The Brand
In the world of Zvelle, all cultures are relevant. The independent luxury women’s shoe and handbag brand champions the idea of “global citizenry.” More than just business class flights and five-star hotel rooms, it’s the attitude of a certain kind of woman with a story in her step.
The Task
No kidding, our intake call with Zvelle founder Elle AyoubZadeh was our favorite one ever. “I want a campaign that says, this is what Zvelle is about,” she said from the company’s headquarters in Toronto, “and whoever doesn’t like it can get lost.” She clearly wasn’t afraid of offending anyone, and she demanded a bold message. “Like a Nike campaign,” she said. We went to work quickly on a campaign that would capture the iconic energy of a woman making her way through the world on her own terms—with the finest accessories, of course.
We noticed that there is an infinite number of individual “walks” on sidewalks, on city streets, in office buildings, universities, cafés and airports. Each woman has her own step. No two are quite alike.
We thought about shoes and handbags, how crucial they are to a woman’s path. They carry her through the world with purpose, and say so much about who she is and where she is headed. We needed a phrase that would express the mindset of a woman who wasn’t about to be held back, not by anyone.
The Execution
The “Walk How You Want” tag line, printed inside the brand’s signature “V” loafer.
It didn’t take us long to come up with the winning Zvelle campaign: WALK HOW YOU WANT. It was easy to see how nicely this phrase solved Elle’s pointed brief, so we built a whole world around it. The campaign package came complete with a manifesto, hashtag exploration and company bio, along with some other key content pieces. But that was just the beginning.
WALK HOW YOU WANT quickly morphed into a company mantra. Soon, the brand had applied the phrase to everything it was doing, from content strategy to apparel. It was even printed on the inner soles of some of the brand’s essential styles, so women everywhere would be reminded who was in charge every time they put their Zvelles on.
The “Walk How You Want” manifesto appears on the company’s web site.
The Result
Refinery 29 Executive Editor Carley Fortune for Zvelle.
After WALK HOW YOU WANT became Zvelle’s north star, the campaign branched out and took on a life of its own. It dominated the brand’s dialogue on social, where it allowed women to speak out about their own experiences, and what the phrase means to them.
It also became a thought starter in Zvelle’s excellent editorial series, In Conversation, where it highlights non-famous women who are nonetheless extraordinary in their insistence on doing things differently.
Many amazing women were photographed in the WALK HOW YOU WANT t-shirt, leading to a surge in engagement and brand affinity.
When the coronavirus pandemic slowed the economy, Zvelle was in a strong enough position to increase production and push forward, driven by the very mantra that so perfectly captured its ethos.
