• by Aaron Baar , March 4, 2013

In this age of social media friends and followers, footwear brand Teva is encouraging people to embrace the idea of going in one’s own direction. 

The company’s new global integrated marketing campaign, tagged “Unfollow,” supports the launch of the brand’s new cross-training shoe, TevaSphere (which is touted as having an innovative spherical heel and pod-arch system that took four years to develop). The message of the campaign: to choose the road less taken, and to celebrate the discoveries of adventure over routine. 

“Breaking from convention leads to innovation,” Teva Global Marketing Director Erika Brakken tells Marketing Daily. “It’s a new technology and a new product. It’s the next step of celebrating nonconformity. It’s not just about running and what might be, but more about [celebrating] the adventure.”

A one-minute video commercial brings these aspects to life via visual metaphors, such as a blue balloon ascending higher than a group of white ones or a road sign indicating a main direction, with a short footpath coming off of it. “For those who choose the unknown, the unexpected, the life less traveled, there’s finally a shoe that enhances your natural stride,” says a voiceover, before introducing Tevasphere and the hashtag #unfollow.

“This all sits perfectly under Teva as a brand,” Brakken says. “We pioneered the sport sandal category. The timing for it is really perfect when you look at what consumers are doing and the solutions they’re looking for.”

The commercial will be completed by print and digital advertising in publications such as Outside and Men’s Journal, as well as social, mobile and retail activations (such as giving away one-month memberships at outdoor fitness classes for every pair of shoes sold).

In addition, the brand is also launching a social media contest, in which consumers are encouraged to upload their own images (via Instagram, Facebook and Twitter) about what it means to “unfollow.” One winner will be awarded the opportunity to take the “unfollow” trip of their dreams. 

“It’s what emulates ‘unfollow’ for them,” Brakken says. “We’ll help them pay for it and make it happen.”