by Will Massanet
June 27, 2011
Authenticity Consumer
The skateboarding industry is covered head-to-toe in the bruises and broken bones of authenticity. Birthed out of rebellion and innovation, skateboarding’s forefathers set the tone for originality and the pursuit of progression, which still holds true today. If a brand is really going to be a skate brand, they must fully embody these ideals. For skateboarders, “game recognizes game”- we can smell a fake like a week-old pair of underwear.
Nike and Converse have done a great job entering an industry that doesn’t take too kindly to mainstream outsiders. They are great examples of how any brand – not just a skate brand – can curate their own authenticity to achieve relevancy and credibility with their target demo.
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by Tammy Derrigan
June 13, 2011
Experiential Marketing
To promote the launch of its three new flavors, Mountain Dew created an extreme, first-of-its-kind experience at a film studio in New Zealand. Skate park designer Corban Walls was commissioned to design a giant, fully functioning, pinball machine skate park. In this 600-square foot life-size pinball machine, the skater is the ball, propelled from a platform by a giant plunger. Skaters earned points by doing tricks on tunnels, ramps, flippers and bumpers, triggering sensors to generate flashing lights and arcade sounds. Scores and times are displayed on a backboard to complete the picture.
The program is ingenious for grabbing the attention of the brand’s young, irreverent fans and simultaneously seducing older Gen Y and Gen X consumers with the retro-nostalgic pinball twist. People far past the age of interest and/or ability to skate have been delighted by this whimsical program that revisits (in a life-sized way) the comfort and nostalgia of their childhoods.
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