How Neeman’s Shoes and VML Turned Smartphone Eavesdropping into a Viral Marketing Sensation
VML India's 'Are Those Neeman’s Shoes?' campaign uses influencers to repeatedly ask a catchy question, which triggers smartphone algorithms and boosts brand awareness.
The guerrilla-style strategy resulted in a 19% increase in Google search queries for Neeman’s and significantly higher organic website traffic.
The campaign exploited the eerie phenomenon of smartphones listening to conversations to create hyper-targeted ads. Despite initial challenges, the campaign's success has increased brand visibility and provided valuable insights for future marketing strategies.
LBB spoke to VML India chief creative officers Mukund Olety and Rohan Kumar, and to Neeman’s Shoes co-founders Taran Chhabra and Amar Preet Singh to learn more.
LBB> Can you explain the process of developing the ‘Are Those Neeman's Shoes’ campaign, from conception to execution, especially considering its unconventional and disruptive nature?
Mukund and Rohan> The second we realised that our phones had listened to all of us – everyone jumped on board. You talk about something, and within hours and sometimes minutes, an ad for that very thing appears on your phone. It’s eerie, but when everyone in the room started sharing common stories, we thought how insane it would be to do a campaign around it – thankfully, from the response we’ve got, it’s not the craziest thing.
LBB> The campaign leverages the insight that smartphones listen to conversations to target consumers with ads. How did you navigate the ethical considerations surrounding privacy and data usage while executing this campaign?
Mukund and Rohan> That was the thing – All we did was tell two influencers to go to crowded places and give the brand a shoutout. It’s the oldest sales pitch. From the reactions we got, people probably just thought, these guys are nuts and just went about their day.
LBB> What inspired the decision to use guerrilla-style marketing tactics for this campaign, and how did you ensure that it would effectively reach and resonate with the target audience?
Mukund and Rohan> These days, the words AI and hyper targeting pop up in every brainstorming session. They popped up here as well. But the idea was so simple that we eventually realised that maybe we’re overthinking this and should go old-school and do the tried-and-tested ‘Del Boy’ method. As he says, “He who dares wins.”
LBB> Can you share some insights into the role of influencers in the campaign and how they contributed to its success in driving brand awareness and engagement?
Mukund and Rohan> Inspired by the popularity of prank videos on Instagram, we targeted influencers with that same engaging vibe. We envisioned playful interactions with unsuspecting passers-by, delivering a funny-sounding phrase to elicit reactions. However, our initial idea of simply shouting the brand name, Neeman's, lacked the desired comedic punch. We sought a phrase versatile enough to be uttered in myriad ways. We aimed to create a humorous phrase that would endure, becoming a spontaneous greeting exchanged among individuals in the long term. After numerous trials, ‘Are those Neeman's shoes?’ emerged as our winning concept. And with some fantastic delivery, courtesy of our influencers, it stuck.
LBB> What were some of the challenges encountered during the campaign's implementation, and how did you overcome them?
Mukund and Rohan> The hard part was simply getting everyone on board. But for an idea like this to see the light of day and not die in a presentation deck, it takes Canjones - as they say in Spain. And thankfully, everyone from our client to our brilliant partners, ‘The Other Half’, led by the uber-talented Arjuna Gaur, said, “We’ll figure it out, let’s just do it”. And that’s why we love them. You need partners who believe in the idea and have your back all the way through. When you have such people by your side, complications are far too few.
Taran and Amar> The campaign resulted in a significant uplift in brand search queries and website traffic. How do you plan to sustain this momentum and further capitalise on the campaign's success?
We see great potential in leveraging the creators' community and using their influence to distribute the campaign's core messaging, which will help us cater to audiences we didn't have access to before. Additionally, we see an opportunity to boost our offline store footfall in key cities via this campaign approach.
LBB> Neeman's founders mentioned their commitment to innovation and exploring new mediums of engagement. How does this campaign align with Neeman's broader brand strategy and ethos?
Taran and Amar> We are competing in a category that sells on two primary factors - Comfort and Style. While we know consumers demand fashion-forward designs in their footwear, the comfort factor is non-negotiable. We are a young brand, all of five and a half years old, and in this short span, we have catered to over 2 million customers in over 1400+ cities and towns, and 90% of them have rated our comfort 4.5*/5. In our bid to expand to an audience base that is yet to discover us, the campaign fits in perfectly and seeds the idea of Neeman's in the audience's minds without spending aggressively.
LBB> What feedback or responses have you received from the audience regarding the campaign, and how do you plan to incorporate any learnings or insights into future marketing initiatives?
Taran and Amar> Wicked. Genius. Creative. What a hack.
These are just some of the many genuine responses people have sent us. Overall the feedback is resoundingly positive. Moreover, it motivates the team that has worked behind the scenes to see all these months of planning come to life and be accepted in the way it has. The biggest learning we will take away from this campaign is "Never pull the plug on an idea midway. Allow it to run its course. True feedback or potential only shows itself when you run with the idea."
