Vivaia Asks Women About the Importance of Comfortable Shoes
Timed to launch with International Women's Day, the "In Her Shoes" campaign shares stories from a surgeon, a news anchor, a chef and two ballerinas.
Seen worn by celebrities like Julia Roberts and Selena Gomez, Vivaia launched nearly four years ago with the goal of supporting women with innovative, modern-day footwear. The eco-friendly company strives to put consumers first and proved that “comfort and style can coexist,” and continuously makes efforts to meet her where she is, including two opening two retail pop-ups in New York City and Los Angeles.
With global retail expansions planned for 2024, Vivaia has launched its first brand marketing campaign, “In Her Shoes,” on Thursday, ahead of International Women's Day. The campaign highlights the brand's most-loved ballet flat styles worn by five women in their everyday lives.
Included in the campaign are Luna Montana, a ballerina and content creator; Alicia Mae Holloway, a professional ballerina; Sara Lee Kessler, three-time
Emmy Award-winning news anchor; Heena Santry, an acute care surgeon and diversity health care advocate, and Gwyneth Yuma, content creator and aspiring chef.
“As part of our brand's DNA, we always want to hear from our customers,” Lawrence said. “We sought out some of our loyal brand fans willing to tell their amazing stories. We also reached out to additional women in various occupations who know the value and necessity of comfortable footwear like dancers or chefs who are on their feet all day and want to be both stylish and comfortable in their leisure time. It turned out to be a great in-studio experience where everyone was sharing their unique life experiences and forming a bond within the Vivaia family.”
Through videos, the campaign leans into a storytelling approach, capturing video testimonials from each of the five featured women. In a video, each woman shares her own narrative, answering questions about their careers, the challenges they have faced as women in their chosen professions, how they found support and empowerment and the role Vivaia plays in their busy lives.
“We wanted to convey that a woman can do anything ‘in her shoes' and Vivaia is here to support her in her everyday life,” said Melissa Lawrence, creative director of
Vivaia. “Vivaia was founded to answer a simple question and address a common pain point among women: why can't my dress shoes be as comfortable as my sneakers? Since then, we've made it part of our mission to listen to our customer's feedback to design innovative modernday dress shoes that are stylish, comfortable and eco-friendly.”
In a way, Lawrence told WWD, International Women's Day was the perfect time to launch the “In Her Shoes” campaign. As the brand grows, Vivaia wants to echo back to its community that it hears them and sees them for the extraordinary women that they are.
“Our vision with the Vivaia ‘In Her Shoes' campaign was to celebrate the diversity of women and feature some loyal brand fans to tell their [real life] experiences with our footwear,” Lawrence said. “We wanted to highlight the wide variety of styles we have that meet our consumers where they are by addressing not only their style preferences but also their requirements for comfort in their day-to-day lives.”
In addition to featuring the five selected
women in its videos, Vivaia will reach out to its community online and through social media to ask customers about what empowers them for a chance to win a pair of shoes. “We want to encourage every woman to turn a comfy step into a giant Leap in our zero-break-in ballet flats,” Lawrence said.