converse global brand toolkit

THE CONVERSE BLOCK PARTIES

THE CONVERSE BLOCK PARTyThe Converse Block Parties are street level, grassroots events deeply rooted in skate, basketball, music and street culture. In an authentic location on a sunny afternoon, these events will unite the vibrant local cultures and crews from each community with the spirit of Star Chevron through sports, music, food, fashion and art.

3

THE EXPERIENCE: WHAT IT IS + WHAT IT AIN’TIt is important that these events stand apart from the average, hip-influencer focused branded marketingevents that are common across the region. Instead, they come from an authentic, locally inspired perspective on the spirit of Star Chevron through skate, basketball, music, food, fashion, and art.

Community not Exclusive

Authentic not Manufactured

Passion not Flashy

Secondary Cities not Primary Cities

Neighborhoods not Event Spaces

Street Food not Fine Dining

DIY not Overproduced

Participatory not Passive

Raw not Polished

Inclusive not Exclusive

Amateurs not Professionals

4

IT’S ABOUT: PEOPLE

INt’LMuSICtALENt

LOCAL CItY INStIGAtORS

CItY COMMuNItY

the stories behind these people will form the basis of blog content for SS11 or similar.

BALLERS, SKAtERS, MuSICIANS, ARtIStS

5

IT’S ABOUT: PLACES

thE BLOCK PARtY

StREEt CORNERS

SKAtE ShOPS

MuSIC vENuESSKAtE SPOtS

COMMuNItY SPACES

LOCAL FOODvENDORS StREEt BBALL

COuRtS

LOCAL CuLtuRENEwSPAPERS

uNIvERSItYCAMPuSES

ARt StuDIOS

LOCAL CRAFtMARKEtSStREEt DANCE StuDIOS

6

A WALK AROUND THE BLOCK

1. 2. 3.GEt thE wORD Out

INtRIGuE: drive people online and retail to find out more.

ENGAGE: show what the Block Party is about.

thE BLOCK PARtIES

Converse will sponsor a full day celebration of the community.

thE PARtY GOES ON

Showcase and leverage content from the event.

what people will experience when the Converse Block Party comes to their neighborhood.

7

1. GET THE WORD OUT: INTRIGUE

8

GET THE WORD OUT: LOCAL MESSAGINGThe “ ___” messaging should bring to life the spirit of Star Chevron on a local level.

The localized phrases should call out things specific to the city and neighborhood where the Block Party is taking place. Each word should call out specific local people/places/things that feel insider and representative of the Converse/Star Chevron spirit.

Localized Phrases =

Neighborhood: Brunswick

Street: Rose Street

Skate Spot/Crew: 11th and Rail

Basketball Court/Team/League: 3 on 3

Local Street Food: Kebabs

Dance Crew: K Star

DJ/MC/Party Crew: The Push

9

GET THE WORD OUT: TEASER POSTERSPosters will be canvased three weeks prior to the event to generate buzz and interest.

Neighborhood

Street Dance Crew Skate Spot/Crew MusicCity

DJ/MC/Party Crew Basketball Court/Team Local Street Food Rapper

10

GET THE WORD OUT: EVENT POSTEROne week prior to the event, Block Party details will be posted, driving people to retail to pick up tickets.

11

GET THE WORD OUT: COLOR COMBINATIONSAll markets will have a set of 12 pre-set color combinations. The colors have been carefully selected to reflect the Block Party spirit, Star Chevron brand, and should remain in their set combinations.

Correct Incorrect

Mixed up color from other combinations.

Background color from other combinations.

Background and type color reversed.

Type color from other combinations.

12

GET THE WORD OUT: COLOR PALETTE

BackgroundC0 M48 Y100 K0Pantone 144












TypeC0 M100 Y60 K55Pantone 195







TypeC0 M0 Y0 K0





COMBINAtION 1

COMBINAtION 7 COMBINAtION 8 COMBINAtION 9 COMBINAtION 10 COMBINAtION 11 COMBINAtION 12

COMBINAtION 3 COMBINAtION 4 COMBINAtION 5 COMBINAtION 6COMBINAtION 2

*All Pantone colors are solid coated

13

GET THE WORD OUT: COUNTRy COLOR

Color combination 1

Color combination 7

Color combination 2

Color combination 8

Color combination 3

Color combination 9

Color combination 4

Color combination 10

Color combination 5


Color combination 6


14

GET THE WORD OUT: FONT CHOICEWhen choosing a font in your language to fit the “ ” lock up, it is important to make sure it’s equivalent to a bold san serif font.

Australia’s font choice

China’s font choice

Correct Incorrect

Font too thin

Font too thin

Wrong font style

Wrong font style

15

GET THE WORD OUT: LOGO LOCK UP“ ” lock up may have to be adjusted to fit your font choice.

Australia’s “ ” lock up

China “ ” lock up

Correct Incorrect

Font too thin

Font too curvy

Font too thick

Font too thin and Star Chevron logo is wrong

16

GET THE WORD OUT: LAyOUTThe copy should be centered and covering most of the poster. Letter and line spacing needs to be tight but still legible.

Correct Incorrect

Left justified

Left justified

Too small

Too small

Too much line spacing

Too much line spacing

Too much letter spacing

Too much letter spacing

17

GET THE WORD OUT: GRASSROOTS AND GUERILLASpreading the word about the Block Party should be executed in the same spiritas the Block Party: DIY, street level, grassroots, and not slick or overproduced.

- Posters should be hung using DIY postering methods such as wheatpaste.

- Identify and hang the posters in non-traditional street level locations that represent the Star Chevron brand in your market. Some examples include iconic neighborhood walls, local shop windows, community centers, basketball courts, and skate spots.

- The posters should be hung in high traffic areas. It is best to hang the posters in groups (using different phrases) to make a stronger visual impact OR in succession across a series of blocks or buildings so passersby can get a sense of the bigger picture as they walk past.

18

Street corners around your community

GET THE WORD OUT: POSTER PLACEMENT

19

GET THE WORD OUT: NON-TRADITIONAL MEDIAWhen possible, find situations to use eye-catching, non-traditional media placements. For example, printing on the ground with chalk or paint at local skate and basketball spots, using paper cups in a chainlink fence, overprinting on local publications or wrapping local street carts.

20

Stencil at your local skate park

GET THE WORD OUT: NON-TRADITIONAL MEDIA

21

Chain link fence with styrofoam cups at your local streetball court


22

Local newspapers, cafes, flea markets, food trucks etc.


23

1. GET THE WORD OUT: ENGAGE

24

GET THE WORD OUT: CONVERSE FACEBOOK EVENT PAGE The “ ___” messages and Facebook invites will drive people to a Star Chevron Block Party event page on Facebook, where we will host the content video to get people excited, provide a platform to community partners for cross promotion, and encourage people to click “Attend” to show their participation.

The Facebook event page will also drive people to retail.

They can pick up a ticket to the party and get a “ city” t-shirt.

25

VIDEO DIRECTIONANthEM wALL

A Block Party anthem delivered through layers of wheatpasted “ ____” posters each shouting out a different part of the DNA, uniting Converse heritage with different cities, community groups and local partners.

A timelapse video depicts a tight shot of a brick wall being covered in rhythm by a series of “ ___” posters, each delivering a little part of the story: be it a piece of Block Party history (beats, eats), Converse heritage (Dr J, 1986), city names, and community partners (music venues, street vendors, DJs, artists, basketball teams, etc).

OPtIONAL INtERACtIvE COMPONENtTo make the film more interactive and viral we can make it customizable and sharable by the viewer. People could type in their own favorite local spots which would then appear as “I *>” messages on some of the posters in the video. This technique would amplify the local pride of the video and make it more likely to spread between people and communities.

26

GET THE WORD OUT: COPy GUIDELINEThe tone of voice when communicating at and about the event should feel casual, local, playful and from the street. Drawing from the language found in hip hop, skate, basketball and street culture.

Find a writer in your market or someone on your team or who understands how tocapture the tone of the Block Party for your market. They should identify the local partners and phrases that will work well for the posters, rooted in street culture and a celebration of the local community. It is best to test the poster phrases with some young people from your local target, make sure that the phrases you will use resonate with the kids in the local hip hop, street culture and street sports scene

See event copy example here:

Bring your friends down to the “ Brunswick” Block Party on April 26. An afternoon bash on Rose Street with 3 on 3 bball tourney, K-Star Dance crew, Melbourne’s best street food, loud music, DIY t-shirts, and so much more that’ll make you wanna shout out your city.

27

RETAIL FLOWGEt thE wORD Out thE PARtY GOES ON

FACEBOOK BLOCK PARtYEvENt PAGE

FACEBOOK CONvERSE GROuP PAGE

“ ____”

POStERS, ONLINE BANNERS, IN SItu

BLOCK PARtY PR

EvENt BLOG StORIES, ONLINE EDItORIAL

PARtY MOBILE

REtAIL

“ ____”wINDOwS + IN-StORE

– PICK uP EvENt tICKEt– “ CItY” t-ShIRt

– PICK uP BLOCK PARtY MIxtAPE AND zINES

– CLICK “AttEND,”– MESSAGE tO GO tO

REtAIL FOR tICKEt + t-ShIRt GwP

28

RETAIL DRIVERS

EvENt INvItE: (Standard version 1)

Pins can act as entry tickets and accessories.


Party goers can use this stencil invite to tag anything they like with the “ ___” icon.

29

RETAIL DRIVERS


Sticker invite.

Front peel off sticker Back

30

RETAIL DRIVERS

LIMItED EDItION COLLECtIBLES

“ ____” t-shirts can be purchased at retail.

COMMuNItY zINE

The zine is made of pre-printed materials, with cut-up local venue menus, calendars, newspapers. Users can go to different places in the community to get discounts and stamps.

31

IN-StORE “ ____” wALL

“ ____” can be filled in in stores.

wINDOw DISPLAYS

Pre-printed newspapers/posters overprinted with local “ ____”

RETAIL EXPERIENCE

32

THE BLOCK PARTy-MOBILELeading up to the party, transform local trucks into mini Block Party-mobiles, complete with BBQ, dancers, stencil station and mixtape music. Covered with “ ” messages announcing the party, they will hit up spots around retail and beyond, tweeting their whereabouts along the way. On the day of, they will cruise around stirring up excitement and attendees for the party.

33

2. THE BLOCK PARTyThe DNA of the original Block Party will be present in the street level location, the DIY local look, and hip hop sounds, infused with local street food, ballers, skaters, artists, community members.

34

The location should be a place that feels authentic to the local street, skate and basketball culture. It could be a street ball court, skate spot, community center, or street corner where several venues intersect.

THE PLACE

35

The look of the event should feel DIY, and not overproduced or overbranded. Some visual elements can include:

– Vinyl display/record album cover collection

– Ghettoblaster/speaker wall

– Chain linked fence with cups to spell out words, with lights illuminated at night

– A mural that gets created at the event, depicting faces of the community

THE LOOK

36

The music should be inspired by hip hop, funk, and soul, with an international headliner paired with local DJ, MC, and bands.

– Radio/live block party, streamed live online

– Song dedications, live call-ins, text to get your song on the playlist

THE SOUNDS

37

For the basketball portion of the Block Party you need to have a court that fits the needs of your local ballers as well as help organize some local teams for a small tournament.

1. Identify local ballers and/or street basketball teams

2. Help the local players and teams to organize small informal tournament on the day of the Block Party. The games should be competitive and exciting to watch but in good spirit.

3. Pick the four most charismatic ballers to be team captains for a local community basketball game. Each baller picks their team from street dancers, musicians, street vendors, skaters and basketballers at the event, the teams will square off in front of their community.

THE EXPERIENCE: BAND OF BALLERS

38

For the skate portion of the Block Party you will need to have a ramp for local skaters as well as organizing some of the local shops into a mini skate show down.

1. Identify four local skate shops to partner with.

2. Have the shops pick key riders as representatives.

3. Have the riders face off at the party for a panel of local judges to see which shop and which skater run the neighborhood.

THE EXPERIENCE: KING OF SKATE

39

Make DIY silkscreens and stencils of the different local “ ___” statements. Party goers can bring in their own stuff and have it overprinted with their local pride and brand.

– Screenprinting of found, used, pre-printed paper and materials, such as menus, venue calendars, newspapers, t-shirts, canvas bags, vinyl records.

THE EXPERIENCE: SCREENPRINTING

40

Besides skate and basketball, there will be other party attractions to bring the local street culture in each community to life. These Block Party experiences are tied to local people and places, giving party goers a memorable experience to take home.

– Grill off between street vendors, getting the community to pick a winner

– Flea market

– Breakdancing lessons

“In different parts of Europe and Asia, you perform and people would just sit there. So we had to break it down. Go to Italy and grab people. ‘Get your butt up. Get up on stage, get down, shake it.’ Grab the kids, and make it seem fun.”

- Afrika Bambaataa

THE EXPERIENCE: COMMUNITy

41

3. THE PARTy GOES ON

42

THE PARTy GOES ON: MIXTAPELimited edition mixtapes created for each market keep the spirit alive after the Block Party is over. CD’s can be picked up at retail, and a downloadable version will be available online.

Mixtape CD

43

THE PARTy GOES ON: ZINE

In retail people can pick up zines commemorating the event with artwork, photos, people etc.

44

THE PARTy GOES ON: COMMUNITy MURALAfter the party, the mural can be printed for the community members to display in their venues. It can also be posted on the Facebook group page, tagged with people and places from the community.

45

CONVERSE BLOCK PARTy ESSENTIAL LIST

MuSt hAvE

Online

- Converse Facebook event page

Retail

- “ ____” t-shirts

- Window display

- Mixtape CD

Event

- Skate

- Basketball

- Music

- Fashion / Art

- Flea market

- Street food

NICE tO hAvE

Online

- Anthem wall

Retail

- Block Party mobile

- In-store “ ____” wall

- Community zine

- After party zine

- After party community mural

Event

- Breakdancing crew

- Grill off

- Screenprinting

46

DOCUMENTING THE EVENTIt is important to document the event so that it can live beyond just the day that it takes place. All photos, video, and writing at the event should emphasize skate and basketball while feeling authentic, exciting, and in the tone and spirit of the Star Chevron Block Party. The party nor its participants should ever portrayed in a posed, forced or over-produced way.

How To Zine

The zine should feel DIY, overprinted on reused paper. It can contain the local Star Chevron messages, information on all of the local community partners, Block Party activity pages, places to put stamps from each vendor, blank pages to be tagged by local street artists and empty slots for polaroid pictures taken at the event.

BLogging, PR, ediToRiaL

It is important to capture compelling images and videos from the Block Party featuring skaters, ballers, musicians, dancers, and community members in a fresh and authentic way. It should never feel overbranded, posed, or staged.

Media

It is important to spread the word through the right local media channels. This includes magazines, blogs, websites, and community groups that pertain to basketball, skate, music, and street culture. It is also important to spread the word to local influencers and tastemakers that pertain to the Star Chevron brand and the spirit of the Block Party.

47

LEGAL CALL OUTSUsage and CLeaRanCe

Permission and signed release of individual and group instigator are needed for any use of names, profile, photo in any form of communication and collaterals.Permission and signed contract is needed for music usage in all media and separate performance contract is needed for event performance. gRassRooT Media

Be mindful when stenciling, painting, posting in public and private property, proper permission and signed release is needed. VenUe PeRMiTs

Ensure all event location has proper venue permits and event license. When in doubt, contact Converse for legal guidance and assessment.

48

TEMPLATE DELIVERABLESthe Block Party toolkit – Dec 201) Event Concept2) Event Positioning3) Event Seeding Strategy4) Event Collateral5) Country Color Palette6) Font Guideline7) Key Message Guideline8) Non-traditional Media Reference9) Social Media Direction (Facebook)10) Teaser Video Direction and Local Copy Guideline11) Retail Flow and Drivers12) Retail Apparel Direction13) Event Look & Feel14) Event Experience and Key Components15) Event Location Reference16) Post-event Content Ideas and Guideline17) Legal Call Outs18) Process Steps and Marketing Calendar Example templates and Artwork – Jan 151) Font File2) “ ____” Poster FA3) Event Collateral FA4) Apparel Spec5) Block Party 60 Second Teaser Video Note: All final artwork are provided in English master for local language adaptation. International Music tour provided by global – Feb 1

49

BLOCK PARTy PROCESS STEPS

- Set up a marketing calendar (Finalize an event date)

- Identify local instigators, partnerships, media channels

- Identify local city, neighborhood/ community, street, landmark, street influencers/ groups (for collateral)

- Develop a local “get the word out” strategy and media plan

- Send marketing plan to converse for review and approval

- Identify and negotiate event space, collaborators (including international music acts if applies)

- Confirm event space, performances, vendors, sound system, f/b and an event program

- Create retail and event collateral (posters, giveaways, invites, event backdrop etc.)

- Print production of all communication collateral and distribute

- Get the word out – via retail/ street team/ facebook / social media

- Brief and assign photographer, press to capture stories for post event content and recap

- Block party event

- Post event recap video and content after the party

3.5 months prior

Each step should be approved by local country, marketing plans need to be approved by Converse as well.

3 months prior

2.5 months prior

2 months prior

1 month prior

2 weeks prior

1 day event (Sat/Sun)

2 weeks post-event

Note: Above guideline is for reference only, adjust your local marketing calendar and process according to relevant logistics and planning.

50

APAC CALENDAR OF EVENTS (PROPOSED)APRIL

2 9 16 23 30 7 14 21 28 4 11 18 25 2 9 16

- CH

INA

- AU

STR

ALIA

- SIN

GA

PO

RE

- MA

LAY

SIA

- THA

ILA

ND

& IN

DO

NE

SIA

- PH

ILIPP

INE

S &

VIE

TNA

M

- KO

RE

A

- TAIW

AN

- HO

NG

KO

NG

- IND

IA

Note: China, Australia & India as standalone events. Remaining markets in 2 groups, with artist/label tour linking markets together.

MAY JuNE JuLY

51

MARKETING CALENDAR (FOR REFERENCE)JAN

Create collaterals1 month

Event planning1 month

Confirm intl. music act1 month

Print production1 month

Block Party

Post event content

Facebook activation1 month

Street team/ PR1 month

Retail activity1 month

FEB MAR APR MAY

52

APPENDIX

53

BLOCK PARTy ARTIST REFERENCE/EXAMPLES

Kid Cudi: Already has worked with Converse, represents laidback Brooklyn lifestyle could be a good representative for block party culture.

Chail 2na(of Jurassic 5): Modern rapper with old school flavor and winning personality.

Doug E Fresh: Featured in the JTP spot, ‘the original human beatbox’ is a legend from hip-hop’s early days, he has recently started to perform again. He is a direct line back to the days of the original block parties and could bring the spirit back to life.

Mayer Hawthorne: Fresh singer/producer/performer who blends the sound of motown with modern day influences like J-Dilla. Definitely harkens back to a time before block parties but brings that sound to the new century, previously collaborated with Converse for the Converse 45 series.

Grandmaster Flash: Legendary pioneer of hip hop and DJing.

Afrika Bambaataa: The man himself.

Dam Funk: Dam Funk is an infectious funk revivalist who creates a modern twist on hip hop, funk and soul that is catchy to modern ears but sounds like it was born from a time gone by.

DJ Rok One: New York dance party DJ who keeps the old school alive. His musical knowledge is immense, and his style definitely has a block party vibe.

54

BLOCK PARTy ARTIST REFERENCE/EXAMPLES

Aloe Blacc: Creating his own form of R&B, this rapper turned singer is mixing the sound of the street with an innovative spin. Charismatic, intelligent, and wildly talented live.

James Pants: A lighthearted purveyor of the “fresh beat,” an early-80’s sound with influences from 80’s soul, electro boogie, early rap. previously collaborated with Converse for the Converse 45 series.

Eclectic Method: An audio visual live act that combines visual mixes of archival films, movies, and music videos with mixed party music that matches the visual genre. We could approach them for a partner ship in which they created a live A/V mix that brings 80’s hip hop and block party culture to life.

Dumbfoundead: A great MC, charismatic rapper and host.

Korea Thailand

Regional Reccomendations

Fools Gold Records: Multi genre, culturally relevant label that already throws killer NY block parties, responsible for the Ducksauce Barbara Streisand video phenomenon that captures so much of street culture today, most of this video was shot at their own NYC block party. Could be great potential partner for the Converse block parties. http://foolsgoldrecs.com

Dudesweet: Party collective

DJ Maft Sai: Purveyor of classic Thai funk and soul

THANK yOU

converse global brand toolkit

Design