SHANGHAI, CHINA — In recent years, with the improvement of Chinese Gen Z’s aesthetic appreciation for artistic creations, youth culture is breaking the boundaries of imagination with more creativity. Adapting to the new normal is not easy and will impact the inspiration and motivation of brands.
To reignite passion and reconnect with China’s youth, Nike challenged BBH China to create a digital library of inspiration to boost imagination.
Together with the Nike Global Catalyst Brand Management and Unit9, BBH China launched the “Trove” experience: an ever-growing archive of Nike’s most inspirational collaborations and showcases with their Global Catalysts. A group of cultural pioneers in the Nike family not only promotes and leads youth culture but also empowers and brings innovative thinking to the new generation. In the digital space, Trove is a platform where all of Nike’s selected collaborations with Catalysts will be interpreted for inspiration.
Each drop will feature a Catalyst’s design concept and their POV of the world, connecting Chinese youths with positive influences who explore positive themes like sports, sustainability, health, music, etc. Two drops have gone live so far: Nike’s collabs with Matthew M. Williams (the new creative director of luxury fashion maison Givenchy) and GDragon (a leading figure in Asian pop culture).
These “drops” and events were designed with the regulations and unpredictability of Covid-19 in mind: agile, flexible, and accessible entirely online, as well as in-person at the NIKE LAB store in Shanghai and partner stores through AR.
The campaign brings each collection to life by fusing AR experiences with an immersive 360 experiential video. The online activation culminates with an exclusive offline event, with Nike’s pioneer users invited.
Given the unpredictability of Covid, BBH China’s Nike “Trove” campaign is a great example of how BBH China is helping brands to launch more flexible experiences and blur the lines between the real and digital worlds, explained Kelly Pon, chief creative officer of BBH China: “We are grateful for the opportunity to work with Nike and their global network of Catalysts, to help Nike fans in China reconnect with the brand’s spirit. We live in times of creativity where, more than ever before, there is the need to harness the power of positivity, purpose, and technology to uplift and reconnect. And that’s what we hope to achieve with this campaign.”
