Zumiez had to get even more creative than usual this year with its annual 100k celebration that honors the top sales people in the company.
Usually, the huge elaborate party is held in Keystone, Colorado and includes not only top sellers but also brand executives, Zumiez leadership, industry athletes, high-profile music acts and more.
This year, the party had to go virtual and Zumiez produced a one-of-a-kind video that featured a talking painting of CEO Rick Brooks, funny takes of top sellers in their own stores, and interactions with athletes, artists and more.
There were also breakout events such as lip sync dance parties, chats with Founder Tom Campion, and panels with athletes and influencers.
The No. 1 seller was Brendon Andrews from Portland who sold $684,059.
Zumiez Creative Director Stephanie Savage answered some questions for us about the virtual event, called KNOT 100k.
How did Zumiez try to capture the spirit of the 100k in a virtual format?
Zumiez Creative Director Stephanie Savage: Zumiez 100K has always been about recognition and connection. We knew that even with the challenges of this year and the pandemic – we still needed to bring people together – even if it wasn’t in real life.
What new features did you add this year?
Stephanie Savage: We had been doing a few digital events with brands at a variety of levels for both customers and employees this year, so we leveraged that same process for KNOT 100K in face-to-face calls, streams, Instagram and connecting on our own server, which we call Discord.
What were some of the major prizes for top winners?
Stephanie Savage: Our No.1 got rent for a year from RIPNDIP, a trip to Japan (when it’s safe!) from Lurking Class, an iconic framed art piece from Shepard Fairey of Obey, $10,000 from Vans, and a Subaru from Hypeland.
The Top 10 also got custom Mervin snowboards, Fender guitars from Vans, art from Jim Phillips of Santa Cruz and a trip and $2,500 in cash from Danny Duncan that includes an invitation to  compete against each other on a game show that will be featured on his YouTube channel.
Can you explain how the raffle tickets and gift shop work?
Stephanie Savage: Raffle tickets were distributed through Discord, our digital community. Depending on your sales number, you started with a certain amount. The illusive KNOTBOT would play games for tickets – which some people either won, or totally lost. Anyone could give someone else the tickets they have on hand – but some store leadership ran their own contests for their people for tickets.
As for the KNOTTA STORE, employees had their tickets transferred over so they could shop the site. The KNOTTA STORE encompassed the prize booth/raffle and promo – things you’d normally get at the 100K afterparty.
Are there any elements that were created for the virtual format that you can envision being incorporated next year?
Stephanie Savage: We learned that we can totally build up the stars of the event, who are the Top 10, Â and the connection between people sooner, no matter what platform we use.
That, and collaborating from the start with our store team. Collaborating with them ultimately helped in shaping the success of this event. We quite literally could KNOT have done this without them.
