KOVA: How We Market a Consistently Sold-Out Brand

How do you maintain an engaging online presence for a brand that’s consistently sold out without frustrating its audience due to limited stock? The answer lies in community.

That’s right—KOVA bags fly off the shelves as soon as they’re stocked. With an ever-growing order list, our client frequently closes sales to fulfill existing orders. So, how do you market a brand when there’s no immediate product to sell? This was the challenge we faced as we prepared the year-end content for the account.

After managing the KOVA account for over a year, we’ve come to understand that the KOVA community is more than just customers—it’s a tribe. Pride radiates from every purchase and every bag carried, to the point where the audience has affectionately dubbed themselves "KOVA Huns" and "KOVA Hunks."

We saw this strong community identity as the perfect opportunity to tap in and celebrate the individuals who carry KOVA with pride. Our approach? Celebrate and honour who they are. We identified six distinct archetypes within the KOVA tribe and decided to bring them to life through a tailored campaign. This campaign included a full content shoot, captivating copy, and a narrative that highlighted these archetypes in an authentic and engaging way.

The six archetypes we identified are: Entrepreneur, Mom, Baddie, Cool Girl, Androgynous, and Corporate. Each of these personas represents a unique segment of the KOVA community, embodying the diversity, confidence, and boldness that KOVA bags inspire.

Instead of pushing the product, we thought—why not distract them by celebrating them? By shining a spotlight on the incredible individuals who are already part of the KOVA tribe, we could keep the brand top of mind in an engaging, authentic way. This approach would not only avoid frustrating the audience with a lack of stock but also turn the attention toward honouring them.

In doing so, we anticipated a win-win situation. Not only would we continue nurturing the existing community, but we also expected to draw in new customers by showcasing the aspirational lifestyle that KOVA represents. And, of course, this strategy would build anticipation—enticing people to stay ready to shop the moment orders reopened.

In the lead-up to the shoot, we carefully produced a stunning mood-board, look-book, and a detailed shot list to ensure everything was aligned and ready for the day.

Our model for the day was Josette, the perfect embodiment of a KOVA Hun. For the location, we chose The Village, a vibrant and dynamic space that offered the versatility needed to capture all the archetypes in their unique scenarios.

When the day arrived, the energy was palpable. Call time was set for 9 am, and by 10 am, we were rolling. The shoot was smooth and efficient, with each look coming to life in vibrant settings. By 4 pm, we had wrapped up a highly successful shoot, feeling accomplished and confident that we had captured the essence of each KOVA archetype.

Here are some shots. See if you can identify each hun and which archetype they represent.
To see more of the campaign, head over to KOVA’s Instagram.