In addition to excellent sales numbers, New Balance prides itself on being transparent with its collaborative nature, as well as creating tongue-in-cheek marketing campaigns to fit both economic and environmental climates. By partnering within growth-centric spaces like gaming, were working to solidify the position New Balance has as a current product leader in this space. While the virus has exposed some of our countrysdeepest shortcomings, it has also spawned new modesof thinking and ways of caring for others. The emergence of targeted marketing and mission statements based in societal values have both changed the consumer landscape. Davis left New Balance in 2019 after nearly 10 years at the company. We will neverbe a brand that talks about what we are going to do, weare going to be a brand that talks about what we do do, Davis says. Revenues at Boston-based global athletic company New Balance soared to almost $4.5bn last year and the leadership have ambitious plans to reach $7bn by 2023.. Chris Davis / New Balance: Director of Global Brand Marketing: Tim Malone / New Balance: Head of Global Brand: Steven Ruhl / New Balance: Head of Global Creative: Janet Perry / New Balance: This 2018 Clio Sports Silver winning entry titled 'Fearlessly Independent Since 1906' was entered for New Balance by VML, New York. We moved more dollars and created more content geared toward the top of the funnel and strived to connect with consumers on a more emotional level with topical conversations that were being had. Perfectly said, Chris Davis. And conversely, weve learned that when our brand is healthy, 574 is healthy. Our marketing formula is about connecting] the right story with the right cultural ambassador at the right moment in time, and if were able to culturally connect with consumers during the right moments of time when they want to be spoken to, the engagement levels are off the charts, Watch marketplaces are racing to connect European brands with Asian consumers, UK holiday sales underscore the strength of physical retail, The Clear Cuts Olivia Landau on modernizing the diamond shopping experience, HipDot is creating collectible experiences with music-themed palettes. All rights reserved. Congratulations to you, the extraordinary team and organization making it all happen. Today we still utilize pods, its a major component on how we operate. We want authenticity. ", Phillips Exeter Academy, 20 Main Street, Exeter, NH 03833-2460, 2023. This means partnering with updated distribution channels such as those in the gaming space. The New Balance Foundation has donated over $100 million to underserved communities, specifically fighting childhood obesity. Greater Boston Area. Business owners across the country and theworld shuttered their shops in March following government mandates to control the spreadof the coronavirus. ", "Im most concerned about [making] a change that will last, especially for my children andmy childrens children. Shifting a 110-year-old product into a contemporary, world-class athletic brand while the world around us was changing came with its own set of difficulties. So we embrace yesterday, but even more so embrace tomorrow and ensure that we have a strong equilibrium of what has brought us forth for the last 115 years, but more importantly whats going to take us to the next level over the next 115 years. Feeling uncomfortable, taking a risk and adapting quickly to new times is something weve tried to ingrain within the cultural expectation of our marketing department, Davis says. So when the pandemic first hit, our first instinct wasnt necessarily business-related. All Rights Reserved. Chris Davis's Email. When I asked Chris if PR /earned media was as big a focus as paid digital content, he responded that disruption is the key to both earned and owned media if your content disrupts, it will drive media interest Hear, Hear Chris! So we like to say that we dont really sponsor anyone, but we partner with a lot of different individuals and properties across the world. So thats a great self-fulfilling prophecy. We really like to have long-term relationships with our ambassadors because we dont want advocacy. New Balance Chief Marketing Officer and SVP Merchandising Chris Davis will explain how the global sports brand approached the worldwide Covid pandemic through positive messaging, resulting in economic and social impact. Chris Davis is the Chief Marketing Officer & Senior Vice President of Merchandising at New Balance and a board member of Rival. Congratulations! He can work out three times a day at gyms nearby. We worked collaboratively with Tufts Medical, Harvard Medical and Massachusetts General Hospital and literally in the course of three weeks we transformed our manufacturing facilities into making masks. However, you have to provide them with something as well. You guys have a fascinating array of the partnerships that youve created with the athletes, as well as cultural leaders or activists. With these gaming partnerships, dwell time increases. Your submission has been received! Chris Davis is the Chief Marketing Officer & Senior Vice President of Merchandising at New Balance and a board member of Rival. 20% of our budget is purely dedicated to experimental marketing. New Balance's latest digital-centered campaign dubbed "Letters to My Future Self" wants you to explore what would you tell yourself, and reveals what some of its renowned brand . . No, don't worry, New Balance is not ceasing production on the 996, 1500, and 997. How does the brand find balance between those gaps?We wouldnt really define that as a gap. Addressing and embracing that challenge is something that we have owned as a brand and really made part of our identity. Keep going for the gold and congratulations! We distribute product in over 130 countries 70% of our business is outside of the U.S. so we began this globalization process prior to the pandemic. And thats where youll be able to attract a multitude of different consumers to your brand. If you have the capability torise, we believe that you should. Since then, he has gained significant experience at Warrior Sports and New Balance Athletics in merchandising, manufacturing, product management, brand management and sports marketing. A baseball fanatic has created . I have a tremendous amount of respect for what my parents have built and how theyve built it with such a great culture and a values-based approach. Chris Davis is currently Chief Marketing . In that time, New Balance has elevated far, far beyond any dad-shoe meme: they're a top-3 global athleticwear powerhouse. In 1976, New Balance launched the 320, the first New Balance sneaker to feature the now-famous ' N ' logo. We always viewed it as a sibling. Reflects change since 5 pm ET of prior trading day. "These are in our reach," Chris Davis, New Balance's chief marketing officer and SVP of global merchandising, told FN during the Fairchild Media Group Sustainability Summit. We are learning everyday about how to talk about the issues more effectively and action ourselves more effectively against universal issues that impact individuals across the globe. As a modern brand, New Balance brings a fresh collaboration strategy to our portfolio, sporting big names like Jaden Smith and Jack Harlow. Davis has been a part of the brand for 14 years where he first started out as an events operations manager during the 2008 Beijing Olympics for New Balance. We've got you covered with the best restaurants and deals. What role do talent partnerships and influencers play in your current strategy, and why? And thats when the most authentic stories will come. Team members that feel trusted in their roles directly affect the way in which consumers experience a brand. We also have a program where you can send in your shoe and get it refurbished., Were using solar-powered roof panels in some of our owned factories, as well as exploring wind turbines. We try to identify individuals and brands who embody that fiercely independent mindset and entrepreneurial spirit so we can co-create something that intersects our values and our storytelling. NHL. New Balances approach to partnerships consists of a co-authored approach where partners are heavily involved in product and content strategy and business planning overall. You hired Darius Bazely as an intern. Whats in that 20% experimental budget bracket right now is there a role for the NFTs or the metaverse? Youll see us penetrate the fashion space in a greater way rather than [only] in streetwear culture, runway culture or entertainment. Youre a big proponent of taking a 50-30-20 approach to your budget. And we were pitching Darius to be our first NBA athlete to help launch the New Balance brand into basketball. So, how has New Balance been able to stand out and truly provide a top-tier product for over a century? New Balance doesnt ask athletes /celebrity endorsers to simply promote sponsorships, they want them to be partners and invest in the brand as much as the brand invests in them. We have many athletes and ambassadors within the portfolio who are tremendous partners who all say something authentically about our brand, and we truly strive to utilize them in sport and in culture. [. Oops! I also think that you really have to embrace the fact that not everyones going to be your friend and not everybody needs to like you, but you need to make the honest, fair, and difficult decisions to have everybody respect you. Listen to the podcast. Is the idea of debt something you . New Balance is not only "the shoe brand of choice for film stars, athletes and supermodels," according to Urban Journal, it's the brand for "the biggest, hype-inducing names on the street right now."As CMO of the hotly resurgent brand, which was born in 1906, Chris Davis applies a risk/innovation model which puts 50% of the marketing budget into proven, demand-creation tactics, 30% . Brand Innovators caught up with him from his home office near New Balances Boston headquarters to learn more about his fewer, bigger, better approach to marketing in the pandemic era, his criteria for celebrity partners and why, in the wake of the companys record revenue growth, we havent even begun to scratch the surface of what we're capable of. The conversation has been edited for length and clarity. In May of 2020, she founded KADA, a sustainable apparel brand for women. Its really our civic duty.. How are said products affecting the environment around us? Since then, he has led teams at Warrior Sports and New Balance Athletics in brand management, global business unit management, sports marketing, global brand marketing and global product merchandising. So we took on an even more selective approach with a fewer, bigger, better mindset and focused on prioritizing the most important initiatives from a business standpoint in the organization first. 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