🔎 our first marketing teardown: kizik

hey marketers! 

today I’m doing something different – a deep-dive on one brand’s marketing.

in future editions, this might be a case study of a success story, but today, it’s a teardown and my own thoughts on a gameplan.

brand in the hot seat: kizik

this is the treasure trove I’m exploring:

• 👟 who is kizik?

• 🎯 target demographics

• 📣 marketing messages

• 📱 digital & physical marketing campaigns

alright, here’s what I got for you.

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👟 who is kizik?

in case you haven’t already been bombarded with ads, kizik is a hands-free shoe, developed by parent company hands free labs. the shoe lab has multiple patents for the hands-free, slip-on shoe tech leveraged in its kizik brand. 

the products come in familiar styles (think nike, new balance, and cole haan) at a mid-high price point ($100-200).

nike was an investor in the series A round (maybe positioning for a complete acquisition in the future), and kizik closed a $20M series B with a private equity firm in summer 2022. the intent being to expand into brick-and-mortar retail – both wholesale and dedicated, experiential retail stores.

and, of course, much brand marketing to precede this expansion.

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🎯 target demographics

the audience kizik is marketing to: exhausted millennial parents

what they’re missing out on: fashion-friendly boomers, thick-wallet gen Z

this parent campaign has one basic message: get shoes that are easy, because life with kids isn’t.

yes, life with little kids ain’t no joke, but new parents are typically already shelling out loads on kids’ stuff, clothes, programs, etc. buying a little more convenience doesn’t seem like the easiest sell.

the facebook ad is even worse – the copy barely says anything besides comfort. lacking people and displaying the slip-on function, it does nothing to grab attention.

instead, kizik could market towards boomers with an eye for the fit. boomers are relatively wealthier than their successors, but aging.

however, with that age comes health difficulties, where putting on shoes isn’t just an inconvenience, but the struggle is real (like, for real).

pair that with the desire to keep your fit fresh, and it’s a perfect persona.

the other target demo is gen Z with some cash to spend. gen Z values comfort and convenience more so than millennials (hence their affinity for crocs). 

but what if you want to look like you’re wearing nikes and don’t want to endure lacing up, tying in, and blistering through the day?

📣 marketing messages

when I worked agency-side, I developed tons of marketing messages – and typically, I’d keep them in the more practical realm. easily communicating who the brand is for and what they offer.

in kizik’s case, I first heard a podcast ad – oof. 

their messaging and ad copy was so far off I had no idea what they meant by “put your shoes on without touching them.” i wasn’t intrigued, just confused.

then I noticed an outdoor ad like the one below.

this messaging is also their current website h1 tagline. sounds cool. lacks speaking to their target demos, showcasing the product, and communicating the value props.

I noticed their messaging is getting more descriptive like this one.

much better, but without the visual context, it’s gonna fall flat.

instead - kizik should go even harder:

• “shoes that actually slip on” – primary message for their homepage. show a customer tossing other “slip-on” brands in the trash (positioning against the competition)

• “look, no hands!” – a simple gif campaign on tiktok (for gen Z) 

• “comfort now comes in cool” – a static print ad of older folks looking trendy in some of the bold shoes (for the boomers)

if the marketers at kizik want to keep it a little abstract, they can try this one: 

an eye-catching, tongue-in-cheek outdoor ads like a 4-panel split showing mud, gum on the sidewalk, dog poop, and their shoes with the copy “the best thing you’ll step into today.”

📱digital & physical marketing

again, kizik’s messaging in the hero area is too abstract, but the secondary headline is spot on (though they could still nix that second sentence).

however, the hero area has a video, clearly showing how the shoes work and the different use cases for them 🙌 

even better, they also have product videos on the product pages – for a company that’s been primarily e-commerce up until now, this is super necessary.

they’re dialing in their marketing messages, but as they venture into physical retail, they’re taking the brand marketing campaigns to the next level, seeding the market for their future retail locations.

for kizik, they need to make their retail locations and outdoor ads really stand out. not only giving their customers a stellar in-store experience, but also hosting an activation for each store open.

e.g. 

• a case with a stripped down shoe and robotic foot constantly entering and exiting the shoe, displaying how their patented tech works.

• an entryway with cubbies where customers can take off and leave their shoes upon entering the store. the store is arranged by size, so the customer can just step right into a pair they want to try.

• a giant model shoe with their technology that actually acts as a slide. the heel propelling customers into the showroom.

wrap up

I wish the best for kizik and hope they do well. this teardown isn’t to discourage them, just use their marketing as a case study for us marketers to think critically about our own work.

kizik is still early in their journey, so I’m excited to see what they do with the brand and how their marketing changes over time.

I hope you took away some gems from this and I’ll see you again on monday.

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I hope you found this newsletter useful 💎 btw, today is my birthday and I would love some birthday wishes from you 😄

@ me on X/twitter or leave a comment on this post

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thanks! ✌🏻tom

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