The Marketing Store forges adidas and Depop partnership to engage Gen Z

To help adidas communicate the improved sustainability credentials of the freshly redesigned Stan Smith and drive desirability of the iconic silhouette among a new generation of consumers, we’re proud to announce an exciting new partnership with popular peer-to-peer shopping platform Depop.

With a focus on repurposing, reimagining and redefining style, our campaign aims to engage Gen Z with the sustainably-made shoe on a platform that is native to them. Depop, a fashion marketplace that champions sustainability, upcycling and repurposing, was the perfect partner to help us engage our core audience of fashion-forward, environmentally-conscious Gen Zs.

By working with creators on Depop who are already engaged with sustainability, we’ve created a new content series that explores how Gen Z think about sustainable fashion, while impactfully announcing the new chapter for Stan Smith. The result is a truly authentic campaign, leveraging the shared values and creative approach of both brands.

The campaign, created in partnership with Dent International, centres around a three-part series; ‘Style Reworked,’ which pairs an adidas athlete or partner with a top Depop Creator to upcycle a classic piece of adidas apparel and create a full outfit to be styled with a pair of the new Stan Smiths.

This was bolstered by two takeovers of the Depop app plus in-app banners, CRM, customer emails and social content, as well as a special  episode of Depop’s ‘Let’s Talk’ roundtable discussion which saw industry experts explore ‘who sustainable fashion is for.’

On top of this, we’ve sent 40 of Depop’s top customisers a pair of the new Stan Smiths along with a fully-recycled seeding pack of materials and challenged them to create a bespoke pair of shoes to sell on their page with proceeds being donated to a charity of their choice. This initiative was supported by an in-store activation at London Oxford Street and London Carnaby Street where six of the custom shoes that were created through the partnership are currently on display. Consumers can vote on their favourite pair via the adidas app to win a bespoke pair created by their favourite Depop Creative.

The campaign has been amplified by a digital partnership with the VICE network and an OOH buy across London.