Creative & Retail Strategy
// Challenge
In 2023, adidas Basketball were launching a highly anticipated basketball shoe, the AE 1, with NBA emerging star Anthony Edwards. They needed a global retail & activations toolkit for the launch, but it had to combine the many storytelling elements from the shoe’s design, as well as key performance qualities.
This process was repeated for the AE 2 launch in 2024. As well as a global retail toolkit, the team designed Ant Farm, a global touring activation bringing Ant’s world to life with NBA-style drills while trialling the AE 2 trainers for young ballers, starting with Shanghai in Autumn 2025.
// Methodology
Working with Broadwick Studio, my role was to introduce creative and retail strategy into the team’s design process. With many possible routes and the pressure of a high profile collaborator, we had to ensure everyone was happy - and that the consumers would get the best of the shoe.
For both launches, we created a toolkit for in and out of store retail activations, all following the same strategic and creative principles as defined by us.
Ant Farm was a large-scale design process, needing a true-to-life understanding of young ballers in China, Europe and the US which involved desk research and informal interviews. This insight formed the basis of the design brief for the team.
// Outcome
The toolkits were used by teams across the world, with the strategy and creative working seamlessly to bring the campaign to life in the retail environment.
This became the most successful adidas basketball shoe launch ever, and has widely been rated the best basketball performance shoe, putting adidas back on the map for a category it was falling behind in.
This momentum was built upon for the AE 2, garnering huge press coverage in lifestyle and trade publications.