“Women don’t want a special pink or glittery offering, or our own shopping space. Rather, we want to be seen in the messaging for the brands we are loyal to and for us to be spoken to and offered the same selection.” (Vogue, 2020)
In the last year on eBay, the women’s sneaker category grew more than 80 percent and sales of men’s sneakers bought by female shoppers doubled. Despite driving the market, female sneaker collectors have not been treated as equals or fully included by the sneaker industry and sneakerhead community. As International Women’s Month approached, we used this cultural moment to call for greater inclusivity in the sneaker community.
STRATEGY & EXECUTION
While many International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month brand efforts focus on women in a way that separates them from the rest of the community, our research showed that what women in the sneakerhead community wanted most was simply to be treated the same as everyone else—with the same access to styles, same availability of shoe size and the same level of respect. By crossing out “female” in “female sneakerhead,” and highlighting the inclusivity challenges facing sneakerheads, eBay could send a strong message that it understands this community and is advocating for what is most important to them. With a client that wanted to directly reach female sneaker collectors during International Women’s Month, our strategy needed to expose a tension unique to the community and offer an eBay-owned solution.
We dove head-first into the earned landscape, analyzed social conversations and learned from experts and influencers in the category. After our research team uncovered this identity tension within the sneakerhead community, our designers developed and finalized the creative concept to bring this newfound insight to life. From there, our campaign strategists quickly transitioned to communications planning to identify the channels and messaging that would launch and sustain this concept across earned and digital channels.
Female Sneakerhead: It’s About Passion. Not Gender.
To show its support for female sneakerheads and create a more inclusive sneaker culture, eBay launched a month-long program dedicated to gender equality in the sneakerhead community for Women’s History Month.
To kick things off, eBay collaborated with Esther Wallace of Playa Society (known for her iconic Female Athlete clothing line), to launch a limited-edition line of “Female Sneakerhead” merchandise designed to spark conversation about gender equality within the sneakerhead community, including t-shirts, hoodies and, of course, socks. The program continued with a curated shop featuring notable female sneakerheads and their top sneaker picks. Finally, the program will culminate in a drop of one of the largest and most unique collections of sneakers—2,200 pairs owned by Chicks with Kicks, sold exclusively on eBay.
Outcome
The Female Sneakerhead campaign launched on March 1, 2021 and the campaign is currently active. Please check back in at a later time to learn more about the full outcome of this campaign.