How Zeeman became a cult brand

For years, many self-respecting adolescents wouldn't even want to be found dead in a Zeeman store. I admit I walked away quickly and hid my yellow plastic bag after I bought a skirt there for carnival a few months ago. However, the textiles discounter managed to turn around their reputation and uses the recession to re-position the brand.

Since November, Zeeman has been giving away free boxershorts, which are available on their website. Customers only have to pay the shipping costs. Quickly, the hype was picked up by a large audience and the boxershorts, that came with a tag that said 'Wear it with pride!', were out of stock for months. At the Überstoere zeemanboxers group on social network Hyves, members have uploaded pictures of theirselves wearing the boxershorts, with pride indeed.

Jacques van der Bom, marketing and communication manager at Zeeman, explained that the campaign was an ironic hint at the trend of youngsters clearly showing off their underwear (such as the popular Björn Borg boxers) but that it is also an expression of their new brand identity. (source: marketingtribune)

With this campaign, Zeeman won the Positive Young Media Award 2010 this week. This is a prize for creative initiatives that set new, positive rolemodels for young people. According to the jury, Zeeman offers the youth a worthy alternative for the expensive branded boxershorts.

Now, Zeeman is also aiming at the female recessionista's while advertising during Project Catwalk on rtlgemist.nl. It appears that the company successfully made use of the current economic situation and used it for their benefit. Do you think Zeeman will be able to maintain the success once the recession (and the boxershorts buzz) is over? Let me know!