Timberland is known for its iconic footwear, but in 2019 they decided to change that, and make sure people knew them for their worldwide sustainable campaign, ‘Nature Needs Heroes’. Sustainability and environmental impact are taking over the fashion industry. The ‘Nature needs heroes’ campaign that Timberland created back in 2019, was set to run through spring 2020, but it has continued to run throughout 2020 and in to 2021 growing in popularity
Timberland built up the campaign by celebrating six eco-heroes from around the world who were making a positive impact and change for the planet, they created a global community and wanted people to join the movement, in 2019 Timberland announced that they would plant 50 million trees by 2025, to help fight the effect of climate change. (CSR Wire, 2020)
Through their advertising campaign, Timberland aimed to prove to their consumers that sustainability had always been a passion of theirs and something they were dedicated to changing. The campaign set out to be one of their largest campaigns, it was set to get people talking and make a change.
The campaign came to fruition through print, digital, social media, large events, and in-store activations (CSR Wire, 2020). The use of this large-scale advertising meant that the consumer would not miss what has happening, getting the message everywhere meant that people were talking, and it conveyed how passionate Timberland as a brand were.
In-store activations and experience for Timberland’s consumer was a big part of the campaign. They opened a flagship store in London which featured real trees, green walls, and natural elements all throughout the store. (The Drum, 2019). The store concept is to tell a story about how the clothes are made and sources and focusing on how timberland are dedicated to improving the environment, it allows for consumer interaction and consumers can explore the brand in a physical way (The Drum, 2019). Instore interaction and personalization is important for consumers, and according to research done by Mckinsey&Company, it can create a positive consumer experience, which is extremely meaningful and can boost sales by 10-15%. (Mckinsey & Company, 2020).
“Timberland is excited to introduce this season’s heroes, and to engage the global community in our journey toward a greener future.”
Argu Secilmis, global VP of marketing for Timberland
The heroes in the campaign, wore footwear, apparel, and accessories from the Timberland SS20 collection, and the campaign features a promotional video, with no voiceover just music, and focuses on the heroes in the video. It was all filmed outside and reinforced to the consumer the ideologies of a green future, sustainability and saving the planet. All the parts of the promotional campaign featured the hashtag, ‘#NatureNeedsHeroes’, the use of this hashtag meant that as a brand they were able to get their message everywhere, especially on social media, which is becoming such a vital marketing tool to target customers, it allowed a conversation to start.
The campaign is still going today, underlying all the work Timberland do, starting with the huge ad campaign meant that they were able to spread the message and gain more interest. The Nature Needs Heroes campaign, has expanded, and gone from 6 featured heroes, to 15 on their website, it also features their purpose in action and as a consumer you can read articles and watch videos about the good Timberland are doing all around the world, and they are trying to fulfil the pledge that they made.
The newest part of the campaign features three purpose lead communities that Timberland have teamed up with, from Chicago, London, and Shanghai, this is a bid to encourage people to step outside and to create a better world for us to live in (HypeBeast, 2021). This next part of the campaign is so important. This new part of the campaign features videos from each of the communities they have teamed up with, and the videos give the consumers insight into what each of these communities do, and how they are trying to help and spread awareness, the use of promotional videos in an ad campaign is important as it allows the brand to add more information, extra pictures and voiceovers, and makes it more immersive for the consumer, meaning they are more likely to react to it and remember it.
Timberlands impressive work, to create such a large-scale AD campaign, meant that they could reach consumers anywhere, and allowed them to convey their message and meaning behind the campaign. It allowed them to get more people on board and it just shows how the power of good advertising and impactful campaigns is important to consumers.