KLM - The KLM Sneaker

KLM - The KLM Sneaker

According to the Daily Beast, sneakers are a “hugely lucrative juggernaut”. They are an integral part of fashion, music, style, street culture and they are worn by hundreds of millions of people every day. Little surprise then that airlines have recently been developing sneakerthemed marketing campaigns, most recently KLM.

With the concepts and designs coming from Swedish advertising agency Pool, KLM produced 150 limited edition orange and blue sneakers. They were then auctioned off via a micro-site targeted at Scandinavians, the idea being to promote Amsterdam as a weekend break destination for regional travellers. The €5,000 raised from the sale was donated to UNICEF.

According to Pool copywriter, Ulf Rönnbäck, “We had the shoe made after a few criteria—it had to be durable since it really should be used for walking, it should support the foot, the outer had to be durable as well, as the weather in Amsterdam is not always sunny, and we figured it had to be able to bear a spill of beer too.”

With only 150 produced, you can imagine the sneakers becoming collectors’ items that will soon be appearing on eBay. However now that KLM has done the initial design, you can also see the potential of how these sneakers can be used in future. KLM’s marketers could for example give them away to certain key account customers, or they could be used as a tool to promote Amsterdam as a stop-over destination for KLM transit passengers.

Another airline that has worked with sneakers is easyJet. Last year, the British LCC produced a ‘vibrating sneaker’ prototype.

Tested on the streets of Barcelona, the easyJet “Sneakairs” linked to Google Maps and vibrated when it was time to turn left or right. Meanwhile earlier this year, HOP! Air France staged a stunt where parents bought sneakers for their children who were living away from home. One shoe was sent to the child, the other had to be collected via a HOP! Air France flight.

Key Take-Away

The KLM Sneaker ticks a lot of boxes. It’s something practically every millennial, a core audience for Amsterdam citybreaks, wears. The fact that only 150 were produced gave it a scarcity value. KLM was able to create content around the sneaker and Amsterdam walks on its social media channels. And as we’ve explained, it is a tactic that could easily be brought to life again to be used in other marketing campaigns and initiatives.