Campaign
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Photography
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Experiential
POWER IN PLAY
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1
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/ About the project
360 Rally was my first campaign at Xero Shoes
— I wrote the campaign script and art directed the photoshoot four days into the job!
The product had just been shot with an outside creative agency, but their selects came back sterile: technically clean, but flat, and it didn't feel like pickleball.
I made the call to shift direction post-production, leaning into Xero Shoes' in-house photographer's instinct instead: grain, edge, real motion and because it captured the sport's actual energy in a way the polished agency approach couldn't.
Those selects became the foundation for the entire campaign concept: "Power In Play," the idea that power in pickleball isn't force, it's efficient movement. That thinking led directly to the tagline, "Train to Court — Rally Ready," announcing Xero's first pickleball-specific shoe. This style refresh set the tone for our treatment of all Performance Marketing shoots going forward and became a mainstay in the Xero Shoes Brand Book.
**This campaign won a Gold Addy!**
/ Credits
Client:
Xero Shoes
Art Director:
Lexie Palmer
Photographer:
Jonndre King
Channels:
SimplyBrandish, SomeOddPilot
/ Year
2025
/ EXECUTION
Concept & Visual Direction Pillars
Energetic Play-Tracers — motion-inspired illustrated accents (lunges, pivots, dinks, directional shuffles) that visualize movement patterns rather than just showing a static pose
Dynamic, Dual-Angle Crops — footwear shown supporting explosive movement without sacrificing control, reinforcing "power moving through the body" as a product truth
Train to Court, Rally Ready — close-up outsole/grip shots mid-play, connecting drill footwork to match-day performance
Slightly Cheeky Court Iconography — mini paddle and pickleball shadow motifs, dotted dink-trajectory lines, rally tally marks, giving the campaign a distinct personality within the category
Experiential Activation
PPA Tour presence — Activated the "Power In Play" concept in person at multiple PPA (Professional Pickleball Association) tournaments, with a branded pop-up booth putting the shoe directly in front of the sport's core community
Courtside sponsorship banners — Extended the campaign's visual system to courtside signage, keeping the digital-first creative consistent in a live event context and reinforcing the brand's credibility within the pickleball space specifically
Campaign Applications
Photography — Art directed the primary shoot, redirecting selects away from the agency's polished style toward the photographer's grittier, more actionable perspective
Video — Produced training content with verified pickleball coach @thatpickleballtrainer, plus "how it's made" product videos giving the launch technical credibility alongside the lifestyle work
Paid social — Flexible and static ad formats built around the action photography and "efficient power per rally" message; the top-performing tennis-crossover execution drove a 5.0 ROAS and $42K in revenue on $8.3K spend
Email marketing — Launch email led with lifestyle action photography and "Meet the NEW 360 Rally," driving $26,163 in revenue from 165 purchases; a follow-up "Performance Proof" email reinforced grip and stability claims, adding $9,481 in revenue
Merchandising — 360 Rally and Wynn Red Salsa together dominated weekly sell-through, landing 6 of the top 10 best-selling SKUs storewide
/ RESULTS
The launch sold 734 units and generated $85,000 in total revenue, exceeding plan while holding a full-price marketing approach — no discounting needed to hit the number. Email drove $35,600 of that total, outperforming paid's ~$24,700, which speaks to how well the "Power In Play" narrative worked in a format built for storytelling. Performance was consistent across both men's and women's colorways, validating that the movement-first concept resonated regardless of audience.
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