Emotional product communication boosts awareness for leading safety shoe brand

The challenge

ATLAS Schuhfabrik GmbH & Co. KG, founded in 1910 by Johannes Schabsky, is a leading European manufacturer of safety footwear based in Dortmund. The family-owned company produces around 2.7 million pairs of safety shoes every year and employs over 1,450 people. ATLAS offers a range of over 500 different models, which are used in various industries such as the automotive, construction and chemical industries as well as by energy suppliers.

As part of the recent product launch of a sustainable, recycled safety shoe, Monospace was commissioned to develop a brand advert highlighting the innovative production process of Europe’s only safety shoe made from recycled materials.

The process

An analysis of the brand assets and marketing material showed that there was only a limited selection of design elements available for consistent product communication – just a few static photographs with heterogeneous image aesthetics.

So we scrutinised the briefing and found out in discussions that there was a great need to optimise product communication and produce additional assets that could be used on different channels and formats.

The core message Recycled from PET. Designed for performance. was developed, which summarises the sustainability and uniqueness of the product in a clear promise. The message was then brought to life through the production of various media at different contact points.

the first step: the 3D model

First, the shoe was digitised in a 3D scanner. A digital 3D model later enables different product views to be shown in motion design and a large number of static product images to be rendered.

3D product animation

Production process up close

The high-quality 3D model was translated into a 40-second 3D product animation that conveys the phases of the innovative manufacturing process in a visually detailed and emotional way. While the captivating music conveys a sense of fascination and innovation, the customised sound design makes the production phases an auditory experience and thus completes the entire animation.

The 40-second film was then converted into various cut-downs that can be used in different image formats at all relevant contact points.

The result

Overall, we not only brought the uniqueness of the new, sustainable product to life and helped the Runner 75 gain more visibility, but also strengthened the positioning of the Atlas brand and its values such as innovative strength and sustainability. From moving images to product illustrations, the brand and product are consistently staged along the customer journey, creating an emotional connection to the target group – at digital and analogue touchpoints. This connection builds trust, promotes identification with the brand and turns customers into loyal fans.

From the stadium to the world

As a premium partner and sponsor of first division soccer club Borussia Dortmund, the company wanted to advertise its latest product innovation – the Runner 75 Recycling Safety Shoe – the first safety shoe in Europe to be made from recycled materials, on the stadium perimeter boards.

As stadium advertising plays a major role for ATLAS in increasing brand awareness, the cut-downs were finally transferred to a large number of perimeter board advertisements, which were played out at Borussia Dortmund and Feyenoord Rotterdam. The fans at BVB’s Signal Iduna Park alone generate over 81,000 impressions in every match. However, the reach is actually maximized primarily by the worldwide TV broadcast.