- Add a comedic twist with Sterling realizing that being the most popular guy isn't as straightforward with kids.
Media:
Video Content:
- TikTok and Instagram Reels featuring one 60-second composite edit and five 30-second shorts.
- An extended five-minute 'director's cut' version for Instagram.
Press & In-Store:
- Supplement the campaign with stills for press and in-store environments to drive mental availability and encourage store visits.
Results:
Organic Results (As of Deadline):
Instagram (Organic):
- 494,079 Video Views.
- 32,981 Engagements (31,350 Likes, 594 Saves, 420 Comments).
- Post Engagement Rate: 6.6% (vs average ER of 1.5% on Clarks).
- 2,000+ hours watch time.
TikTok (Organic):
- 1,194,000 Video Views.
- 751,408 Engagements (751,300 Likes, 31 Comments, 77 Shares).
Note: The campaign is set to run for two more weeks.
Conclusion:
The campaign successfully leveraged humor, authenticity, and relatable scenarios to engage Millennial parents during the critical school uniform purchasing period. Raheem Sterling's involvement and the focus on 'Goal' kids shoe exposure contributed to positive organic results on Instagram and TikTok, demonstrating the campaign's effectiveness in achieving its objectives.