Campaign identity, marketing strategy, and design of marketing materials for Knockaround Sunglasses.

In 2012 Knockaround Sunglasses came up with an idea to have a group of 5th and 6th graders design a pair of sunglasses. A 6th grader named Sebastian designed what turned out to be one of Knockaround’s most sought after designs, the “Shark Attacks.” A limited edition of 200 were made and sold out in less than an hour. $5 from every pair sold was donated in the form of art supplies, and so Sebastian’s school was awarded a total of $1000 worth.

In 2013, Knockaround set the bar much higher: get three schools involved instead of one, have the glasses sell as an “open edition,” and aim to sell at least 1,000 pairs of sunglasses which would raise $35,000 for local art curriculums in need. Such lofty goals required organization and support, particularly if this was going to be an initiative they continued to roll-out in the future.

Our first goal was to audit the program. We determined what the short term and long term goals were, we refined the mission, and we defined the importance of art education which gave us the confidence to get people to care. We also outlined a strategy for marketing, via direct mail and social media, that would help us reach our objectives.

After the audit, we gave the project a name, Class Acts. The name is a call-to-action; it literally describes kids in the classroom taking initiative; and it describes everyone involved, from the kids, to Knockaround, to their partners at Art Reach, who are quintessential “class acts.”

Next, we developed assets for an awareness and support campaign. The most notable result came in the form of a media kit, that would be mailed to both media contacts and potential partners. We took Knockaround’s existing packaging and set up a presentation that included a pair of “Shark Attack” sunglasses, a pair of white “blank” sunglasses, and a USB drive, all held in a customized foam insert. The USB included campaign videos, images, and press releases. We also included a set of four insert cards which explained the background of Class Acts and called for campaign support.

The big challenge for us, is that nearly all of the campaign materials we developed months prior to launch revolved around a pair of glasses that had yet to be designed by local students. So to advertise the premise of the project, we developed a series of ads, insert cards, and curated imagery for social media, that touched on the importance of art in our world. It wasn’t till about a week or two prior launch, that a 5th grader’s “Nacho” design was selected. At that point, we scripted, directed, shot, edited, and launched a video within a couple weeks. The video explained the mission and goals of Class Acts, and showed the audience the winning Nacho design for the first time.

In the midst of the campaign rollout we produced another video that highlighted the contest winner, Vanessa, a 5th grader from Lee Elementary, and her winning design in an effort to increase pre-order sales through Indiegogo.

After the month long campaign was over, Knockaround tallied the orders and was able to raise a total of $20,463 dollars to be distributed amongst underfunded art programs in San Diego. While we weren’t able to reach the $35,000 target, it’s safe to say Knockaround was still happy. They increased their philanthropic donation from the year prior by 1,900%, received positive recognition from the local community, and created anticipated leads for future partnerships.

Client: Knockaround
Location: San Diego, Ca
Medium: Digital
Team: Garvin Ha (assistant director, editor); Randal Hollis (production); Tony Martinez (account manager); Jordan Stark (copywriting, design, creative direction)