Footwear brand Dr. Martens took its #Standforsomething campaign around the United States with indie rock band Drowners, leveraging mobile application Bandsintown to drive sales with meet-and-greets and in-store events.

The campaign utilized social media and the music event application Bandsintown to broaden awareness for the tour performances, but most importantly events happening at the Dr. Martens stores, where fans of the band who could not make the shows for various reasons gathered. Sales from these events were increased by the success of each in-store event, all promoted through social media, SMS and push-notifications in the app.

“Mobile was instrumental for us at every step of this campaign,” said Chris Kobran, senior vice president of advertising and brand partnership at Bandsintown, New York. “From raising awareness before the retail and music activation, to driving in-store visits on the day of, and finally, for increasing engagement during and after the events through content amplification.”

“Dr. Martens tasked Bandsintown with creating a unique experience for millennials by hijacking a moment in time to create a lasting memory, building off the #Standforsomething celebration of individuality,” he said. “We constructed a tour that honed in on the alternative persona with the Drowners band.

“The campaign reached fans in a very special way, while they are doing something they love. Our platform was instrumental in reaching the core audience geographically through Bandsintown mobile and social network, social media and on-site marketing.”

Dancing with branding
Mobile for this campaign was the biggest factor in its success. Eighty six percent of people reached out through mobile, whether it was using the messaging RSVP feature, engaging in the app or driving the social media conversation.

Over 200,000 fans on Facebook were reached with Drowners’ tour.

Drowners was essential to this campaign because it embodied the alternative angle that the brand is looking for. Fans of the band overlap with fans of Dr. Martens, and by utilizing Drowners, the brand receives access to a much larger audience of potential customers.

Holding events at bricks-and-mortar stores is a surefire way to skyrocket sales. The Bandsintown app assured the success of these events by sending out push notifications, emails and message alerts, bringing it to the attention of all fans in the area.

This creates a large buzz around the event. Fans are likely to share the information on social media as well, transforming consumers into a marketing vehicle for the brand.

The hashtag #Standforsomething is useful tool for Dr. Martens as well. The hashtag grabs the attention of the consumer whose interests lie in movements for change, another demographic who is likely to have an affinity for its merchandise as well.

The social conversation is built for past, current and future promotion. Dr. Martens thoughtfully considered this campaign and was sure that all aspects coincide with the brand’s image.

Building into mobile
These are all factors that created such a success in bricks-and-mortar sales for the brand, especially combining in-store shopping with mobile.

Recently, a Target executive at eTail West 2015 in a presentation discussing the pitfalls and successes of combining in-store shopping with mobile claimed that guests using its mobile application while shopping in a bricks-and-mortar store spend more than those that do not (see more).

Integrating mobile with bricks-and-mortar is now an increasing trend in all sectors of retail, not only apparel and accessories.

Olive Garden recently joined the list of restaurant chains employing tablets in its bricks-and-mortar locations, enabling customers to order and pay via the devices, suggesting that mobile has a strong role to play in streamlining the dining experience and increasing tip percentages for servers (see more).

“We fulfilled our goals by successfully producing, executing and driving fans to an intimate Dr. Martens themed setting with access to a band they adore,” Mr. Kobran said. “It was an experience and tour to be remembered.

“Bandsintown was instrumental in driving brand affinity and purchase intent through the media and content we pushed, in addition to the in-store meet and greets,” he said. “The survey we did showed a 32 percent lift in purchase intent.

“Dr. Martens ability to leverage the deep affinity these young music fans have with the band, and with the brand, will drive repeat sales for years to come.”