For the last five decades, the Porsche 911 Turbo has been known for its iconic design, speed and uncompromising performance. Despite its storied history, the brand keeps its eyes on the future. That means staying relevant with new and younger audiences.
For "Icons of Fast," Porsche partnered with another iconic German-owned and global sports brand, PUMA. Together, they created a limited-edition collection of sneakers celebrating each generation of the 911 Turbo. Iconic design elements from the 911 Turbo, such as period-specific paint colors, rear wings, light bars, interiors and body lines, were all used as inspiration to create shoes as special as the car itself.
To launch our collaboration to the world, we created "The World's Fastest Pre-Release." Lasting just 2.7 seconds—the time it takes a 2021 Porsche 911 Turbo to go from 0-60mph—our online event, inside the larger sneaker launch, generated excitement and buzz among new audiences and Porsche enthusiasts alike.
The two main objectives for this collaboration:
- Drive Sales: Sell 2,000 pairs of sneakers within the first 48 hours
- Generate Buzz: Garner 25MM impressions among the target audience
Strategy:
More than 40% of Porsche’s target audience appreciates fashion and sees value in maintaining their individual style when deciding on clothes and shoes to purchase. They are the go-to for fashion advice and are always in the know for the latest trends. Knowing this, C-K wanted to tap into their passion for style and ignite it through this partnership in an engaging and meaningful way.
Implementation:
We developed a phased launch plan to build excitement for the partnership. Throughout each phase, C-K collaborated with key media partners, leveraging social media and influencers, to create unique touchpoints of engagement with Porsche’s audience, with each element highlighting a unique aspect of the Porsche x PUMA launch.
Key Features:
We teased our partnership:
- Across organic and paid social, we teased the forthcoming partnership and sneaker release with stylish images of the shoes in silhouette against the 911 Turbo.
Then got media involved to build the buzz:
- Through VICE’s “Sauce Talk,” we delivered two custom episodes, diving into the Porsche x PUMA partnership in a way that felt authentic to our target. VICE’s director of merchandise, Cheech, gave a detailed rundown of each colorway and which generation of the 911 Turbo it represented.
- HYPEBEAST created custom executions, including an editorial announcement, a digital experience on HYPEBEAST’s site, a custom unboxing video and support on HYPEBEAST’s social pages.
Then it was time to hype the 2.7-second main event:
- Influencers were our authentic voices out in the world creating buzz and anticipation. The influencers needed to reach beyond Porsche’s automotive core. As a result, C-K teamed up with content creators whose talents aligned with the target’s passion points. One of the influencers was an electric violinist who has performed with Pharrell. Another was a music video director who has worked with musician Drake. We even worked with a “TrapHouseJazz” singer.
- The influencers celebrated the partnership in style by creating unique content, including music videos and unboxing moments, that sparked their audiences’ interests and drove them to purchase the sneakers.
- We built a custom Snapchat AR lens that allowed users to “try on” the shoes from the comfort of their own homes. People were able to swipe through the eight different pairs of shoes, corresponding with the eight generations of the 911 Turbo, to see which pair fit their style best.
At 11am EST on November 16, “The World’s Fastest Pre-Sale” was live on the Porsche Design website. A “Buy Now” button appeared beneath the sneakers. But it lasted only 2.7 seconds. So, like the 911, hopeful buyers had to be FAST. Turns out a lot were. And it created momentum for the regular sale the following day.
After we sold out of sneakers:
- We continued to push the Snapchat AR lens that allowed users to try on shoes. This allowed the partnership to live on despite the shoes selling out so quickly.
- And we changed paid social messaging to educate audiences about the historic partnership rather than driving users to purchase shoes.
Objectives
The two main objectives for this collaboration:
- Sell 2,000 pairs of sneakers within the first 48 hours
- Garner 25MM impressions among the target audience
Results - “The World’s Fastest Pre-Sale” sped the Porsche x PUMA collaboration to success.
For the pre-sale, we sold nearly 1,300 of the 4,000 total limited-edition sneakers, with 4,000 people on the Porsche Design website during the pre-sale.
- Then, in less than 24 hours, we sold all 4,000 pairs of sneakers online. In fact, influencer content specifically helped us reach new audiences and accounted for a significant 15% of total online sales, which far exceeded expectations.
- Leveraging multiple social platforms to reach our new target sneakerhead audiences, social garnered 92MM impressions to build awareness of the partnership.
- Custom executions on HYPEBEAST drove a dwell time that was 72% higher than benchmark, showing how engaged Porsche’s audience was with the content.
- Influencer content garnered a 9.9% engagement rate, beating campaign goals by 296%.
- The Snapchat lens exceeded benchmark for retail lens share rate by 120%, further establishing awareness for the brand throughout the partnership.
Video for Porsche x Puma: Two Icons of Fast Sneaker Launch
