Case Study: BVG x adidas - The ticket-shoe
German creative agency Jung von Matt [JvM] are ceaselessly thinking of ways to push their clients' brands forward, but in this case, they also pushed them together.
Berlin's public transport operator, Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe [BVG], were tasked with maintaining customer and employee satisfaction in the face of financial setbacks. With Berlin's transport systems relying on the honesty of travellers, customer satisfaction had a special significance. There are no turnstiles in the city, so enforcing ticket payment is particularly tricky, especially when combined with Berlin's underground and anti-establishment culture.
As they approached their 90th year of operation, BVG needed to change their brand perception so that Berlin's youth would respect the company, and pay for their tickets.
Adidas x BVG
The idea
Berlin culture has a long-held affinity towards streetwear, and one of this subculture's cult items were adidas Originals. JvM knew that if they could harness this fashion kudos, they could transfer some of the positive brand perceptions onto BVG. Step one would be the creation of a limited edition trainer, incorporating the iconic seat upholstery pattern. The idea also included converting the trainers themselves to function as a year-long ticket for the BVG.
As Marielle Heiss, Creative Director and Austin Campbell, Copywriter explain, the duality of this project was its strength: "BVG functions in the underground, and we were speaking to one of the most famous underground cultures in the world… the project was unique due to the surprising, yet completely logical idea behind our collaboration. Besides, the use of a sneaker as both a product and more importantly a medium to send our desired message was equally unique."
The execution
BVG themselves were extremely positive in response to the concept and gave JvM the green light to approach adidas.
Legend has it that the BVG camouflage seat pattern was designed to render graffiti illegible, and therefore discourage it. adidas Originals had already seen user demand for the BVG pattern after running a project allowing users to customise sneakers by uploading their own images. However, due to copyright infringement, they had been unable to authorise these requests. So when JvM approached them, they had an opportunity to bring this iconic pattern to life finally. They set to work straight away on sneakers that would function as tickets.
The Production process was (and had to be) fast, with the first meeting with BVG, adidas Originals and JvM in a room together taking place in late October 2017, just three months before the sneaker's release.
Global Senior Director of adidas Originals Footwear Concepts, Till Jagla, and his team at adidas Originals were responsible for leading the design of the sneaker, with oversight provided by Jung von Matt and BVG. They chose to adapt the EQT 93/17 shoe, because of its long tongue, for which the team had the idea to symbolise the dual functionality of the sneaker as a ticket. So the EQT Support 93/Berlin was born.
The launch
In a sector where peer group respect is influential, winning the support of the streetwear community would make or break the project. As Heiss and Campbell explain: "The idea of incorporating a totally new function into a limited-edition sneaker when there was already a massive online sneakerhead culture in both Berlin and around the world was perfect in getting earned media." So it was a boon to the project that legendary Berlin sneakerhead, photographer and owner of the Overkill store, ‘Overkill Marc', featured the sneaker on his huge social media channels, and blog.
Simultaneously, adidas and BVG launched the activation across all of their media channels.
The response
On the evening before the release –16 January 2018 – hundreds of streetwear fans queued outside Overkill to get hold of the €180 trainers. With a year's subscription to BVG costing up to €700, they would not only have the hottest trainers in town but also be saving hundreds of Euros. The limited run of 500 sneakers sold out immediately.
There was a huge pick up in the press, with reports featuring in international media (including The Guardian, Vice, New York Times, NPR, and Fast Company), totalling 10.6bn media impressions. Closer to home, eight in ten Berliners on facebook were reached. Public perception of BVG's "modernity", as well as season ticket subscriptions both increased.