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MANUFACTURING & MATERIALS INNOVATION
W
e live in an age totally
dominated by brands. Walk
down the street in any town
or city in the world and you
will see people wearing clothes and
shoes where the brand is clearly visible
as either a name or an easily
recognised logo. You have to be a
brand to get anywhere today.
That is fine for a completely finished
product, but how do you go about
promoting just one component part of
it? Furthermore, to whom should you
promote your branded component or
ingredient, manufacturers who might
use it or consumers who might buy
their product if the component was
perceived as being a positive selling
feature or, both? This is a tough one
and has only been seriously pursued in
the footwear industry during the past
forty years or so and a variety of
strategies have been tried depending
on the type of component involved.
First and foremost, the branding of
any component needs certain
fundamental properties in order to be
effective. It should preferably be
unique or identifiably different and it
needs to have verifiable quality and
performance. It also usually needs
protection against cheaper imitations.
Different components call for different
approaches, particularly regarding
whether or not they are actually visible
in the finished shoe, so let us take a
look at how some leading producers
have tackled the problem in regard to
their brands.
SOLES
Vibram is probably one of the best
known brands in the footwear industry
for
both
manufacturers
and
consumers. It started to produce
vulcanised rubber soles for climbing
boots over 70 years ago and now
supplies soles for a wide range of
sporting and outdoor activities. The
outer surface of a sole is totally visible
and Vibram has always moulded a
yellow octagon logo into the waist of
every unit produced. Over the years
this has become associated with a
technical,
quality
and
high
performance sole that can be used
with confidence. Despite this, today’s
global market requires every effort to
be made to reinforce the message to
ever more potential consumers.
Vibram therefore invests extensively in
communication, advertising and
sponsoring of precisely targeted events
whose values are aligned with its own.
To continue to offer the right
products in an dynamic market, it is
necessary to fully understand how they
are used and to keep in continuous
contact with the users themselves.
22
WORLD FOOTWEAR | MAY/JUNE 2012
Cambrelle has a unique patented pique
embossed surface.
CREDIT: CAMBRELLE
Protecting your name