Sneaker brand Biti's Hunter designed its new Street line to evoke pride in Vietnamese products and embrace imperfections.
Objective and Context:
"Made in Vietnam" had never been able to trigger pride in Vietnamese people. In fact, Vietnamese youth respond mainly to cultural influences, such as Japan for its minimalism and Korea for its fashion.. Ironically, when it comes to their own culture, the Vietnamese audience tends not to see any outstanding aspects to which it can aspire and be proud. The same inferiority sentiments are felt toward products that come with the tag "Made In Vietnam," regardless of the products' high-quality international standards.
This social construct presented a unique opportunity for leading local sneaker brand Biti's Hunter to champion local pride, enhancing its brand imagery and increasing sales.
Target Audience:
The target audience was Vietnamese youth who have an innate pride but can't define what specifics about Vietnam that make them proud.
Creative Strategy:
Vietnamese people are inherently proud of their humble upbringing and life, adapting and thriving in any sort of living conditions.
From this insight, Bit'si Hunter developed a three-fold strategy for Vietnamese youth to authentically embrace their heritage:
Overall Campaign Execution:
The viral video authentically embraced relevant living contexts and flipped them on their heads, showcasing the positive, humane, and progressive sides. The video brought authentic sounds of daily life, like the familiar noises of street vendors, into the soundtrack and aesthetic of the film.
Then, Biti's Hunter collaborated with VietMax (the father of Vietnamese street culture) to design its new Street line. This was the first fashion brand in Vietnam to embrace street imperfections (i.e., messy powerlines for shoelaces, Vietnamese graffiti for patterns, etc.), allowing the product to differentiate strongly with its Western counterparts.
After leading by example, the brand let Vietnamese youth and other local brands take their turn, celebrating their pride in their origin with #ProudlyMadeInVietnam. For the first time ever, "Made in Vietnam" is conveyed with pride.
Mobile Execution:
To be relevant with its target audience, Biti's Hunter promoted its viral clip on radio ads and took over music platforms (Spotify and YouTube). Using digital music apps, the brand was able to inject its marketing message into the music that was playing.
At the same time, the brand adapted its creative assets into mobile-friendly formats for optimization on social media.
Biti's Hunter Street "Proudly Made In Vietnam" is a product line launch, competing against international competitors such as Vans and Converse. The campaign was unprecedented and record-breaking in terms of brand building and business results.
Communication results
Business results
This was the first time the authenticity of Vietnam had been used in a brand commercial, bringing locality into applicable brand and business growth in Vietnam. Since August 2020 a minimum of 200 local brands nationwide have been promoting the proud spirit of #ProudlyMadeinVietnam.