The guys at Cerebra have launched an initiative with one of my favourite shoe labels Converse (incidentally, my reading glasses are also Covnerse).

I think that the idea around pulling the fans together is great. It’s a niche community that could fill a nice gap.

What I find interesting is that there’s not one picture of, or link to any catalogue of the product/shoe. There also doesn’t appear to be a South African web presence of the Converse range either. I would think that it would be an ideal opportunity to harness the value of the incoming link from blog posts like this to the benefit of search engine results which in turn could benefit both the user - finding information on a product he/she is looking for, and Converse - a sales lead (directly - ecommerce or indirectly stockist locator)

It looks like Converse SA have thrown all their internet budget behind the social aspect, which, in my opinion, can be a risky move. From what I’ve learned from previous “pilot projects” in this space, only a fraction of the total visitors to the site are actively taking part in the conversation. And whilst the value of these super-fans cannot be understated, there really needs to be something more for the majority of users.

What that is can differ from product to product. But with a brand like Converse, it’s probably something like some kind of catalogue of what’s available in ZA and where. Maybe some kind of “create your own shoe” (probably expensive). Maybe a facility that allows people to upload photos of their own Converse - nice and visual, and adds a dimension that text and “conversation” cannot replicate.

Anyway, it’s late and i’m not that full of ideas. And I’m secretly disappointed that Man United beat Barcelona.
All I’m trying to say is that the “web 2.0″ phenomenon is very much a playground of the few and that you need to be careful of what percentage of your marketing budget you put behind it (and if it’s 100% that’s also ok!).

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Disclaimer: I’ve not seen any other Converse ZA stuff online. Maybe I just missed it.