2. CREATIVE
BRIEF
Our objective is to create a new furore for Adidas. For many years Adidas has pushed
boundries within every secor within sports wear and street wear. Every product is developed
and created through specific research and thought to maintain the demographic. Our
objective is to maintain that identity and loyalty through current trends which interest our
target market.
The oThe overall goal is to maintain loyalty and leadership by keeping up to date with the most
recent trends , events and activities. We want to allow people to relate Adidas as a brand
with situations and times throughout their lives. We want to create memories for our
consumers and for them to embed the brand through positive cultural experiences. We want
Adidas as a brand to stand out and create leadership and a cult status group. We need an
iconic figure who represents these needs and can fulfil them to the best of their ability.
Wether its athletes, film stars or artists the need for a leadership cult is high. For Adidas to
progrprogress further and to stand out from our competitors such as Nike we must achieve this.
This should be done through association with our demographic and the industry to which
suits this. Within the industry of Artists, a high example of specific consumer targeting
would be specifically Hip-Hop as that is the biggest trend currently to match our
demographic needed. We want to unite a face with our brand and culturally bring people
together to a powerful speaking cult in association with both the representative and Adidas.
3. Yeezy is an Originals brand which was created by Kanye
West, collaborating together with Adidas. The Original
Adidas Yeezy Season 1 launch was presented on 12th
February 2015, to further another release of collections
Yeezy Season 2 on 16th September 2015 and the most
recent release on the 11th February 2016 Yeezy Season
3. Yeezy has released a selection of clothes and shoes
throughout thethroughout the campaign since it launched last year.
Kanye West sold out Madison Square Garden in New
York, to debut the most recent “Yeezy 3” addition for
Adidas Originals as well as presenting his new album
“The Life of Pablo”.
Kanye West launched all three of his Yeezy’s
collection’s through fashion shows in New York City.
The fashion shows are presented with a range of
models with no expression wearing the Yeezy
collection’s, in collaboration with his most current
album of that time. Similarly to Yeezy Season 1, Kanye
presents both Yeezy Season 2 and 3 in the same
colcollaboration style creating a consistent look for the
campaign. Yeezy seasons are released months prior to
the sales dates of certain products, for example all the
Yeezy shoes were released at different dates
throughout the year to the clothing launches in a range
of colour releases and design releases. Before Kanye
West collaborated with Adidas Originals, the artist had
originally coloriginally collaborated with Nike under the same brand
name of “Yeezy”. This was released in 2009 however
Kanye was not able to have royalties on his product
sales, which drove him to sign to Nikes competitor
Adidas. On the launch of Yeezy’s season 1 Kanye
expresses his intentions and reasons for the first
season of Yeezy’s with Adidas “I chose to partner with
AAdidas because as you will experience today, Adidas is
a brand that ables creators to create”(Adidas YEEZY
BOOST By Kanye West). Nike allowed Kanye to create a
shoe, where as Adidas let Kanye create a unified
subsidiary brand.
4. Although the Yeezy campaign has a huge furore, the Yeezy
products remain limited stock. The Yeezy clothing line
ranges from £100 to £4000 remaining exclusive to people
who can afford the products. Exclusivity exponentially
grows the demand of the products and the brand, the
focal point of the collection is the shoe range as they are a
more affordable price and therefore in higher demand. As
well aswell as being on sale through Adidas’ own online store the
shoes are also distributed and on sale through many other
online marketplaces. In stores the cost of Yeezy’s are the
same as other branded shoes ranging from £100- £150
(Adidas YEEZY BOOST By Kanye West). However the
limited stock creates a higher demand for the target
market.
The campaign’s overall aim to satisfy the
needs of the consumers to acquire the Yeezy
collection proved a success through the
sales. The Yeezy Boost 350 shoe that was
released on the 27th June sold out in just 12
minutes in the US and are being resold on
online stores from $1999 all the way up to
$20,000$20,000 (Wilbur, 2015). Prior to this, the
Yeezy 750 reached $20,000 second hand on
eBay in March 2015 (Mooney, 2015). This
itself represents the extent to which
consumers are willing to go to in order to
acquire any of the Yeezy’s shoe collection.
The limited addition aspect of the collections
creatcreates higher demand. West suggests “The
individual pieces define a style that matches
the relentless pace of contemporary
lives”(Adidas Originals X Kanye West | YEEZY
SEASON 1) informing people that the
collection is individual to “contemporary
lives” grouping the intended demographic
iinto a united exclusive group.
5. The Yeezy campaign as a whole differentiates itself from competition through higher quality standards
and innovation, “Boost is the industry leading technology, I had to use the best innovation” (Kanye
West, 2015). The campaign colours are very neutral, similar to the models used in the launches. Kanye
represents the Yeezy collections as being free and expressive throughout the campaigns “As an artist
and in this world we can do whatever we want” (Kanye West 2015). It is seemingly obvious from the
introduction to Yeezy season 1 that Kanye intends to create a cult status through the language used “its
bigger than, you know who I am you know, in my presence living” he creates an atmospheric
enenvironment for audiences to see beyond just the clothes and visualise his concept. He represents the
Yeezy brand through his character and makes audiences think beyond Yeezy just being a brand.
6. Through Kanye West’s language throughout the
campaigns he implies his desire it to seek a better
option for his audiences, guiding and including the
audiences to represent Yeezy together “We have
been limited”. This targets the demographics
aspirations and desires once again keeping the
loyalty of a cult group in society with intentions to
follfollow the Yeezy campaign “In this world we can do
whatever we want” (Kanye West, 2015). Group
desire is extremely powerful, It creates loyalty
within the target market ‘’Overall the cost of
acquiring a new customer is anywhere from five to
ten times greater than the cost of retaining an
existing customer’’ (Blakeman, 2011). Overall this
creatcreates a successful brand and campaign as the loyal
customer will spend more money long term as they
grow loyalty to the brand “A loyal customer will;
Spend more money over the long term, repurchase
without the need for additional advertising, be
willing to pay higher prices to attain a quality
product or service that offers them a measurable
vvalue” (Blakeman, 2011) this relates back to the
furore which created the shoes to be resold online
for as high as $20,000. The demographic targeted
are willing to pay an extortionate price to be in
possession of Yeezy’s as they desire to be inclusive to
a cult status group.
Kanye West immediately defines the audience as
an inclusive group in Yeezy Season 1, unifying the
audience “We’re not always in the position we
want to be at we’re constantly growing, we’re
constantly making mistakes, we’re constantly
trying to express ourselves” this creates a sense of
belonging to those that invest int he brand as it
exprexpresses unity and provokes audiences to think in
a cult mentality with Kanye. It specifically thrives
off expressive and current thoughts creating a
group formation of thought between him and the
targeted demographic before the launch has even
begun. ‘’Direct contact with the target is the best
way to build a lasting relationship. Giving the
ttarget a voice in the brand’s growth helps build
loyalty’’ (Blakeman, 2011). Kanye also addresses
the audience directly making his speech sound
personal to that particular viewer “I want to create
something better for you” This creates an element
of trust and security to audiences as it allows them
to seek more information from Kanye himself and
builds lobuilds loyalty between them.
“We’re not always in the position we want
to be at we’re constantly growing, we’re
constantly making mistakes, we’re
constantly trying to express ourselves”
7. Adidas in collaboration with Kanye have successfully
hit consumer behaviour targets with the Yeezy
campaign. Not only have they used Kanye Wests
character as a platform, but they've presented celebrity
endorsement throughout the entire campaign creating
a unified brand. It is clear Adidas are able to represent
this campaign through the most current trend within
theirtheir targeted demographic and in society today ”Once
marketers understand their target market's behaviour,
they can use that knowledge to help them develop a
more effective strategy” (Study.com, 2016). Adidas as a
whole are seen to use Kanye West as a brand himself,
to boost their own brand through the subsidiary brand
of Yeezy. Kanye not only represents just his views as a
bbrand, but he originally and currently still is one of the
biggest icons in music to this day. More specifically his
genre being Hip Hop, which has grown extremely
popular if not more than ever in the most recent years.
“A company's marketing strategy is driven by their
ability to fulfil consumer needs. By anticipating and
reacting to needs faster and better than competitors,
ththey provide a greater overall value for the consumer”
(Study.com, 2016) It is clear Adidas have researched
their targeted demographic for what they want, and
have successfully used of the Hip Hop music industry to
unite their brand through Kanye to the subsidiary
brand Yeezy.
Kanye West represents himself as a leader, a man
of power and furthermore a man of control.
Throughout his career as an artist he as always
presented himself to the world to stand out and
represent more than just a rapper in the Hip Hop
world and an artist, but a man of guidance and a
leader in his role. As Kanye has developed a base
of maof many followers throughout his career he
established a huge furore during his launches of
Yeezy’s. His fan base of followers progressed
with him as a leader and created a cult following
where his audience’s have became loyal to his
character in anything he chooses to do “Members
of a coherent group will have a shared identity
with sharwith shared goals and their leader” (Jarrett and
Ginsberg, 2008). The persona which Kanye brings
from his character, reflects on the success of the
Yeezy’s campaign “.. If effective will come to be
seen as encapsulating that identity and as
co-ordinating efforts to reach those goals”
(Jarrett and Ginsberg, 2008). Kanye’s character
theretherefore represents Yeezy and audiences have
developed a need to become loyal and follow
him. Kanye has created a desired group
throughout the Yeezy campaign to which people
want to be an exclusive member of and will pay
excessive prices to be represented within that
status of “value”.
8. Kanye not only creates a cult brand but represents
experience and difference which triggers a need from
audiences “We have been limited its bigger than you know
who I am you know in my presence living” (Kanye West,
2015). He captivates his audience with such diction and
certainty to the point that any idea or concept he conveys
the audience have no choice to believe it. This works for the
campaign as a whole as it ecampaign as a whole as it exclusively unifies a group of
people to think spiritually similarly to his character. The
representation of Yeezy’s is suggested to have a wider
semiotic meaning behind the brand. For many people
Yeezy’s is presented as a shoe no different to an ordinary
branded shoe, but for the demographic targeted it
represents a lot more than that “I'm here to crack the
ppavement and make new grounds you know sonically and
society culturally” (Kanye West, 2015) by speaking with
such diction he conveys an extremely powerful language
The Adidas Originals Yeezy’s as a campaign
have achieved a status group through Kanye
West which people follow and invest into,
presenting the hard work to the consumer as
they seek to maintain a status to the group
created. “..it is a dynamic process, so that the
most effective leaders will not just represent
the idethe identity of the group, they will also shape
it” (Jarrett and Ginsberg, 2008). Kanye West
and Adidas managed to create a synergy
through the Yeezy campaign to which many
different elements of media have worked
together to encourage a consumer to connect
to the brand in every dynamic possible.
“I'm here to crack the pavement and
make new grounds you know
sonically and society culturally”
9. Semiotics work on many levels, the word
“Yeezy” holds a huge amount of semiotic
value which is relatable to Adidas and Kanye
West and the product or “culture” it
represents. Yeezy was created from Kanye’s
nickname “Yeezus”, to which also one of his
albums in 2013 was named. The name ‘Yeezus’
hWithout prior inhWithout prior information presented to the
consumer it is meaningless. This shows how
previous launches of the Yeezy’ season and
uproar has helped Kanye develop a culture
which follows him to have a representation
stamped “Yeezy” throughout the entire
campaign.
Jefkins suggests factors which are a focal point for a
successful brand name and campaign. To be
“Distinctive, easy to pronounce, memorable,
internationally acceptable, assist corporate image”
which Yeezy portrays extremely well. “Consumption
is at the behest of brands which lead our actions”.
The nickname Yeezus for Kanye West was created to
be simibe similar to Jesus, implying him to be a religious
leader. “I Am a God, Yeezus” (Kanye West, 2014).
This supports the idea that Kanye West has created a
powerful following and labels himself to be
powerful by communicating to his audience as a
leader similar to Jesus.
10. All of the Adidas Originals Yeezy campaign is advertised online over
social media sites and the internet through famous faces. There is no
television advertising for the campaign as there is a specific medium
chosen (the internet) to target the specific demographic. This
specific demographic being from the age of 16 up to 26, with more of
a male target market however it doesn't neglect the female market.
Many of the models which Kanye uses within all the campaign are of
didifferent shapes, sizes, colours and genders. This represents a
unified group of equality, expressing the ethical views and natural
era throughout the campaign. Current viewing habits of the
demographic present more people are on the internet than ever
before (Global Social Media Statistics Summary, 2016) Behavioural
Segmentation is a way of marketers classifying their audience and
within the demographic targeted the behaviours to use social media
is gris growing rapidly more than any other medium hence the heavy
social media and online advertising of the campaign.
Celebrity endorsement causes a huge furore within society and trends, especially through the most
current celebrities within the medias news. Kanye and Adidas had many appearances of major headline
celebrities at the Yeezy releases over the years. Many multi millionaire artists such as Jay Z, 50 Cent,
ASAP Rocky, Tyga, Busta Rhymes, Rihanna, 2 Chains, Jayden Smith and many more. He also had
appearances from supermodels Gigi Hadid, Irina Shayk, Karlie Kloss and fashion designers such as
Olivier Rousteing. These celebrities have extremely similar aged demographics individually and within
celebrity culture which works well for Adidas and Kanye to promote the campaign.
11. Relating back to Adidas using Hip-Hop culture to
push their brand, Kanye not only represented his
own albums during the launches but
appearances from artists such as Travis Scott. He
was on stage with Kanye West during the Yeezy
Season 3 launch. Travis Scott as an artist is
current and iconic in the Hip-Hop industry today
and furthermore supand furthermore support the idea of successfully
using current behavioural targeting and using
celebrity endorsement to promote Adidas
Original Yeezy to fit the targeted demographic.
“Any individual who enjoys public recognition
and who uses this recognition on behalf of a
consumer good by appearing with it in an
adadvertisement, is useful, because when
celebrities are dedicated in marcoms, they bring
their own culturally related meaning, thereto,
irrespective of the required promotional role”
(McCracken, 2005). The Kardashian family also
attended all the Yeezy season releases and
appeared wearing the Yeezy range on various
ooccasions. This also was a huge boost for the
Yeezy seasons as they have millions of followers
as a family and individually over many social
media sites.
12. TheThe Yeezy campaign uses above the line advertising as it feeds off the
dynamics of the internet and word of mouth. This is through
celebrities and societies market as it does not present television
advertising, though the main focus of media it is advertised and
publicised through is online “It is the creative teams job to mould the
creative brief into a unique and memorable idea. It is also their
responsibility to make sure the idea can be used successfully across
multiplemultiple types of media vehicles without losing its identity’’
(Blakeman, 2011). Yeezy successfully represents the campaign this
way and therefore works for their target market. Through many
social media networks and applications such as Facebook, Twitter,
Youtube, Instagram and Snapchat the Yeezy campaign has had a
huge response from the world internationally due to the success of
the media platforms used.
Twitter being a huge example as it
promotes following directly as
does Facebook and Instagram.
Basing the idea of following on
friends, family, celebrities and
even brands. Through these sites
audiences are able to see what
celebriticelebrities post about Yeezy as a
campaign wether its wearing the
brand or talking about it “Creative
execution is the last phase in a
lengthy process that started
months earlier with intensive
research gathering, analysis,
projprojecting, and planning”
(Blakeman). Kanye West also gave
consumers the opportunity to
subscribe to the live releases
through their own home and even
in the latest Yeezy season 3 in
cinemas. It allows consumers to
bbecome a part of the campaign
and create audiences to thrive to
be a part of the unified cult
created, representing Yeezy’s
across all mediums targeted.
13. Overall Yeezy campaign has proved a huge success by selling out at Madison Square Gardens, selling out
of every Yeezy shoe in less than an hour of the release and progressively still a highly active campaign in
2016. Behaviour segmentation has been successfully researched by Adidas to the specific demographic
for Yeezy and is presented throughout the campaign letting Adidas as a marketer, to identify their
audience successfully and consequently target them correctly. Social media and celebrity endorsement
is incorporated into Yeezy successfully identifying and targeting their demographic and publicising
Adidas OriginalsAdidas Originals Yeezy extremely well. The ethos behind Yeezy’s has progressed and connected all three
Yeezy launches creating an extremely affective campaign. The use of Hip Hop as a representation for the
campaign through Kanye brings a huge furore of desire and expectation from the targeted demographic
which Kanye and Adidas clearly achieve throughout the entire Yeezy campaign.
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