Lockdown put paid to everything that was familiar to brands and consumers. No physical interaction, no events or photoshoots, no buzz of excitement as influencers swooped in to share the excitement of a product launch.
What, said Nike, could we do to fill the void in engagement created by the absence of loyal influencers? Our answer was to invent characters that would exist solely online – a pair of illustrated influencers who would be at every launch, bridging the gap between product and consumer. The influencers were stand-ins for everything that was missing during lockdown: the models, the Instagrammers, the street-smart curators of their own uncompromising look. Lockdown fans loved them. They read their posts and bought the Nike clothing off their backs. Literally.
Lockdown was a tough time for brands that thrive on life and engagement. How were they to maintain connections when shops were shut, fans were stuck at home, and events and photoshoots were banned? And how would brands like Nike reach out to consumers when its loyal band of influencers could no longer engage physically with the brand?
That’s the challenge that Nike threw at us. They handed us a bundle of consumer insights and asked us to come up with some ideas for digital content that Foot Locker could use for its own social media and ecommerce.
We scratched our heads and wondered … What if we were to create our own influencers? Could we develop virtual characters that were more than mere clothes pegs – characters that took part in product launches and interacted with the merchandise in ways that mimic the actions of real-life influencers?
To keep the concept light – and to tap into the knowingness of a highly digitally literate audience – we decided to illustrate our influencers. Illustration would give us the freedom to do anything we wanted with the characters, and to place them anywhere in the world. Armed with our consumer insights, we teamed up with Waste Studios to create influencers unbound by logistical or geographical constraints.
The pair of in-your-face characters that resulted relied on exaggeration and the influences of Tokyo street style. They hung out in their own sparse virtual world wearing clothes associated with each product launch. And of course the clothes were clickable, hyperlinked to real-life sports and streetwear that fans could buy. Localised versions tapped into city and regional styles. These were influencers everyone could relate to.
Like all great characters, the illustrated influencers gained a life of their own. As the idea developed, internal teams began to champion the concept; they were up for an entire family of influencers. Foot Locker fans were even more enthusiastic, following illustrated influencer posts and product launches with glee. One single post earned over 29,000 likes and a sharp spike in sales of the clothing worn that day by the illustrated influencer.
Illustrated Influencer
