CASE STUDY / G-SHOCK
G-SHOCK
Apparel & Accessories | Cultural Marketing
Casio's famously indestructible G-SHOCK watch reached its 40th anniversary with a cult following among athletes and a broader audience drawn to its durability. To mark four decades, Casio and 5W identified a unique collaboration with Super Mario - a limited-edition watch. The strategic rationale: both brands are cultural icons born in 1980s Japan, both share a "never give up" ethos, and both were celebrating major milestones. 5W was assigned to launch the collaboration and use it to propel G-SHOCK back into the cultural conversation, ensuring the 40-year-old brand stayed exquisitely relevant.
5W leaned into the nostalgia trend that has captured Gen Z and Millennials - the same cultural force behind the return of Top Gun, Y2K fashion, and the Stranger Things soundtrack. The G-SHOCK x Super Mario collaboration was framed around that shared nostalgia and launched with a robust media strategy across business, lifestyle, fashion, video games, anime, and trade outlets. The team tracked the news cycle in real time for newsjacking moments tied to gaming and 80s culture.
STRATEGY
RESULTS
- 73M+ media impressions
- Owned the launch news cycle, including a definitive feature in GQ
- Coverage in HypeBeast, CNET, Inverse, Crunchyroll, and other gaming and lifestyle outlets
- Sales success: a one-watch-per-customer limit remained in place on the Casio website post-launch
FAQ
How do legacy brands stay culturally relevant—
Legacy brands stay relevant through unexpected collaborations that bridge generations, by tapping into emotional drivers like nostalgia, and by reaching cultural verticals their core marketing typically misses - gaming, anime, fashion, and design press alongside traditional trade outlets.
What is a brand collaboration strategy—
A brand collaboration strategy pairs two brands whose values, heritage, or audience overlap in a way that earns media attention beyond what either brand could generate alone. The G-SHOCK x Super Mario collab generated 73M+ impressions because both brands were 1980s Japanese icons celebrating 40-year milestones together.
How does 5W support consumer technology and accessories brands—
5W combines cultural strategy, lifestyle media relations, gaming and entertainment press, and influencer activation to drive launches that reach beyond traditional consumer tech coverage.
What outlets cover branded collaborations—
Top outlets include GQ, HypeBeast, CNET, Inverse, Crunchyroll, Highsnobiety, Complex, and Vogue Business. The right outlet mix depends on the cultural lanes of each brand in the collaboration.
How do you measure a cultural marketing campaign—
Cultural campaigns are measured through media impressions, sentiment, sell-through and stock depletion, social conversation volume, and earned mentions in tier-one cultural outlets - not just trade press.
