Sneaker brand Vans held their biggest event of the year to celebrate the Vans Classics Fall collection. The party drew a large crowd to a raw industrial space in Kwun Tong that featured three local bands, street artists, product exhibitions, and even a Minx nail bar!
The nail-art brand, which has been popular with the likes of Rihanna, Katy Perry, and Lady Gaga, was a fun, unexpected addition to the event. But the nail bar wasn’t Vans only smart move.
As each guest arrived and got their name checked off on the guest list, they were presented with a Vans tote bag and allowed to participate in a quick lucky draw. Reaching into a box and grabbing a slip of paper, they could instantly win additional Vans merchandise. The items weren’t expensive, but they were tangible enough to put people in a good mood.
As their product displays indicated, Vans has been around since 1966, but they are relatively less well known in this part of the world. Being a newer player in the region, Vans is doing an excellent job seeding free accessories to partygoers and building their brand awareness quickly.
Vans ‘ON the Wall’ 😉
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The Minx nail bar was an excellent way of engaging the crowd at the event and promoting the brand. The nail art featured patterns that replicated those found on Vans shoes, such as the checkerboard design. What better a way to broadcast your branding than on people’s finger nails?
This was somewhat similar in concept to Vans’ earlier events that featured waffles in the shape and pattern of the bottom of a Vans shoe! (They tasted great!) 🙂
Vans ‘hottest’ party of the year!
With a sizable crowd and lights illuminating displays and the stage, the venue got increasingly hotter as the night wore on. Standing around you couldn’t help but sweat. Fortunately, there were plenty of free drinks to cool people down, and there was never a long line at the bar.
The place to be during the party wasn’t the VIP area, but positioned in front of one of the many fans that were spread out around the room!
Holding the event in a former factory space gave it an authentic Indie-Rock feel that would be difficult to replicate in many of Hong Kong’s more tried and true venues. The size of the space was also more conducive to a major event.
Despite the heat, the crowd was friendly and having fun throughout the night.
Vans Classic – Hong Kong Indie bands
Two of the groups chosen for the night, Chochukmo and Qiu Hong, are well known indie bands and already have big local followings. Choco, the all-girl band is a relatively new act.
Chochukmo
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Qiu Hong
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Choco
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Check out the videos below for a taste:
Qiu Hong!
Choco
The party was a three-ring circus that consisted of a concert, street art exhibition, and nail bar. Product identity was carefully woven into all three.
Throughout the concert venue there were Vans displays.
[photopress:Vans_classics_party_hong_kong_shoes_hk.jpg,full,pp_image]In addition, the stage featured several backdrops; the street artists decorated Vans shoes; and the custom nail art reinforced the design sensibility of the Vans brand.
All of these carry the brand message, and allow imagery to be absorbed both during the night and disseminated through guest’s social media channels via photos.
Packing a few interesting surprises, the Vans Classic & Hong Kong event reached the right crowd and promoted the brand in a fun, grassroots way.
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