We tapped into HK’s mid-90’s craze of collectable cards and exclusive sneakers to bring back something nostalgic for fans to collect. So we created Nike Air Max 95 Collectables: A series of collectable cards showcasing the range, crafted by local artists. We wanted people to collect the cards they had in the past, just like the sought after shoes itself.

Just like it was back then, the cards were installed in the original coin operated vending machines in Nike stores. Essentially, people were coming in daily to take away our DM and talk about it from offline to online in social media. Air Max 95 Collectables’ is an exclusive series of collectable cards showcasing the Air Max 95 range by local artists. The card illustrations reflected our buzzing city through the years with the unique features of each shoe, making these sneakers more collectable than ever before. It also included a number of limited edition holographic cards which allowed holders to gain exclusive access to limited edition sneakers, and the ultra rare metallic NIKE iD card that gave lucky winners the chance to customise their very own pair of AIR MAX 95.

In-store traffic increased by 23% compared to the previous month

Increase of 56% sell through of the Air Max 95

Over 11,000 cards were collected over the period.

This work is relevant to Media Lions because it demonstrated its effectiveness in strategically communicating to our target of sneaker fans through a medium that took them back in time, also which brought people in-store to share and exchange our communications. Essentially our media brought people back every day and our strategy turned our piece of advertising into something people wanted to collect and not just throw away.

The strategy was based on tapping into the mid-90’s craze of collecting exclusive trading cards and limited edition sneakers in Hong Kong. We combined these two things to form our strategy to bring back something nostalgic for the Air Max 95, resonating with fans from that time.

The brief was to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the most sought after sneaker of all time: Nike Air Max 95. Our objective was to increase awareness for Air Max fans in Hong Kong for the re-release of the original and new range of Air Max 95 to make them even more collectable than before using a small budget to drive traffic in store and create buzz in the sneaker community.