Timberland is essentially an American brand with an adventurous, let’s-get-out-there audience across Europe. The brand has had a presence in Foot Locker stores for some time, but Timberland wanted to do more – to inspire two disparate audiences (Timberland fans and Foot Locker fans) to dive deeper into the Timberland urban adventure.
The challenge was made more complex by the pan-European nature of the campaign and the fact that 2023 was Timberland’s 50th anniversary. There would be many other Timberland campaigns running in parallel.
We kept close to the brand’s connection with discovery, but pitched it for an urban audience whose patches of greenery and abandoned desolation are walled in by concrete and steel. And then we went hyperlocal. No influencers or agency models for this shoot: we chose local authenticators who would bring the brand to life in the reassuringly European urban jungle of Rotterdam.
The stills and AV we shot formed the basis for a wide-ranging campaign that would resonate across Europe’s Timberland and Foot Locker audiences. By building versatility into the content, we were able to use it across all channels – social, digital, and retail – and territories to maximise the client’s budget.
For bigger, flagship stores we created a lively installation in front of a full-height AV background. The event featured local DJs, influencers, and tattoo artists who used pyrography to customise boots live instore. This was the point where the audiences for the two brands came together as one: united by style, adventurousness, and the desire to stand out from the crowd in unique, yet subtle ways.
