The Hunt for Court People
Influencer MarketingFoot Locker replaced the sneaker-drop queue with a geo-targeted AR scavenger hunt across Los Angeles, selling out the LeBron 16 King "Court Purple" in under two hours.
About the campaign
Limited-edition sneaker drops generate intense demand, but the traditional queue rewards endurance over enthusiasm, shutting out fans who care about the culture yet cannot camp overnight. Foot Locker also had a second job to do: prove a brand-new augmented reality feature in its mobile app without it feeling like a gimmick.
Dentsu Creative's dentsu gaming team fused the two problems into one answer with The Hunt for Court People, a geo-targeted AR scavenger hunt across Los Angeles, the natural epicentre for the launch since LeBron James had just joined the Lakers and the shoe, the LeBron 16 King "Court Purple," was timed to his regular season debut. Fans opened the updated Foot Locker app to unlock location-based AR clues rendered as three-dimensional installations inspired by perceptual art and LeBron's new Lakers identity, and following the trail correctly earned early purchase access to the shoe before general release, tying a tangible reward directly to adoption of the new digital behaviour.
A network of 173 influencers amplified the hunt across social channels, while the installations themselves supplied inherently shareable content. Dentsu reports hundreds of consumers completed the physical hunt, the campaign generated 169 million impressions, and the Court Purple sold out in under two hours, all agency-reported figures.
Case in 60 seconds
Foot Locker needed to prove a brand-new augmented reality feature in its mobile app and create buzz around the LeBron 16 King "Court Purple" launch without defaulting to a traditional, queue-based limited-edition drop.
Sneaker fans are willing to go to considerable lengths for early access to a scarce shoe; replacing the passive queue with an active citywide game gives the same reward a far richer reason to participate and something worth sharing on social channels, per the Dentsu case study.
"The Hunt" — a geo-targeted AR scavenger hunt run through the Foot Locker app, with clues rendered as three-dimensional AR installations inspired by LeBron James as a newly minted Laker, placed across Los Angeles.
Fans used the updated Foot Locker app to unlock location-based AR clues across Los Angeles; correctly following the trail led them to the limited-edition sneakers before general release. 173 influencers amplified the hunt across social channels.
Per Dentsu's own case study pages, the LeBron 16 King "Court Purple" sold out in under two hours and the campaign generated 169 million impressions. All figures are agency self-reported and not independently verified.
Strategy Breakdown
The primary strategy-learning section — interpretation, not a press-release summary.
Creative & Execution System
Assets & channels
- Foot Locker mobile app (AR feature, geo-targeted clues)
- Three-dimensional AR installations across Los Angeles physical locations, influenced by perceptual art and LeBron James' Lakers identity
- Influencer social content across unspecified social platforms
Partners
- Dentsu Creative / dentsu gaming (lead agency, per Dentsu case study pages)
- 173 influencers (names not disclosed in sources)
Participation mechanic
- Fans downloaded or opened the Foot Locker app to access the AR hunt
- Location-based AR clues unlocked sequentially as participants moved through Los Angeles
- Correct completion of the hunt trail led to early purchase access for the limited-edition shoe
- Influencers amplified awareness and drove additional participants to the hunt
Creator role
- Awareness amplification: 173 influencers promoted the hunt and its results across social channels
- Participation driver: influencer content encouraged fans to take part in the physical AR experience
Results & Evidence
| Metric | Value | Result type | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total impressions | 169 million | Reach | Agency reported |
| Time to sell out | Less than 2 hours | Sales | Agency reported |
Why Dentsu Creative's strategy worked
- 1
Tying a digital feature launch to a scarce, culturally timed product gives the feature a clear first use case: participants had an immediate and tangible reason to open the app's new AR capability, as described in the Dentsu case study.
- 2
Replacing the passive queue with an active, city-scaled game repositioned the purchase moment as an experience worth seeking out, making early access feel earned rather than merely endured.
- 3
AR installations designed with perceptual art influences and tied to LeBron James' cultural identity created content that participants were motivated to document and share, extending reach organically beyond the few hundred in-person attendees.
- 4
The 173-influencer network did the bulk of the reach work, with 169 million impressions against a physical attendance described only as 'hundreds', per the Dentsu case study. This suggests the in-person mechanic functioned primarily as a content engine rather than a mass-participation event.
- 5
Choosing a single, culturally relevant market — Los Angeles, aligned with LeBron James' Lakers debut — concentrated impact and made the geographic specificity feel intentional rather than limiting.
- 6
Based on the available evidence, pairing a strong scarcity signal (limited-edition shoe, sell-out in under two hours) with a participatory mechanic may compress the purchase decision and create urgency that a standard drop does not.
