With back-to-school season being Converse’s largest selling period, the Nike-owned shoe brand geared up for the peak shopping weeks in August with an influencer event.   

Converse hosted a one-day customization event at a Famous Footwear store in Chicago on Aug. 7 with more than 75 influencers. The brand provided each content creator with a pair of its recently launched platform Chuck Taylor All Star shoes in red. Influencers could then customize the shoes with colored laces, charms or shoe jewelry, and small pictures, all while enjoying a DJ set and snacks.   

And naturally, there was a backdrop of Converse shoes for influencers to pose in front of to include in their posts.  

The proliferation of content that comes from these events is a good “free” boost of exposure for both merchants. By gifting a pair of shoes (plus event costs), both brands receive eyeballs on their products from the thousands of consumers that follow the hand-selected influencers. In addition, for any non-influencer in store that day, Famous Footwear offered free customizations with any purchase of a Converse shoe, which a few shoppers took advantage of.

Customizing shoes is an emerging trend with Gen Z shoppers that other merchants, like Foot Locker, are tapping into.

“It’s having all of the options and being able to lean into different looks and styles depending on your mood or what you’re trying to express at that given moment,” Kim Waldmann, Senior Vice President and Global Chief Customer Officer at Foot Locker Inc, recently said at the CommerceNext conference in June. This trend is right in line with Converse’s target customer, which is shoppers 16- to 24-years-old. 

Converse and Famous Footwear team up for the in-person experience

Converse has a few physical stores, while Famous Footwear operates 900 stores, which is why the pair teamed up for the co-branded event. Influencer events are a way for Converse to meet its shoppers in market, and specifically the Converse customer making purchases at the family-focused Famous Footwear stores. Famous Footwear has its own loyalty program and base of shoppers, and in-person events allow Converse to engage with that set of shoppers that it otherwise wouldn’t have access to. 

Retailers are continually looking for creative ways to bring shoppers into their physical stores. Craft retailer Michaels, for example, now hosts children’s birthday parties and invites its handmade marketplace merchants into stores to sell their crafts in person. Jennifer Wilson, Chief Marketing Officer at Lowe’s, said its free workshops for children sell out. The home improvement retailer added the program as a way to bring millennials and Gen Z shoppers into stores.

The Converse and Famous Footwear event was timed with the peak back-to-school season. Although consumers may have started to shop a few weeks ago, August is the time where shoppers come out in droves to make these purchases. Moreover, in times of economic uncertainty, the back-to-school season has an even longer tail, as shoppers may hold off on some purchases until school starts to determine what they really need or what’s in style. In this sense, the season lasts longer and may not hit as high of crescendo.