Saturday, September 27, 2008

The Progression of a Brand





DC Shoe company, has launched easily one of my favorite campaigns of the year. The campaign, "Progression" was kicked off with a $25 coffee table book, Agents of Change featuring photography chronicling the shoe company's rise to be one of the most influential athletic brands of all time. Says DC President Ken Block of the book,

"It puts it all in perspective...People involved in the sports can look at the book for the stories on the athletes and the photos, but its reach is huge beyond that."

The campaign is equally far reaching, a recent relaunch of the DC website matches the solemn black & White photography and elegant story telling of the book and sits in stark contrast to how the public viewed the alternative sports industry in the 1990's. In August the company aired the first commercial toting the progression tag line and an equally solemn yet elegant track "Figure 8" originally from the show, School House Rocks provides a surreal sound track. DC seems to have tapped into something amazing in that they have realized that their customers like the company itself, has grown up in the last couple years and that the 14 year-old year athlete in 1994, is now turning 28.