Dive Brief:
- Sport sandal footwear brand Teva last week introduced a new brand anthem, dubbed “For Playground Earth,” highlighting its commitment to crafting footwear for trail, water and camp and to encourage exploration.
- The campaign features new imagery and video creative across digital retail, owned media, out-of-home placements, and paid social over all platforms.
- As part of the effort, Teva debuted the Bureau of Adventure, formed to bring together ambassadors and athletes to test new products before they come to market and share the brand’s mission.
Dive Insight:
Teva’s “For Playground Earth” campaign is meant to encourage a new generation to go outside, seek adventure and preserve the landscape.
“For Playground Earth is more than just a campaign; it’s our way of celebrating our roots while committing to the future of Teva,” Lee Cox, global vice president and general manager of Teva and AHNU, said in a statement.
Ambassadors who will road test new products include ultrarunners Mike Wardian and Erin Ton, professional kayakers Dane Jackson and Evy Liebfarth and fly fisherwoman Shyanne Orvis.
“For over 40 years, Teva has taken people down rivers, up mountains, along trails and everywhere in between,” Jess Bensley, Teva product director, said in a statement. “In the years to come, we're focusing on revisiting our performance roots, to take the brand further into those wild places than it’s ever been.”
Teva will highlight a series of new footwear products for its spring/summer outdoor season while emphasizing its roots around the original sport sandal that was first introduced in 1984 by founder Mark Thatcher.
As it looks to expand its customer base, Teva has introduced new hiking, trail runners, technical water shoes and camp-inspired comfort footwear. As part of the spring/summer collection, key product highlights include three new trail running styles, a closed-toe spinoff of the original Hydratrek water series, an all-gender ApreTrail post-recovery slide, and new offerings from both the Everyday and Sunscape collections.
Cox likened the new campaign to a reset for Teva, which has seen its sales slide over the past couple of years amid increased competition in the outdoor market.
In the third quarter, Teva brand net sales fell 6% year over year to $24.1 million, while parent company Deckers overall sales increased 17.2% to $1.6 billion, driven by sales growth in its Hoka and Ugg brands.
Deckers has undergone several changes recently. The company appointed Stefano Caroti as its new CEO after Dave Powers stepped down last year. The company in August engineered a deal to sell the Sanuk brand to athleticwear company Lolë Brands, and in January Deckers announced it was phasing out its Koolaburra brand.
