Dive Brief:

• Athletic gear company Adidas has teamed up with digital campaign platform Wyng and digital media company Refinery29 for a silent auction for 50 pairs of custom UltraBoost X sneakers that represent each state per a joint press release.
• The digital silent auction is integrated with Adidas’ e-commerce platform and began July 4. It runs through July 11 with 100% of the funds raised going to Women Win, a group that empowers girls to build leadership skills and address gender equity through sport. People visiting the Boost the Nation auction site at Adidas.com also have an option to donate and support the cause without having to win one of the auctions as well as share the message across social media.
• The Boost the Nation collection of custom sneakers was curated by Refinery29 and includes artists such as Meagan Morrison, Maria “Too Fly” Castillo, Bree Poort, Lizzie Darden, Jenny Kiker, Sophia Chang, Mari Orr, Jen Mussari, Carrie Chan, Jordana Schrager and Refinery29 fashion editor Alyssa Coscarelli.

Dive Insight:

Adidas has been shifting its marketing focus recently, notably in March announcing it was dropping TV ads in favor of mobile marketing to reach Gen Z. In this light, partnering with Refinery29 makes sense as digital content platform has a global audience of more than 500 million women and a strong focus on content targeted at millennials and Gen Z. 

The digital silent auction is interesting as builds from the growing trend of brands merging content and commerce to add cause marketing to the formula. The campaign draws together three disparate groups — Adidas, Refinery 29 and Wyng — for a good cause. By offering limited-edition sneakers designed by an array of artists and influencers, the effort hopes to build some excitement around the products, something brands like Cheetos, Oreo and others have also attempted recently. The landing page for the campaign also features a video about the creation of the sneakers. 

Beyond the charitable aspect it also serves to drive traffic to and awareness about Adidas e-commerce platform. Wyng’s digital campaign platform operates across social media, websites and in-store, and according to the press release it has been involved in more than 200,000 digital campaigns for its brand partners that delivered over 470 million visitors.

Adidas has been riding a wave of success with reported growth in nearly all market segments in Q4 and for the full-year 2016, leading the company to increase its sales and earnings guidance into 2020. It’s the number two sports brand behind Nike, recapturing ground previously lost to Under Armour.