The Idea

Back-to-school decisions don’t start in September, they start in the summer holidays.

So instead of competing at the point of purchase, we made sure Hype was front and centre while those decisions were being formed. We built a campaign designed to own the summer holidays, placing Hype products directly into the environments where young audiences spend their time, from leisure venues to high-footfall social spaces.

We delivered a fully integrated campaign across experiential, influencer and PR, ensuring the brand showed up consistently across multiple touchpoints, with each channel playing a role in driving awareness, engagement and consideration.

Experiential

Working wih strategic partner venues, we delivered three high-energy takeovers at Projekts Skate Park, King Pins and Yard Ball, embedding Hype into youth culture across the summer holidays.

Each activation was designed to feel native to the space, while introducing the brand in a way that felt natural rather than forced.

Spaces were fully branded, with product integrated throughout via bespoke displays, set builds and interactive challenges. Participants didn’t just see the product, they experienced it, and in many cases won it through prize mechanics, creating a direct link between engagement and ownership.

Oversized Hype backpacks and street teams created visual impact beyond the venues, extending the campaign into surrounding areas and driving both attention and footfall into each activation.

A dedicated content team captured live social content at every event, including vox pops and interviews with kids and families. This ensured the campaign was documented through genuine reactions and real interactions, resulting in a bank of authentic, shareable content that extended the life of the campaign beyond the events themselves.

Influencer

We partnered with family creators including The Ayodi Family and The Choi Family, selected for their ability to connect with both kids and parents in an authentic and relatable way.

Content focused on real-life experiences, embedding Hype products naturally into family moments rather than overt promotion.

Trips to Thorpe Park and Alton Towers provided high-energy, visually engaging environments, with the Hyperia ride offering a strong narrative hook that helped drive engagement, storytelling and repeat viewing across platforms.

This approach ensured the campaign translated beyond the physical activations into content that felt relevant, engaging and shareable for a wider audience.

PR

PR was delivered as a targeted product placement and media relations strategy, designed to secure high-quality national coverage during the key back-to-school window.

The approach focused on placing Hype backpacks and accessories directly into relevant top tier media, ensuring consistent visibility regardless of location-based activity.

A multi-angle strategy was developed to maximise opportunities across different media verticals, including product round-ups, retail features, seasonal back-to-school guides and lifestyle content. This ensured the campaign remained relevant across a wide range of titles and audiences.

Outreach was targeted across national, regional and consumer lifestyle media, with a focus on titles that reach parents and family decision-makers.

This resulted in coverage across top-tier outlets including This Morning (TV and digital), Hello!, The Guardian, Sunday Mirror, Sunday Express, Prima, Take a Break, Mumsnet and Dadsnet, alongside wider syndicated and regional pick-up.

Product was consistently featured within coverage, ensuring clear visibility of the range and reinforcing Hype as a relevant and credible choice within the back-to-school category.

Retail

The campaign extended onto the high street through five bespoke TJ Hughes window installations.

These installations were designed to mirror the visual identity of the wider campaign, creating a consistent brand presence across both experiential and retail environments, and ensuring visibility extended beyond the live activations.