B-Corporation
Oboz Footwear
Give a shoestring startup afraid to lose its soul in marketing a document to guide it towards a 75 million dollar sale and a buyer who would carry its ethos forward.
Brand Strategy
Brand Strategy
+Beyond
Results
Hangup: Frozen on next moves because they didn’t want to “screw up”
Afraid to make the wrong marketing move, this rapidly-growing shoe startup barely had a website—appearing much more shoestring than it was. Meanwhile, momentum was building and their tactic of “stay quiet so we don’t screw anything up” wasn’t sustainable. At a critical juncture in their growth, Oboz needed to nail down their “why” before it got lost in the shuffle of marketing projects that simply had to get done.
Fix: Pause scattershot marketing to craft a long-term brand outlook.
While the brand strategy only took a few months, the full effort spanned several years—more work that can fit in a cute case study. I started with brand and then used it in every effort going forward, which included directing photoshoots, overseeing a catalog redesign, fully revamping the site with a new content strategy, rebuilding the Outdoor Retailer booth, managing social media, overhauling in-store displays, and more. A key tactic: creating brand-heavy materials for retailers so that they could help spread our message for us.
A 75 million dollar sale kept the soul intact
In the short term, the brand immediately got the whole company’s attention, uniting every employee’s efforts under a cause that rang true. After years of work and the company carrying the torch forward after I moved on, Oboz sold (as planned) in 2018 for $75 million to Kathmandu. Far from feeling like a “sell out”, the brand is now a leading outdoor retailer known for planting a tree for every pair of shoes sold.
Photo: NEOM
“Kira helped us recognize our voice and message, with a level of professionalism and personality second to none. I was impressed by how she synthesized the input from a number of team voices to present us with a creative, accurate brand portrait...something we had been struggling to do for years.”
—Taylor Mallard | Marketing Manager of Oboz Footwear
