Steve Madden + January Digital: ‘NEVER MISS A BEAT’

Industry Description

Steve Madden is a leading global lifestyle brand based in New York City (NYC), known for its fashion-forward approach to footwear, accessories, and apparel. Founded in 1990, the brand has grown from a New York-based business to a global fashion powerhouse, with over 200 stores worldwide and distribution in 80+ countries. Steve Madden designs and markets fashion-forward products for women, men, and children, infusing bold creativity with authenticity. In addition to its own labels, Steve Madden expands its reach through licensing, private labels, and partnerships with various retailers. The brand was built on a foundation of authenticity, inclusivity, and self-expression.

Overview

The brand’s ‘NEVER MISS A BEAT’ campaign was launched in Q3 2024 as a love letter to New York City, featuring cameos by iconic New Yorkers into a cohesive, multi-platform effort. To execute a full digital activation across all customer touch points, Steve Madden partnered with digital agency of record (AOR) January Digital to develop and activate against a full-funnel digital campaign.

The campaign spanned historically top performing channels such as Meta and TikTok, with greater expansion into YouTube, Snapchat and Pinterest. Being present on every platform, primarily with video content, to hit consumers at every stage of the funnel was key to the campaign’s success.

Mirroring the way New Yorkers run into friends or catch a glimpse of that vaguely familiar face on their daily commute, each campaign frame was full of hidden surprises. Cameos by The Green Lady, Richie Rich, Mickey Boardman, Lady Bunny, Lynn Yaeger, George Papoutsis, and @dudewithsign were placed into authentic moments that occur by the minute throughout New York. The campaign video was set to “Groove is in the Heart” by NYC’s own Deee-Lite, using the track to jump from one quintessential location to another, featuring street-cast talent and a variety of dancers from modern, breakdance, ballroom vogue, and country genres.

The campaign aimed to boost top-of-mind awareness and consideration while continuing to position the brand as the go-to choice for trend-forward styles. It spanned upper, middle, and lower funnel efforts with messaging and creative assets developed for each stage. This required a united effort across Steve Madden’s Marketing, Creative, and Ecommerce teams with January Digital to ensure successful performance of this large-scale campaign. By diversifying its media mix and presenting a strong brand story, Steve Madden was able to surround its target audiences across multiple touch points and funnel stages.

Goals

The ‘NEVER MISS A BEAT’ media plan laid out the following goals:

1. Drive website revenue meeting or exceeding campaign goal
   1. Quantify incremental revenue and return on ad spend (ROAS) through 3rd-party validation partner, Measured
2. Drive an increase in quality traffic to the site
3. Diversify channel mix and prioritize video-forward tactics to surround target audience and maximize frequency across multiple touchpoints
4. Increase aided brand awareness ahead of the key holiday season, focused on new customer growth

Challenges

One of the main challenges Steve Madden had to overcome throughout the ‘NEVER MISS A BEAT’ campaign was showcasing the brand in the minds of consumers as a fashion-forward company offering footwear, accessories, and apparel that reflect the latest seasonal and cultural trends. To shift consumer perception to align with the present-day brand image, the campaign messaging, creative assets and placements had to feel authentic and a testament to the brand’s DNA, drawing inspiration from the city’s hyperkinetic pace and melting-pot culture.

Clear communication and planning was required between the Steve Madden and January Digital teams to manage the sheer volume of creative assets needed for this campaign. Given the expansive media plan for the ‘NEVER MISS A BEAT’ campaign, creative planning and production was a challenge that had to be overcome to ensure a consistent presence across all channels, with tailored assets for funnel stage and unique ad placement.

Results

With clear alignment on the media plan, proactive planning, and agile execution, the ‘NEVER MISS A BEAT’ campaign proved successful in exceeding industry benchmarks, campaign goals, and stakeholder expectations.

The results included:

• Overall campaign revenue exceeded goal by +17% and incremental revenue exceeded forecast by +62%
  • Social platform expansion proved to be successful in driving incremental revenue
    • TikTok: The full-funnel approach led to increases in order contribution (35%) and incremental ROAS (30%)
    • Pinterest: Achieved the highest incremental channel ROAS
    • YouTube: Drove a 273% increase in order contribution with a 100% increase in ROAS
  • All marketing efforts generated 82% higher incremental demand YoY
• Brand awareness lift was observed across channels, with a +4.9% lift on YouTube and a +4 point lift on Snapchat.
• YouTube was key to the fall campaign, driving record lifts for Steve Madden due to strong video creative
  • The Youtube video views campaign exceeded the original target by 2.7 million views due to CPV efficiency
• .Com new users increased +36% YoY