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KEY RESEARCH What is Vans Checkerboard Day?

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The day is the brand’s largest philanthropic initiative, raising money to support 16 charities around the world.

Their key mission is to revitalise public spaces through arts, sports, culture and social impact programming.

Vans donates a collective $1 million to these charities with each organisation receiving $50,000 from The Vans Checkerboard Fund. The money is used to help them continue their work building vibrant and welcoming spaces to support their local communities.

Recently re-branded as size? explores, size?captures is a community focused section of the size? blog featuring interviews with members of the community who have loves of specific sneakers, particularly Nike Air Max. This is the basis for my concept which will be developed and adapted for social media.

Vans Checkerboard Day UK Despite the brands charitable efforts supporting communities worldwide, the initiative itself is a primarily US based event due to the Vans head office being in California. Last year it gained minimal news coverage with only 18,000 Vans fans coming together to celebrate, even though the brand sells millions of pairs each year. Aside from a few skateboard brands and a blog post by size?, the day isn’t really covered in the UK and isn’t properly linked to any UK based brands or shoe outlets.

From my research only 3 in 37 of my followers have heard of Vans Checkerboard Day which is only 8%.

Partnering with size? for this campaign will boost this statistic significantly across the UK.

size? previews size?previews is a monthly 30 minute video episode uploaded to size?’s YouTube channel size?tv. Their buyers Rick Matthews and Chris Binns host the episode discussing the latests shoe releases from some of the biggest sneaker brands stocked by size?.

THE CONCEPT WHAT?

size? x Vans Checkerboard Day The campaign brings Vans Checkerboard Day to UK audiences through size?’s strong sense of community and current communication methods. We will increase awareness of the initiative as well as donations to their charities through the size? platform.

HOW? Using the size? previews, size? explores and size? social media platforms alongside their existing audiences will draw focus to the Vans brand and their fans. We will post interviews with Vans fans sharing their emotional connections to the brand on IG Guides and get the interviewees to customise a pair of checkerboard Vans to be won in an online raffle to raise awareness and donations. Kicking off with Henry Davies on an episode of size?collections and a Vans Checkerboard edition episode of size?previews will target areas of the brand that size? audiences already know and love.

WHY?

Vans Checkerboard Day is a primarily US based event and UK audiences don’t know much about it unless they’re avid fans of the brand. size? values communities and supporting Vans Checkerboard Day aligns with their beliefs, expanding their charitable efforts with an initiative that donates $1 million worldwide to support creative opportunities. Vans can also use size?’s audience who share the same values to spread the campaign and increase donations.

WHEN?

Vans Checkerboard Day is on November 18th so the campaign will begin at the end of October with the size?previews and collections episodes. Social media assets and Instagram posts with the interviews on IG Guides will continue the campaign through the first two weeks in November and the raffle for customised Vans will be drawn on Vans Checkerboard Day.

WHO? People with emotional connections to the Vans brand from niche groups that they associate with. Emo/rock music fans, weightlifters, skateboarders and shoe collectors are all linked to the brand and have their own audiences and groups within this. Involving them will appeal to current Vans fans and further expand the size? community. Having Henry Davies involved with size? previews and size?collections episodes will add an level of expert knowledge to the materials, especially as fans may already know him as “pillowHeat” within the Vans community.

WHERE? The materials will primarily feature on the size? website and social media including Instagram and YouTube with some elements working for both Reels and TikTok. Similarly, the content can be reposted or used on Vans social media and website around the same time but it will be in collaboration with size?’s platforms. The content will be aimed at a UK based audience through size? with donations going to the Vans Checkerboard Day global fund which supports international charities.

CAMPAIGN OBJECTIVES Bring Vans Checkerboard Day to UK audiences Despite donating to a number of charities worldwide, the Vans Checkerboard Day is a primarily USA based event, especially for those who don’t follow the brand so partnering with UK-based size? will increase awareness and donations.

Increase the size? sense of community in the UK and expand this effort to an international level size? pride themselves on their community based brand pillar and show it through their blog, size? explores, and donating to local UK charities. Creating content with Vans and donating proceeds to Vans Checkerboard Day will expand their philanthropic effort and sense of community internationally by helping to support the revitalisation of public spaces worldwide.

Focus on Vans UK fans and their niche interest groups Again, drawing on size?’s sense of community, interviewing UK Vans fans about their emotional connections to the brand is a similar concept to their existing content for Air Max Day but goes one step further by focusing on niche interest groups within this audience. This will also draw on different communities linked to both brands and hopefully grow them with a philanthropic element.

Increase donations to the Vans Checkerboard Fund The social media content with links to the charities included in the Vans Checkerboard fund will urge size? followers and customers to donate to the fund. This, combined with the proceeds of the raffle for the exclusive customised checkerboard Vans, will increase the amount of donations to the fund from a UK based size? audience.

OUTPUTS - THE VIDEOS The campaign will start with an episode of size?collections where Henry Davies will go through his Vans collection and share his business, pillowHeat. This will be followed by a special Vans episode of size? previews where size? buyers Rick Matthews and Chris Binns will dive into the history of the Vans Checkerboard sneaker with Henry. Drawing on well established elements of each brand will grab the audience’s attention, teach them more about Vans and share what they can expect to see from the size? x Vans Checkerboard Day campaign.

Clips from the episodes will be posted on size?’s Tiktok and Instagram Reels in the weeks leading up to the episodes being released on YouTube to gain interest, especially from people who wouldn’t usually watch size? previews, or haven’t seen size?collections yet as it’s a new addition, but are still Vans fans. Getting Henry to customise a pair of Vans Checkerboard shoes and share them on size?previews will kick off the size?launches element with the opportunity to win customised pairs with the proceeds donated to the Vans Checkerboard Fund and get fans excited about being able to win a pair.

This could also boost sales of Vans for size?, like it would with other new releases featured on previous episodes as well as purchases of vintage Vans from Henry’s website too.

OUTPUTS - THE INTERVIEWS size?’s Instagram will host a series of interviews with members of Vans’ key demographics; rock/emo music fans, skateboarders, weightlifters/gym-goers and sneaker collectors. They will share their emotional connections to the brand, specifically to the Checkerboard shoe itself, why they are such big fans of Vans and what the brand means to them, their lives and their interests.

The interviews will be featured on size?’s Instagram Guides made up of a series of Instagram posts from the size? page and the interviewee’s own personal accounts. Clips of the interviewees speaking about the brand, showing their collections and customising a their pair of Checkerboards will be posted on Instagram Reels and TikTok to boost interactions with the campaign. The content from the interviews can also be used on the size?explores section of the size?blog online to appeal to fans who may not use social media as much.

Each interviewee will also customise a pair of Checkerboard Vans to be won in a raffle held on the size? launches app on Vans Checkerboard Day, with the proceeds of the £10 tickets being donated to the Checkerboard Fund. These shoes will be featured on size? social media to encourage followers to buy a ticket and enter the draw. As the interviewees will each be choosing a charity from the Vans Checkerboard Day fund to encourage donations for, the Guides can also link to more information on said charity via their social media or website which will share other ways to support them.

This is an example of the format of how the interviews will be seen on size?’s Instagram in the IG Guides section. It shows an example of an interviewee from each demographic: Grace Barnes - a rock fan, Henry Davies - a sneaker collector, Sam Beckett - a skateboarder and Liz King - a weightlifter.

CAMPAIGN AIDA MODEL A - Attention

Having Henry Davies feature a size? collections episode and then a Vans focused episode of size? previews at the beginning of the campaign at the end of October will grab the attention of the size? audience and make them aware of the Vans Checkerboard Day initiative.

I - Interest

Following the video with a series of Instagram posts, IG Guides and Reels featuring the interviews with Vans fans will maintain the audiences interest in the campaign. This will teach them more information about Vans Checkerboard Day as the interviewees push readers to donate to a charity of their choice from the Checkerboard Fund.

D - Desire

Combining the interviews with a pair of checkerboard Vans customised by each interviewee to be won in a raffle on the size? launches app, draws on the brands element of exclusivity by encouraging their audience to purchase a limited edition pair. After their interest has been peaked with the interviews and they feel connected to the interviewee, they are more likely to desire to purchase something designed by them.

A - Action

The goal action is for the audience to buy a £10 ticket to be entered in a raffle to win a pair of customised Vans, with the proceeds being donated to the Vans Checkerboard Day fund. The posts will bring awareness of the cause to the UK and boost donations from a UK audience.

TARGET AUDIENCE Age: 16 - 25 Gender: All Income: Around £15k+ Location: UK based Interests: Trainers/shoes, street wear, community, exclusivity, charity, social media

Consumer profile Amelia is 22 years old and lives in a flat in Newcastle with her friend. She works full time as the assistant manager of a pizza restaurant in the city centre and enjoys doing creative hobbies in her spare time including drawing and painting. She is a big trainer fan and keeps up top date with the latest releases from each brand through shops like size? and END. and often puts a portion of her disposable income towards new trainers each month.

She occasionally enters raffles to win trainers from brands she loves but she doesn’t make a regular habit of it if there’s opportunities to purchase other releases she likes. She owns a couple of pairs of Vans and follows the brand on Instagram but doesn’t make an active effort to keep up to date with their latest releases and events.

She frequently checks size?’s social media for information about new brands and community content and spends time watching size?previews when reminded by social media.

CAMPAIGN TIMELINE

15th - 31st October 2022

1st November 2022

2nd - 17th November 2022

Clips from the Vans edition of size?previews and Henry Davies size?collections episode will be posted on size? social media including Instagram Reels and Tiktok.

The size?previews episode will air on YouTube with Henry Davies discussing the history of Vans, the Checkerboard shoe and how size? will be involved in Vans Checkerboard Day.

In between interview posts, clips of the interviewees speaking about Vans and designing their pair of Checkerboards for auction will be posted on TikTok and Reels.

26th October 2022

2nd - 17th November 2022

18th November 2022

The size?collections episode will air on YouTube with Henry Davies aka ‘pillowHeat’ sharing his Vans collection and the story behind his business.

Interviews with Vans fans from different interest groups will be posted on IG Guides on size?’s Instagram and the size?explores blog every two days leading up to Vans Checkerboard Day.

Winners of the customised pairs of the Vans Checkerboards will be drawn with the profits from tickets donated to the Vans Checkerboard Day fund.

WHAT’S NEXT? This campaign symbolises the beginning of a partnership between size? and Vans with size? being able to offer them a UK based platform for their annual Vans Checkerboard Day. As both brands share key values including community and creativity, the ethos behind the event is something that will be beneficial to both companies.

As the campaign goes on and gains more attention, the people involved in customising the Checkerboard Vans could become more high profile with well-known artists or celebrities getting involved and therefore boosting donations even further.

Vans customised

by British professional skateboarder Geoff Rowley

As the main theme and charities included change each year, size? can continue to alter their campaign whilst maintaining a focus on including the community and increasing donations to the Checkerboard Fund from their UK based audience.

A similar format could be used for size?’s existing content for Air Max Day, having Nike fans customise a pair of Air Max to be auctioned off and donated to community based charities supported by size?.