International dance crew Quick Style is in Mumbai for the second time in 2023. The crew walks us through their journey from going viral to collaborating with brands, shares the best and worst brand briefs, and reveals their dream brand collaboration.
Norwegian dance group Quick Style went viral in India during the pandemic when the group dropped a video of their moves on Kaala Chashma. The journey of Quick Crew began in 2006, when Suleman Malik, Bilal Malik, and Nasir Sirikhan joined forces, driven by their shared passion for dance and the group's breakthrough moment arrived in 2009 at Norweigan Championship.
Speaking about why the audience related with Quick Style, Sirikhan told Social Samosa, “It’s a mixture of diverse group of people, a lot of cultural music and sound, high technical level of performance mixed together with timing, and a lot of love and joy.”
Harnessing the power of the digital landscape, Quick Crew leveraged their growing popularity by sharing captivating dance videos on YouTube and Instagram. Their choreography, synchronization, and performances got millions of viewers, solidifying their position as an influential dance crew in the online space.
With 4.8 million followers on Instagram and 2.93 million subscribers on YouTube, Quick Crew's rising popularity opened doors to exciting brand collaborations, establishing them as influential figures in the advertising world. In 2009, they inked their first brand deal with Nike in Norway.
Looking back at their first brand collaboration and what it felt like, Sirikhan said, “It was a huge deal because the brand wanted us to be ambassadors for shoes, their clothing, and more. We were very young at that time and it felt like we were taken seriously by a brand.”
This collaboration paved the way for subsequent collaborations with other renowned names such as Motorola, Samsung, Emirates, Coca-Cola, Puma, Ikea, Adidas, Pepsi, Oreo, and many more. White Rivers Media handles Quick Style's brand work in the country.
These partnerships not only showcased Quick Crew's versatility and appeal but also underscored their ability to resonate with diverse audiences across the globe. On their last visit to India, they posted a video that was shot on the Mumbai local train where the crew was seen dancing to a song playing on the boAt speaker. This garnered the attention of 46.3 million Instagram users.
A couple of days later, the crew released another collaboration with boAt.
When collaborating with brands, the crew prioritizes open communication and mutual understanding and believes in establishing long-term relationships rather than engaging in short-lived collaborations.
Sirikhan said, “We need to understand what they see in us as well because we don't wanna do anything if it's just like a quick in and out, we want to do long-term relationship with brands. We want the brands to also build with us. And we pick the ones that we feel resonate with us, our values, and who we are as people which can be very broad because we are so many different people.”
Halfway through the conversation, the crew finally disclosed their dream brand collaboration would be with Louis Vuitton. However, they made it clear that their interest in partnering with the luxury brand goes beyond its reputation and prestige. It's not simply about associating with a well-known name.
They said, “We are all fans of Pharrell Williams (Creative Director of Louis Vuitton) who is a singer, artist, and also a designer.”
The crew also pointed out that they would love to collaborate with local brands too.
Since brands began collaborating with Quick Style, the aim has been to create collaborations that feel authentic and organic, rather than overtly branded. From their experience of working with brands, Quick Style has seen all kinds of briefs.
A good brand brief according to the crew is, “We love you guys, do whatever you want. It's gonna be good.”
And the worst one is, “We want exactly that move and then this long. When they are confining us within the frame of, how they see things that makes it hard for us to say yes.”
However, the crew concludes that they are ready for both.
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