Business & Money | Wednesday 17 August, 2016 12:36 pm |

Marka PJSC (DFM: MARKA), the first public stock retail operator in the UAE, has launched the world’s first Snapchat ‘Back to School campaign’ by Modell’s - a social media initiative that will announce the sports store’s special offers for the new term, and which will be activated at Modell’s stores in the United Arab Emirates. 

This innovative campaign will see customers thoroughly interact with the brand for the whole back to school season, through Snapchat posts with the hashtag #levelup. Snaps that have been tagged with this hashtag will be displayed at Modell’s in Mall of the Emirates over the next six weeks, with the campaign also running in Ibn Battuta, Hili and Mirdif City Centre Malls.

Modell’s have created Snapchat inspired retail displays, which show children of all ages how they can ‘go beyond the uniform’ with a range of sporting accessories including backpacks, footballs, basketballs and many more. A whole host of popular brands will feature in the promotion including Adidas, Puma, Under Armour, Nike, Reebok and Sketchers. 

Nick Peel, CEO of Marka said, “We are very proud of this campaign, which was driven by an inspirational idea to engage with our audience through a channel popular with the young demographic. Through this initiative we are encouraging children to go beyond their uniform and express their individuality through innovative and aspirational sporting products. The creative aspect of the campaign also allows them to express their individuality through selfies and use of the Snapchat doodle feature, interacting with the Modell’s brand in a fun and interactive way by using the hashtag #levelup.”

Snapchat is a hugely popular social channel in the region, allowing people to send private ‘snaps’ to each other complete with doodles and emoji’s. Both Facebook and Instagram have recently released updates to compete directly with the platform.