Re-lacing

Converse

The Origins of Converse

• 1908 Company founded by Marquis M. Converse

• 1915 Converse designs its first athletic shoe

• 1917 All-Star basketball shoe Introduced

• 1921 Chuck Taylor becomes an ambassador for the All-Star shoe

+ =

Everyone’s Shoe: 50’s and 60’s

Rebels

Hippies

Jocks Greasers

Subculture Shoe: 70’s and 80’s

Punks

Skaters

Athletes

Kids

Niche Shoe: 1990’s

Punk

Grunge

The End of an Era

• 1969 Hall of Famer Chuck Taylor dies

• 1970s Converse starts to lose market share to Adidas and Nike

• 1980s Converse is no longer the official shoe of the NBA

• 2001 Converse files for bankruptcy

• 2003 Nike purchases Converse for $305 million

But the Legend Lives On…

• Converse has been in business for 100 years

• The All-Star is the most popular shoe in history

• Over 750 million pairs have been sold worldwide and are still being sold today

Converse: Who are we?

• An American legend

• Authentic, eternally hip and understated style

• A story of legends, heroes, and innovators…

Converse: What do we do?

• The originator of sport-inspired innovative footwear

• Create footwear that goes beyond performance, enabling individuality and self expression

Converse: Why does it matter?

• See and be seen

• Everyone can become an “All Star”

Converse Today

Classic ShoesJack Purcell

Chuck Taylor All Stars

Design & Style Centric

Clothing & Accessories

Design Your Own

Premium Design LineJohn Varvatos

Interactive WebsiteCommunicates Personas!

SET Factors

Product Opportunity

Gap

E

S

Economic:Many boomer empty nesters w/more disposable income

Technology:Material advancement since 1918: Nike research & development

Social:All Stars are hot, boomers are nostalgic & reconnecting w/youth

55-65 year old males who were devoted customers in high school

T

Converse for Boomers

George, 59

• Loves staying active

• Is a family man and enjoys playing with his grandkids

• Played basketball and football in high school

• His favorite hobby is playing Wii with his family

George bought a pair of Chucks

when he was 16 and wore them

until he was 21!

• Just retired from Nabisco where he worked as a mechanical engineer

• Went to boot camp with the National Guard when he was 18

• Installed a wood shop in his garage were he plans to spend most of his time working on furniture

• Runs five miles everyday with his dog

• Favorite movies are “Rambo” and “Platoon”

Dan remembers wearing his

Converse shoes to school all

the time. He even named his dog

“Chuck”

Dan, 65

Michael, 56

• Elementary school science teacher

• Married for 30 years, has three daughters and just became a grandpa

• Loves music, plays guitar, drums, harmonica and he is just learning how to play the saxophone

• Favorite brand is Honda

Michael still keeps his lucky

chucks from college and they

still fit him perfectly!

External In

ternal

Kapferer Brand Identity Prism

Physical Personality

CultureRelationship

Reflection Self Image

Dependable,

Stable, Ready for

Anything!

Red & Blue Sole

Stripes

Canvas Material

Rubber Toe Caps

“I was cool

back in the

day… and I’m

still cool now”

All

AmericanTrust

A Modern Classic

Brand Strategy Guidelines

• Preserve the all-American, classic All Star look on the outside

– Leverage existing brand trust

– Reconnect with baby boomers

• Tailor for a mature audience (without leaving youth behind)

– Incorporate higher technology/comfort

– A stylish blend of modern & classic

• Create “...an All Star that feels like an expensive European walking shoe”

Initiate “Chuck 2”

Strategy

Product Line Strategy

Classic Star LogoNatural/ Canvas Exterior Materials

Traditional Eyelets

Chuck 2: Design Guidelines

New Product Line Strategy:

Leverage Classic Style & Upgrade

Technology

Rubber Toe Cap

Tangible Extensions of Brand

Star Logo

Natural/ Canvas Exterior Materials

Traditional Eyelets

Rubber Toe Cap

Logo Identifier of the Brand

•Precise color management is

essential

•Deviations can distort or weaken the image

of Chucks 2

•If background is darker than 60% black

tone value, identifier

must be printed in

negative

•Shape of identifier must never be altered

•Identifier must be reproduced by

typography or computer

graphics only

Brand Advertising Continuity

The Chuck 2 Brand in Print

•Preferred billboard size

•View of the billboard shall not be blocked by

objects such as

buildings, light posts,

landmarks, etc.

The Chuck 2 Brand on Billboards

The Chuck 2 Brand on the Web

Conclusion & Path Forward

Summary

• Boomers were customers in their youth & are ready to come back… for the right product

• Converse has technology in-house to develop a product that will meet their needs

• The Chuck 2 brand strategy brings these facts together in a winning product

Path Forward

• Deep dive ethnographic study

• Gather stories of Boomers’ love affair with Converse

• Identify product name options

• Test and validate brand with Baby Boomers

• Kick off concept design effort

Sources

"Creating Breakthrough Products: Innovation fromProduct Planning to Program Approval" by Jonathan Cagan and Craig M. Vogel.Financial Times Prentice Hall Books, copyright 2002

The Brand Gap: How to Bridge the Distance Between Business Strategy and Designby Marty Neumeier

http://www.12manage.com/methods_kapferer_brand_identity_prism.html

http://www.chucksconnection.com/films.html

http://www.sptimes.com/2006/04/23/images/xlarge/clownshoes042306_444272.jpg

http://www.fanpop.com/spots/converse

http://www.americanpopularculture.com/assets/john_wayne.jpg

http://www.converse.com

http://blog.mlive.com/grpress/2008/04/chuck_taylor_sneakers_morph_fr.html

http://www.sneakerhead.com/manufacture-converse.html

http://www.census.gov/ipc/www/idb/