stirling sports:
from sports equipment to sport fashion
case study: contributions to the stirling sports re-brand and re-position
background:
with newcomers rebel sport hot on their tail, and a clear gap in the market for a ‘fashion-led’ sports retailer, stirling sports took to their opportunity aggressively. with 50 years history in New Zealand retail, a loyal customer base and 45 stores nationwide to re-fit, this re-position was a large project that as proved to be game-changing for the brand.
this 3-year project was successful with contributions from in-house resources, external agencies and advisory boards. as marketing & merchandise manager, I played a crucial role in the re-position of the brand - my key contributions noted in the below sections.
a marketing shake up
a significant change in product offering saw a shift in the brand’s target audience. with a pivot from '‘mum + dad’ to a tech-savvy, gen-z consumer, our efforts were targeted towards understanding which media this customer was consuming, when they were online, and what content they were most likely to connect with.
it was clear that a new marketing and creative content strategy was required - from channel selection right through to creative output and messaging. by deep diving into and detailing our various customer personas, we were able to build a plan to reach and serve relevant content to effectively engage with them.
the channel plan evolved from traditional mediums, such as print mailers and radio, to a heavy-skewed digital, influencer + event/activation marketing strategy. selected traditional mediums remained in provincial regions where relevant, and this was customised per region with a curated regional marketing plan.
WE'RE GOING DIGITAL BABY!
WE'RE GOING DIGITAL BABY!
the website required an upgrade from Magento to a customised Shopify site. with extensive research and a thorough brief, we worked with a Dunedin web development agency to build the new platform. the website was to reflect our new modern branding, as well as meet a long list of front & back end functional requirements - device optimisation, live chat, instagram feeds, wishlists, store locators, hefty POS + inventory management system integrations - just to name a few!
this was around the early stages of instagram and influencers, so we took to both of these new channels as a way to connect with our new consumer. we partnered with a handful of relevant brand ambassadors who helped us share our new story through content creation, events & activations, social media exposure + brand alignment.
a creative content shift
our creative content strategy was a crucial piece of the puzzle. our goal was simple: to provide fresh, engaging and relatable content to share regularly of our brand, product offering, stores and team.
our in-house team worked closely with external agencies, photographers, stylists, franchise owners and staff to bring campaigns to life - both online and in-store.
we had ambitions to play a new ‘inspirationa'l’ role that we hadn’t played before. we turned print mailers into style guides and focussed efforts on visual merchandising and product knowledge, through regular staff training and VM guidelines. a core message we wanted to share through our content + in-store experience was that we led by fashion but were inspired by sports.
