Sashimi Asia Hits the Content & Influencer Marketing BullsEye for Converse

Lifestyle brand Converse has launched a global marketing campaign ‘Connect with the Unexpected. Create Now. Create Next’ to power their brand vision of staying fresh through constant creativity and rebellion.

Through this campaign, Converse aspires to challenge norms and shake things up in the music scene by forging unexpected collaborations between singers or bands from different genres. These collaborations are aimed at the co-production of next-gen music experiences that will push boundaries and rally support from the Gen Z.

According to a study from McKinsey & Company titled ‘ True Gen: Generation Z and its implications for companies.’ Gen Z are not fond of stereotypes and identities being defined in only one way. They are radically inclusive and expect a free flow of connections between various communities.

Converse Malaysia became a forerunner in embodying this global vision when it cultivated a disruptive collaboration between influential local cover singers Wobbebong and rock band Porcelane. Despite the contrasting nature of both groups, Wobbebong and Porcelane found a spark that resulted in the soundtrack ‘No One Knows’ which has attained tremendous success.

The success of ‘No One Knows’ manifested in the millions of views it garnered during its release on Converse Malaysia’s Instagram profile and through prominent features in Converse’s social media content deployed through the globe.

Converse Malaysia’s digital marketing agency Sashimi Asia undertook the production of the music video and its producer Azlan Abdullah (left in pic) had the following comment: “We’ve all seen K-pop propel itself onto the global stage and eventually become a worldwide sensation when it started mixing different music genres in the mid 2010s. At Sashimi Asia, we are immensely proud to be had been given this opportunity to take forward steps into that direction and help Converse realise its vision at both domestic and global levels."

“Through this campaign, Converse Malaysia and Sashimi Asia are also providing indie bands a platform that drives innovation and attracts an international audience. This also gives us a strong sense of pride as we’re indirectly contributing to the much-needed development of the local music industry – a current pain point in Malaysia.”

Alvin Woon, Account Manager at Sashimi Asia added: “Product placements in influencer selfies are now a thing of the past. Gen Z’s demand value and authenticity in branded (creator) content they consume. In fulfilling this desire, we needed to toe the line of providing organic entertainment while addressing both our client’s brand vision and a societal pain-point –all at the same time. We usually experience a lot of friction in bringing these elements together, but we’re surely going from strength to strength as we attain more and more success with the marketing initiatives we’ve delivered.”

Meanwhile, General Manager Hilmi Ramlan concluded by saying, “Kudos to Converse for devising such a powerful brand vision and to the Sashimi Asia team for finding that immaculate balance between the delivery of a brand story and hitting the spot with consumers, especially the Gen Zs.”