Reebok: Fitness first

In October 2009, Reebok launched its EasyTone footwear for women, a shoe meant to increase muscle activation with miniature balance balls underneath the sole.

While the launch was a global one, the company took a cautious approach in India and decided to first test the product in Tier I cities as well as Jaipur and Surat. In fact, Reebok did a full 360-degree marketing campaign in these cities to gauge the acceptance. “What works abroad doesn’t really work here because sport in India is largely dominated by men,” says Reebok Executive Director (marketing and product) Sajid Shamim. On top of that, the shoe was priced steeply between Rs 3,299 and Rs 5,999.

According to Shamim, he was pleasantly surprised with the results. While he doesn’t reveal numbers, he maintains that the product saw “amazing traction”. And now the company is all set to roll out the product for its Indian audience. In line with that, the company is rolling out its global campaign in the country. The racy ad, which releases in the first week of May, features different women waist down, going about their daily work. It ends with a voiceover that says: Reebok Easytone proven to tone your hamstrings, calves and butt up to 28 per cent more.

The genesis of the campaign came from a survey conducted by the company on 15,000 women across 25 countries. The results revealed that while almost half the women know that exercise and keeping fit is very important, less than 25 per cent participate in any fitness activity frequently. Further, the findings showed that 61 per cent of the women would work out more if it was fun and easy.

Thus the brief given to the company’s creative agency, DDB, was to simply centre around the product proposition. The 50-second ad will be on air for two months. Apart from the TVC, Reebok has started the ‘Reebok Easy Tone Awards’ to honour women who have been pioneers in the field of fitness. Going forward, the company hopes to tie up with important fashion weeks. EasyTone shoes are likely to be available in about 600 of the company’s 900 stores.

However, marketers are a little cautious about the company’s ad. Brand consultant Jagdeep Kapoor says, “It’s important for a brand to attract rather than distract. If it does the latter there’s a chance that the brand’s recall and memorability gets diluted.”