Samsonite Red, launched its India debut with a influencer-led campaign designed by Makani Creatives. The campaign centred around the enigmatic ‘Sam Red,’ a fictional persona that embodied the modern urban millennial lifestyle. Through a carefully crafted three-phase approach, influencers initially teased Sam Red’s identity, sparking widespread curiosity across social media. The campaign then intensified with micro-influencers and media outlets amplifying the mystery, culminating in a grand reveal that Sam Red was, in fact, the face of Samsonite Red. This approach not only differentiated the brand from its parent company but also established Samsonite Red as a desirable, aspirational brand for millennials, blending lifestyle aspirations with practical, stylish products.
Category Introduction
India’s lifestyle and fashion industry is booming, driven by millennials and Gen Z. The ₹9,000 crore luggage segment is evolving from functional to stylish, fueled by rising travel and demand for aspirational yet practical products.
Brand Introduction
Samsonite Red, the contemporary arm of Samsonite, targets on-the-go millennials with premium yet approachable lifestyle products. Combining aesthetics, functionality, and innovation, the launch campaign aimed to establish Samsonite Red as an aspirational brand for modern urban millennials, distinct from its parent brand.
Summary
Makani Creatives designed an influencer-driven teaser campaign to introduce Samsonite Red in India. By personifying the brand as the enigmatic ‘Sam Red,’ the campaign utilised a three-phased approach to spark curiosity, build momentum, and reveal Samsonite Red as the ideal lifestyle companion for millennials. The campaign generated significant social media buzz and established a strong connection with the target audience.
Objective
Samsonite Red faced the challenge of distinguishing itself from its parent brand while appealing to a younger demographic. The goal was to craft an engaging narrative that would position the brand as a lifestyle symbol rather than just a product.
Brief
Create a disruptive, high-engagement campaign to:
Differentiate Samsonite Red from Samsonite.
Introduce the brand as a symbol of the urban millennial lifestyle.
Drive awareness and excitement leading up to the launch.
Creative Idea
The agency conceptualised Sam Red, a fictional persona embodying the brand’s target audience. By transferring millennial aspirations, hobbies, and interests onto this character, they created intrigue and conversation around ‘Who is Sam Red?’ This approach blurred the line between product and lifestyle, turning the brand into a relatable, aspirational figure that piqued the interest of the target audience. This led to the brand becoming a topic of conversation within the group of potential buyers.
Challenges
Breaking through a cluttered digital space saturated with influencer campaigns.
Ensuring a seamless blend of mystery and brand messaging without confusing the audience.
Coordinating with diverse influencers while maintaining a consistent narrative that aligns with the brand’s tone of voice
Execution
The campaign was executed in three phases:
Phase 1: India’s top macro influencers, such as Kritika Khurana, Mallika Dua, Santoshi Shetty, and Aditya Vashisht, introduced Sam Red as a close friend and a symbol of success, freedom, and style. Their posts and stories sparked curiosity, engaging audiences with the mystery of Sam Red. Over the month, influencers consistently shared content about spending time with Sam Red, keeping the intrigue alive.
Phase 2: To amplify the mystery, 11 micro-influencers joined the conversation, creating reels and posts speculating about Sam Red’s identity. Their content cascaded into a social media frenzy, turning the mystery into a thrilling hunt. Publications like Elle, FilmyGyan, and Instant Bollywood, along with other paparazzi and fashion outlets, joined in, fueling excitement across platforms.
Phase 3: The grand reveal finally unmasked Sam Red as Samsonite Red. Macro influencers, tired of being asked about Sam Red, flooded Instagram with unboxing reels, revealing Samsonite Red as a luxury luggage brand for on-the-go millennials. This phase concluded with the audience finally discovering, ‘Who is Sam Red?’
Results
Quantitative
Over 500 story mentions
Over 550 comments asking Who is Sam Red.
Over 300 DMs enquiring about Sam Red
Qualitative
Successfully positioned Samsonite Red as an aspirational millennial brand.
Generated widespread curiosity and conversation about the brand pre-launch.
Integrated seamlessly into the lifestyle aspirations of the target audience.
Yashtika Vaswani, Head of Digital at Makani Creatives, stated, “The campaign worked because it sparked curiosity and communication. Sam Red wasn’t just a brand ambassador but a character that influencers and the audience wanted to learn more about. By weaving Sam Red into the everyday experiences of aspirational millennials, through replicating the lifestyle that they want to live on Sam Red’s Instagram feed, we blurred the line between product and lifestyle, making Samsonite Red a symbol of their aspirations and success. This led to the brand becoming a part of the consumer’s life and impacting their psyche with the brand’s values all before they even knew who Sam Red is.”
With this campaign, Samsonite Red embarks on their journey in India as a popular and aspirational symbol for the new generation, delivering the perfect mix of innovation, fashion, and utility.
Anushree Tainwala, Head of Marketing at Samsonite said, “The idea behind Sam Red came from the need to personify the brand while creating a character the urban millennial could identify with. By presenting Samsonite Red as an aspirational individual, we aim to create a lifestyle narrative that engages our audience on a personal level. As the story unfolds, we gradually reveal that he is not just a person, but the embodiment of Samsonite Red, a bag, your friend who is always ready to explore.”
