Gen Z men tend to think all socks and underwear are equal – but Pair of Thieves set out to change that with premium, stylishly-designed products featuring their unique “SWASS” (that’s anti-swamp ass) material. To stand out in an already-cluttered essential apparel space, and with legacy competitors outspending them at every turn, they needed a media strategy that was as disruptive as their brand to mitigate the spending gap and help grow their fandom.

Starting with Pair of Thieves’ fun brand messaging and assets developed by Partyland and internal teams, we developed a media campaign that made soon-to-be fans feel right at home during the summer months, meeting them where we knew they’d be, and delivering the right message at the right time.

APPROACH

Podcasts. Social Meme Accounts. Irreverent, comedic influencers (both mass and micro) all served to build awareness among the uninitiated. And, of course, lifestyle brand integrations like Complex’s Sneaker Shopping piqued the interest of younger tastemakers — building equity where we needed it most. 

The hot summer months of LA/NYC, which saw increased foot traffic as social distancing restrictions eased, were the perfect timeframe to showcase Pair of Thieves’ SWASS messaging — especially in strategically-selected sweaty environments, like gym screens, treadmill/stationary bike screens, and NYC subway platforms. Each media placement showed off Pair of Thieves as the only place for people to get the SWASS relief they desperately needed.

Paid social support helped us reach more people with our messaging more often — allowing us to optimize our impact and make every dollar count. We homed in on Gen-Z-led platforms like TikTok, where we amplified paid influencers — increasing visibility at the top of the funnel.

RESULTS

The SWASS media campaign drove an incredible 82% YoY Growth in new users visiting the Pair of Thieves retail site, increased their TikTok brand following by 22.3k followers, and generated 25% Campaign over-delivery/added value and increased awareness among young male audiences. Hey — we all have SWASS sometimes. So we felt pretty darn good about helping men everywhere learn about Pair of Thieves.