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At Merrell, the outdoor footwear and apparel firm, marketing to hikers and runners has historically been driven by the allure of the outdoors. With national restlessness percolated by the pandemic sending more of us out to hiking trails and parks, firms such as Merrell are riding an unprecedented wave of demand.
The company is a subsidiary of the shoe manufacturer Wolverine. Founded in 1981 as a producer of high-performance hiking boots, Merrell products are sold at retailers ranging from REI to DSW. Cause marketing partnerships include The Conservation Alliance and Team Rubicon.
I recently asked Merrell CMO Janice Tennant to fill us in on the firm’s marketing strategy.
Paul Talbot: How would you describe the purpose of the Merrell brand?
Janice Tennant: At Merrell, our brand purpose is to share the simple power of being outside. We know that when people spend just 15 minutes outside, they are healthier, more creative and energized.
Talbot: When you communicate your message of ‘the simple power of being outside,’ what are some of the more effective ways this has been conveyed?
Tennant: In 2020 with all the uncertainty of Covid-19, many people are feeling trapped inside on endless video calls. That’s why we wanted to bring our brand purpose to life by celebrating National Take a Hike Day in a different way this year.
This year, Merrell is encouraging consumers to get outside and explore their local areas with a month-long program, #HikeYourTurf, which also supports the National Recreation and Parks Association to help create more outdoor spaces for people to enjoy.
Talbot: One of the platforms of Merrell’s ‘The Trail Ahead’ initiative involves partnerships and storytelling. What’s happening with this to support your global marketing strategy?
Tennant: The Trail Ahead is Merrell’s social commitment and action plan to making the outdoors more inclusive for people of color and other underrepresented groups. We have been telling their authentic stories in the outdoor space over the past two years.
However, we realized that we need to do more. We have been identifying ways of rethinking established processes and relationships to drive more systemic change, as well as finding partners who want to collaborate in this effort.
For example, we’re creating a Merrell Diversity and Inclusion Council of external advocates that helps advise us on our strategic plan. And we are working with Zappos Adaptive as the first outdoor performance brand to join the Single and Different Size Shoes program. These two initiatives serve as models for similar programs that we hope to expand globally in 2021.
Talbot: What’s your team doing to strengthen your understanding the needs and interests of your customers?
Tennant: In addition to leveraging standard market research methods, such as segmentation studies, panel data, and so on, we are also learning to become ‘digital anthropologists.’ We are inhabiting digital spaces and places to observe our customers under a new lens that gives us a more intimate insight into their motivations, desires, and aspirations.
With conventional market research, we sometimes get the answers customers think we want to hear, but in this digital space we can see a more unfiltered perspective.
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December 16, 2020 at 01:51AM
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Merrell Marketing Strategy Takes A Hike - Forbes
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