Campus Activewear’s Reset Lifted Consideration to 63%

Campus Activewear built its scale on distribution: 650+ cities, 23,000+ retail touchpoints and more than 300 distributors, with trade channels contributing 53.5% of FY24 revenue. Yet the company’s FY25 annual report frames the brand problem as giving shoppers a reason to choose Campus, rather than simply recognising the name. That tension pushed a listed footwear player to shift from trade-first marketing to a consumer-led reset called Move Your Way, launched with actor Vicky Kaushal on 7 November 2024.

One platform, many executions

The campaign’s payoff line, “Damn good shoes, yaar!”, runs through the first film with Kaushal and a second, structurally similar film with Vikrant Massey. The idea then travelled much further: a women’s campaign with Sonam Bajwa, licensed Batman and Superman drops with Warner Bros. Discovery Global Consumer Products, an athleisure apparel range priced from ₹599 to ₹1,899, and a 2026 visual identity built around three outward arrows.

That sequencing matters. Campus described Move Your Way as a brand platform, not a one-off, and its extension into new categories is the proof. The apparel launch was explicitly framed as a way to sell more to the existing customer base under the same philosophy.

Where the money and measurement went

FY25 advertising and promotional spend rose nearly 25% to ₹1,353 million, about 8.5% of revenue. The plan covered roughly 21,000 TV spots, 96 print insertions, cinema, out-of-home and digital placements across YouTube, Spotify, Meta, Zomato and OTT. Quick commerce was included too: Blinkit in 50 cities and Zepto in 20.

The disclosed brand metrics are unusually specific for a listed footwear business. A Kantar Brand Health Survey put brand consideration at 63%, top-of-mind awareness at 23% and saliency at 23%. Unaided recall reached 48% for “Damn Good Shoes” and 40% for “Move Your Way”, while the company’s own website conversion rate rose 57% year on year. The women’s campaign reported a 15% awareness uplift among Gen Z women and an 11% rise in purchase intent.

Financial results moved in the same direction. FY25 revenue rose 10% to ₹1,592.96 crore, with sneaker volumes up 150% and contributing 8.5% of volumes. FY26 revenue rose 11.4% to ₹1,774.1 crore and profit after tax rose about 24% to ₹150.1 crore. Management credited distribution expansion, online growth and product mix, but did not isolate campaign contribution.

What marketers should borrow

• Make the idea stretch. A single platform line worked across celebrity films, a women’s range, licensed drops, apparel and identity. That is cheaper and clearer than reinventing a story every quarter.
• Balance aspiration with access. Campus kept aspirational styling while protecting accessible price points, using entry-level styles to convert unbranded buyers and premium sneakers to move shoppers up the value ladder.
• Separate brand evidence from sales evidence. Awareness, consideration and recall are disclosed, but campaign-level sales attribution is not. Pair brand metrics with retention and lifetime value before declaring the brand transformed.

The tension to watch

Campus is holding a deliberately two-sided position: aspirational yet accessible, fashionable yet functional, metro in outlook but inclusive in reach. That is harder than picking one lane. Average selling price fell from ₹652 in FY24 to ₹639 in FY25 while sneaker volumes grew 150%; FY26 ASP rose 6.9%. Management explains both moves through product mix and BIS-related inventory liquidation, not brand effect. For strategists, that is a reminder not to read brand strength from price alone.

Source: MarkHub24