Black Friday could never be normal at Koi

This week has been hectic at the office to say the least. Stress aside, we’re now proud to say that our very first brick and mortar store finally opened on Wednesday! Koi has made an impact mostly through digital presence since 2016 with a few exceptions of in-person events, so we felt like it was finally the right time for you to be able to have a first-hand experience of Koi. Whether this is seeing our shoes in person and trying them on, interacting with members of our staff for personalised recommendations, or even chilling out in the immersive space.

All of the hard work has been worth it - opening the store is a massively exciting stepping stone and shows how far we’ve came since we started in 2016. We’re inviting you to come check it out and join the fun. Don’t be afraid ;)

If you’re a follower of Koi, you’ll of course know that we do everything with a “go hard or go home” attitude, and that rule still remains when it comes to Black Friday. I mean, this year alone we’ve already done Gordon Ramsay for April Fool’s, a fake heist, and shot our Halloween campaign in a haunted Tory mansion. We’re always setting higher expectations for ourselves to live up to, and we accept the challenge.

There’s something dystopian, almost painful, about receiving approximately 34,076 emails on the week of Black Friday, because it seems like the majority of them offer one or more of the following things:

1.) An alarmingly high discount - 99% off? Um, okay bestie.

2.) A disappointingly low discount - sorry but 10% off electric toothbrushes is not very enticing to me.

3.) Discounts that have clearly been made up on the spot - I don’t remember this t-shirt being £60 full price when I was on the website last week? You are not fooling me babes xx

Regardless of the suspicious offers you’re sent this Black Friday period, one thing they all have in common is that they’re most likely pretty boring. There’s nothing pussy popping about opening a plain message of non-ironic Word-Art-style graphics with “up to 60% off”, which is why the team wanted to take it up a notch, in true Koi Footwear style.

We needed a theme, something cool to spice it up and help us stand out amongst that sea of promotional content. Creativity is at the core of Koi, and our followers all deserve some excitement in their lives. We need to keep the ball rolling…always.

“What about The Purge?”, our graphic designer asked. And what a valid question! What…about…The Purge? It makes perfect sense, it’s one time of year where crime is legal (more like criminal discount am I right ladies), people can fulfil their desires (for sexy shoes), and no one will be granted immunity (from the savings). The money shot!

The purge consists of a social media takeover and campaign - where the campaign was filmed and executed like a movie trailer, inspired by that well-known film franchise. One time a year where crime is legalised: the movie depicts Koi staff walking down the hallway into the new store, then stocking the shelves. Masked hardcore Koi fans break into the stock room whilst wearing some of our shoes - taking all the other shoes they want. This craziness all happens after the announcement, which reads:

THIS IS NOT A TEST

THIS IS YOUR EMERGENCY BROADCAST SYSTEM

ANNOUNCING THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE ANNUAL PURGE SANCTIONED BY THE KOI GOVERNMENT

SHOES OF CLASS 4 AND LOWER HAVE BEEN GRANTED IMMUNITY FROM FULL PRICE

THE DISCOUNT WILL BE UP TO 50% OFF

ALL OTHER DISCOUNTS ARE RESTRICTED

COMMENCING AT THE SIREN, ANY AND ALL CRIME, INCLUDING STEALING WILL BE LEGAL 

POLICE, FIRE AND CUSTOMER SERVICES WILL BE UNAVAILABLE UNTIL 12AM THE 28TH OF NOVEMBER WHEN THE PURGE CONCLUDES

MAY THE BEAN GOD BE WITH YOU.