Profile... Calegari banks on music to enage Asia's youth

As regional head of marketing for Converse, Cheryl Calegari is - as one might expect - not short of energy. She’s certainly a hard person to pin down; even a brief photoshoot takes months to arrange. But when one does catch up with her, it’s clear she is someone who is fun to be around and enjoys an audience.

In addition to her day job, which she describes as “the coolest on the planet”, Calegari is an accomplished stand-up comedienne, writing and performing for a long-running US-based comedy project, Mortified, hailed as a “cultural phenomenon” by Newsweek.

Her love of the stage was no doubt an inspiration for Converse’s live-music-oriented branding strategy in Asia-Pacific. The company has just rolled out a follow-up to its ‘Love noise’ initiative, which sought to align Converse with China’s rock music scene.

Music certainly seems a passion for Calegari. “I like everything from indie to R&B to soul to heavy metal. I grew up listening to Iron Maiden, Judas Priest and Metallica. When we first came to China, the scene was messy and amateur. But the passion was there.”

That was nearly three years ago. Having moved from a PR role with the firm in New York, where she also oversaw entertainment marketing, Calegari embarked on the ‘Love noise’ campaign alongside Beijing-based film-maker Liu Feng. At its centre was a documentary, distributed by Converse retailers across China in January that followed the progress of up-and-coming Beijing bands PK14 and Queen Sea Big Shark as they made a nationwide road trip. Calegari claims the work was “the first of its kind in China”, affording Converse the chance to shine in the feverish run-up to the Olympics.

“Lots of brands were competing in a similar space,” she says. “It was a great opportunity to celebrate Converse and demonstrate originality in China.”

The initiative impressed industry observers. “It really made a strong statement that Converse was serious about promoting Chinese indie music,” notes Sean Leow, founder and chief executive of Neocha.com, a Shanghai-based consultancy that connects brands with China’s creative community.

“No other brands had previously made as big a commitment and investment with this community. Now you see quite a few following Converse’s lead. It set the tone for the Converse brand, and more importantly aligned it with the creative community, which will show its value over the long term.”

The latest installment, ‘Music + lyrics’, aims to capture the attention of music fans across 11 regional markets this Autumn by providing a platform for almost 30 independent bands, including PK14 once again, Midnight Marvel from Singapore and Teenage Death Star from Indonesia. Running until December, the campaign focuses on a day in the life of a music fan, and offers a range of online content relating to underground music scenes across Asia.

Calegari says that, while the brand is “sport-inspired”, with a 100-year history it has “lots of heritage in different spaces so there is a place for everyone”.

She points to Converse’s global credentials among the music and artistic communities as giving the brand licence to experiment and to support the growth of China’s fast-moving entertainment scene.

“Content generation is the way things are going. There is such an opportunity for our brand within these spaces.”

And while she does not discount the importance of ‘traditional’ advertising (created alongside Wieden & Kennedy, the global AOR for parent company Nike) to generate awareness, she says the focus will “always be to pursue that next level to create content and collaborate with people who are changing culture and represent the voice of a generation”.

Kel Hook, MD of Wieden & Kennedy Shanghai, calls Calegari “a very good client on a number of fronts”. He adds: “It’s very refreshing for our creative teams. We don’t have to second-guess what’s in her head; it’s a very open and honest relationship, and there’s no sense of client/agency divide. She’s also a hell of a lot of fun.”

For Calegari, one of the most satisfying aspects of her work is giving people “an opportunity to hear music they usually wouldn’t” in association with the Converse brand. The strategy looks set to evolve. “We as a brand have always celebrated music, and our dedication to music will continue throughout.”

Cheryl Calegari’s CV
2005 Senior marketing director, Asia-Pacific, Converse
2003 Independent communications and marketing consultant
1999 VP public relations, Tommy HIlfiger
1995 PR consultant, Kenneth Cole


This article was originally published in 8 October 2009 issue of Media.