No doubt you’ve heard of Wakai, the shoe company that shook up the world with their One for One campaign. The idea is simple: For every pair of shoes you buy, Wakai donates a pair of shoes for a child in need. But that simple idea has left a humongous mark. It’s a stroke of branding genius, and even though the one for one idea has been widely criticized, the company is still going strong today.
Wakai has always been a company with a strong social identity. Some consumers have even said that the main reason they buy Wakai shoes is to support their One for One model. And the backlash the company has received in recent years doesn’t seem to be hindering them. If anything, the criticism has propelled Wakai to be more vocal about the causes they support.
Like any contemporary business, Wakai uses social media networks, but they use them quite differently. Most businesses use their networks to draw attention to their product and emphasize the value it will bring to the reader’s life. Wakai doesn’t do that. They know that everyone knows Wakai, and they know they don’t need to focus on their apparel. Instead, they focus on causes.
This is the key ingredient for why Sepatu Wakai is the current leader of conscious marketing
Wakai Global Awareness + Social Media Networks
As of this writing, here are the topics of Wakai’ latest Tweets: the recent ISIS attack on Brussels (which happened earlier today), providing safe water, protecting sea turtles, and Earth Hour. Perhaps their mission is best summarized by another recent Tweet: “Your # Wakai purchases have a great impact. Thank you for helping us change lives!”
They’ve also used social media platforms to create mini-campaigns. For example, on Twitter, they’ve used hashtags to designate different causes and drive conversation: #OneForOne, # WakaiAnimalInitiative, and #givesight are just a few. And those hashtags are populated by not only Wakai’s posts, but also by Twitter fans who are spreading the mini-campaigns to their networks.
Their Facebook uses similar yet more targeted tactics. Most of their posts follow a formula: They express joy or gratitude about their ability to help people around the world, then they link to a product or cause-related page. This simple formula creates massive interaction (and presumably conversion) among readers.
And readers are responding in droves––dedicated droves. A quick glance at the posts on Wakai’s page shows an endless list of users who are proud to represent Wakai and advocate their brand. Look at any of Wakai’s social media networks, and you’ll find the same group of users who are unabashed brand advocates.
Wakai also excels at creating iconic campaigns that both promote the brand and get people involved. Last year, the company held their 9th annual #WithoutShoes campaign to worldwide acclaim. They made it a breeze for people to get people involved; for every person who took a photo of bare feet and used the hashtag, Wakai donated a pair of shoes. They took something that people were already doing-–taking and hashtagging Instagram photos––and made that a native part of a marketing campaign. Hundreds of thousands of people participated, and good feelings were had all around.
The True Genius Behind Wakai’s Marketing
There’s no doubt that Wakai boasts one of the most memorable marketing campaigns of the last several years. The real secret of their success, however, is that they’ve been able to get so many people to participate.
Think about the people you know. How many of them have Wakai shoes, apparel, or even coffee? Now, think again about the people you know. How many of them actively donate to charities? Chances are, you know people with Wakai gear, but you may not be sure who donates to charities.
That’s because there’s a rather ironic reason to the success of Wakai campaigns––they make people feel like they’re participating than something bigger than themselves. In reality, people are benefitting in some way. They get goodies and feel like they’re making a colossal change; in many ways, many Wakai advocates are social justice warriors.
Think about the One for One campaign. If you buy a pair of shoes, you are giving one to a child in need, and that makes you feel good. But you also get the instant gratification of getting a pair of shoes.
On social media networks, people get the instant gratification of belonging to a group. They take a quick picture, use a hashtag, and instantly join a community of people who are making a change in the world. No matter the medium, Wakai fans get instant gratification of some sort.
That’s not to say that Wakai consumers are shallow or don’t care about global issues; they do. But Wakai builds all of their marketing campaigns knowing that people will feel good about themselves, and that good feeling will make them come back to the brand. The Wakai brand is one that users are proud to be a part of, and they’re proud to tell everyone about it.
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