How would you feel if I tell you that you have to pay $600 (roughly BDT 48000) for a shoe that normally costs around $20 (roughly BDT 1600)? No, it’s not a prank.
I know, you will be furious! But now think in reverse and imagine you can have a shoe for BDT 1600 which seems like a shoe that costs BDT 48000. Most importantly if this information reaches to you from your favorite online influencer, then you will be like-
“Take my money and give me those shoes!”
To your much pleasant surprise, “Payless- the discounted footwear retailer in America” has pulled of the best marketing prank of this year recently. The brand arranged a brilliant social experiment where they opened an extremely fake luxurious boutique outlet called Palessi and invited a group of influencers to come and shop the brand’s new styles in LA.
According to a report by CBS, Payless invited around 60 influencers to attend their launching of the fake luxury store and charged their products with an staggering 1800% mark up. Surprisingly, all the influencers were happy to pay the amount.
You will be surprised to see their testimonials while purchasing the product. Have a look:
All the guests were stunned when they were told about the actual experiment. Well, eventually all the influencers got their money back and were allowed to keep the shoes as gift.
If you want to know more about Payless products and their designs, then you should visit their website.
What a brilliant move from Payless and the agency named DCX Growth Accelerator that made it all happen. You won’t find a better example this year of promoting your brand as a symbol of luxury within the affordable range. Tricking the influencers to have proper testimonials was the game changer here.
This campaign also indicates towards the power of branding in today’s capitalist world. Payless wanted to influence the consumer perception on how much luxury should cost and they have nailed it with perfection.
So, well done, Payless! Behold.
