HARDEN Vol.1
Adidas made a play to grab more market share and hoops cred by unveiling a signature shoe for Harden. Our challenge? Bring the heat for 3 solid months leading up to launch. One small stipulation: We couldn’t show the shoe.
Our way in
In 2016, we talked to adi’s target audience—teen boys—and discovered a behavior we’d never seen before. They curated Instagram as a snapshot of their current mood and obsessions, not a chronicle or their lives.
Here’s to the hack
They put up a handful of images for a few days, then hit delete. Only 6-12 posts stayed on their feed at any given time.
We followed their lead
We activated @projectharden, an unpredictable Instagram ride though Harden’s world. The 12-chapter story kept ‘em guessing. Each week new content replaced the previous 9 posts. Embedded clues and news encouraged fans to dig and engage. Followers were glued to the shifting teasers, collectively watching 107 minutes of content per day.