Timberland is helping its customers express themselves. The company teamed up with Boston-based agency Arnold to create 10061.com, a Web site dedicated to inspiring consumer expression and celebrating community.
The creative team at Arnold was faced with the task of assisting Timberland,–a company rooted in giving back to the community–in building deeper relationships with consumers. The lightbulb came on when they found out about a project the company had recently initiated called the Boroughs Project. Under the creative direction of renowned designer Jeff Ng, the Boroughs project brings together artists representing the five boroughs of New York to each design a signature Timberland boot that reflects their passion for their community. Timberland will make a donation to an organization each artist supports.
The team decided creating a Web site to house the Boroughs project was a natural fit for bonding with customers and building an online community around the brand.
“It’s usually challenging to try and convince a client to do something that’s not completely just about product and selling. We’re fortunate to work with Timberland because they really get the fact that commerce and social responsibility and community can all work together,” said Chris Carl, one of the creative directors at Arnold who worked on the project.
The Art and Community Section features video shorts that share the artists’ inspiration and early renderings of their designs, which will be unveiled gradually on 10061.com. For instance, visitors get to know Brooklyn’s David Ellis and his philosophy–to pursue your dreams but, because he’s from Brooklyn, to protect yourself. They also learn why his charity is a high school that concentrates on art as well as science and the environment.
“The videos deliver the message that there was purpose behind what they were doing. Not only artistically did their boot have a concept in expressing their community, but there was also an element of them being involved in various organizations and the sales of the boots go towards those organizations they support. The idea was to be able to communicate that there was purpose behind what went on that boot and there was purpose behind making it in the first place,” explained Carl.
The Boroughs Project was the perfect starting point, but they wanted to further engage consumers nationwide. The site also provides visitors with the chance to express their passion for their own communities in the User Gallery. There they can upload artwork, films, written stories, photography or other forms of self-expression. The work is then put on display for other site visitors and will eventually be judged by a panel of Timberland designers and affiliates as part of the Boroughs contest. A Grand Prize winner will travel to New York for an immersion day at Timberland’s new design center, where they will collaborate in the design of their own signature boot.
“It’s always rewarding as a creative person to inspire someone to do anything. A lot of people can look at your ad and glance over it and never do a thing,” Carl said. “The ultimate thing is to have someone do something. The fact that someone sees the site and goes out and shoots something with a camera, or digs around in their sketchbook, or actually creates something new is great. As a result of what we have done, they are expressing themselves. We’re making people think.”
The site, which is being supported by outdoor advertising in several U.S. cities, also has a Showroom of new, upcoming products and a link to Timberland’s popular “Design Your Own Boot” offering. The name of the site comes from the original sku number of the authentic yellow boot.
“It was such a nice way to say what we founded this company on still lives in us today, but it has other life beyond that,” said Carl.
The User Gallery and artist section did pose some technically challenging scenarios, but nothing that Salt Lake City-based branding/graphic design firm Struck Design couldn’t handle. Struck, founded by Jason Bangerter and Ryan Goodwin, specializes in high-end interactive projects.
“They were great at making something happen that we wanted to happen or bring something to the table we didn’t think of that actually made sense. There was a really good collaboration there,” Carl said.
Looking ahead, the Web site will keep evolving. “What we loved about the Boroughs idea to begin with is we think that you can scale it and migrate it to different communities around that world that can really serve not only as sources of information for other people but as sources of inspiration for Timberland themselves,” said John Kieselhorst, another creative director who was involved with the project. He added that next year there will be an update to the artists section with a focus on other cultural capitals like New York.
“Whenever you can do anything that combines art and advertising, it is rewarding. It’s nice to be working on projects that do more than just sell something,” commented Carl. “What it actually is going to accomplish is a lot bigger than just selling some boots. The fact that we can marry those two things together in a way that does some good for our client and also does some good for everyone else out there is pretty rewarding.”
A Closer Look At Proposed Measures Designed To Curb Google’s Search Monopoly
U.S. regulators are proposing aggressive measures to restore competition to the online search market after a federal judge ruled Google maintained an illegal monopoly for the last decade.
The sweeping set of recommendations filed late Wednesday by the U.S. Department of Justice could radically alter Google's business, including possibly spinning off the Chrome web browser and syndicating its search data to competitors. Even if the courts adopt the blueprint, Google isn't likely to make any significant changes until 2026 at the earliest, because of the legal system's slow-moving wheels.
Here's what it all means:
What is the Justice Department's goal?
Federal prosecutors are cracking down on Google in a case originally filed during near the end of then-President Donald Trump's first term. Officials say the main goal of these proposals is to get Google to stop leveraging its dominant search engine to illegally squelch competition and stifle innovation.
"The playing field is not level because of Google's conduct, and Google's quality reflects the ill-gotten gains of an advantage illegally acquired," the Justice Department asserted in its recommendations. "The remedy must close this gap and deprive Google of these advantages."
Not surprisingly, Google sees things much differently. The Justice Department's "wildly overbroad proposal goes miles beyond the Court's decision," Kent Walker, Google's chief legal officer, asserted in a blog post. "It would break a range of Google products — even beyond search — that people love and find helpful in their everyday lives."
It's still possible that the Justice Department could ease off on its attempts to break up Google, especially if President-elect Donald Trump... Read More