👟 What shoes can teach us about storytelling

LaunchSquad’s fledgling consumer practice took off with a viral video—specifically, promoting the Obama Girl phenomenon of 2008 for client BarelyPolitical. We’ve since partnered with dozens of breakout startups, beloved heritage brands, and mission-driven products across apparel, food, wellness, beauty, and more. But if you were to flip through our consumer portfolio as a whole, you may notice a recurring theme: shoes. 

From Rothy’s and Allbirds to Ariat and On—we’ve gone deep on the science, fashion, and story of footwear.

I sat down with three of LaunchSquad’s resident consumer experts—Senior Vice President Lisa Picasso and Vice Presidents Laura Abbott and Caroline Cammarano—to discuss the evolving world of communications and PR storytelling through the lens of shoes. Between them, they have 40 years of combined comms experience and at least seven shoe-centric clients. 

They shared lessons learned from stories that worked (and some that didn’t), insights into the changing ways consumer brands reach audiences, and how this work has changed their own relationship to the shoes on their feet. 

Why are we specifically talking about shoes as an anchor point? Is there something about shoes that makes for rich storytelling?

LISA: What’s interesting about shoes is it's ultimately about manufacturing. This makes apparel, like a lot of other markets, ripe for major disruption. Historically, manufacturing happens in a black box. For a long time now, we, as consumers, haven't actually understood where the materials are coming from, how it's made, why it’s priced the way it is, etc.

So it’s not surprising LaunchSquad went from being solely focused on tech clients to expanding into apparel and shoes because it’s a classic LaunchSquad tech innovation story at its core. It's a product that can be told through the lens of, "Let's take something we all know that has existed for thousands of years and talk about a totally new way to make it.” Given the context of the direct-to-consumer boom, shoes kind of started to wedge their way in there.

CAROLINE: All of the shoe brands we've worked with come at the category with a perspective of innovation, material science, and manufacturing. So shoes are a good opportunity to talk about some of the big changes that were and are happening in consumer products and apparel broadly. They're also ‘single hero’ products people can understand and relate to. They do have a lot of engineering and precision in them that will allow you to unpack the story, but then also a ton of lifestyle potential. As opposed to a T-shirt or a pair of jeans, a shoe is more of a piece of engineering than any of those.

LISA: I think also—and this is maybe from the Nike era—we as consumers like to find our identity in the things we wear, some people more than others. Shoes play a major role in that. It's pretty hard to break into the category of shoes as a new brand because you have these storied companies and brands that are status symbols. But it’s also an opportunity to help re-engineer something and help a customer reshape their identity with the shoes they're choosing to wear.

Let’s talk about the work. Is there a common approach we’ve taken to building differentiated market narratives for shoe brands? 

LISA:  With consumer products we often think of it in chapters. The first chapter covers the origin story and where it contextually fits into the world. We do this before we get too prescriptive, like "This is for the traveler or for the commuter." Just start at the beginning asking questions like, "What is happening with shoes today broadly? What do they need to do for us? And, as we ask with all the products we're consuming now, where is it made? What are the materials?"

We definitely started this way with Allbirds. We did that with Rothy's, too. That's a special opportunity for any new product entering the market today. If they can really test the mettle of that manufacturing story by sharing it with consumers, it's a powerful thing. And for consumers, that story is valuable to them. Then, as you get further in the storytelling journey, you’re able to start defining things more specifically like, "This is for dads on the go," or whatever.

CAROLINE: Yes, and oftentimes with those manufacturing or design stories, you can bring consumers along the journey of why it's made a specific way, with specific materials, for a specific purpose. Because if you're entering into a crowded market, you have to be doing it differently, or providing some kind of new perspective. Otherwise, why would people buy this new shoe and not one of the other shoes on the shelf?

LISA: Totally. I often land somewhere in the vein of: just make something amazing, and then whoever loves it will find it and use it. You don't set up an agenda to define an exact audience, where you’re going to make something exactly for them and sell exactly to them. You can have a compass and maybe market research, but I'm kind of a purist when it comes to: "Make something amazing that you think can be re-engineered or recast, see what happens, and follow that thread."

To that point, shoes are inherently somewhat opinionated about their purpose (ex: a high heel versus a work boot), as opposed to clothing that’s more versatile. Does that make crafting a market story easier or more difficult?

LAURA:  In some ways, it makes it easier because you can work backward to find your audience. With Taos, it was a different approach because they already had an amazing product. It was a legacy brand we were trying to help breathe new energy into. So we did start with the question, "Who is the Taos person today?" We built a whole persona for them around a woman named 'Gayle,' how she would use the shoes, how they would fit into her life, and the stories that we would tell from there. 

With On, we've done a similar thing. When we think about the engineering story of an On shoe and their customer’s story, the two are intrinsically tied. When they launched their first shoe, there was a physics story behind it—they’ve actually changed the physics of how your foot lands in a shoe and the way that it propels off the ground. And that is tied to a customer who cares about impact and speed for running versus someone who's maybe on the tennis court. Having a specific product and engineering or design story like that inform the stories you tell is really powerful, especially because the market is so broad today. 

To follow that thread, Laura, you’ve led programs for more than one legacy brand — like Taos and Ariat. They came to us with existing market success and specifically wanted to recast, refine or expand their story in some new way. How does that process differ from working with a brand-new startup?

LAURA: With Ariat, honestly, it was their origin story that had never been fully told. They were the first to put a rubber sole on a boot when, historically, all boots had been made with leather. Except, when you're on a farm, and you're walking through mud or animal urine, it erodes the sole immediately. Beth [Cross], the founder of the company, was a consultant in the 80s when Nike and Reebok were first taking off and making basketball shoes, she asked, "Why can't we build the sole of a rubber basketball shoe that lasts and put it on a boot?" She had grown up exposed to farm animals and horses during her childhood. So she said, "I'm gonna go do it myself."

That's the self-starter entrepreneurship 'well-I’m-gonna-go-build-it' sensibility that runs through most of the companies we work with. Even if it’s a legacy brand like Taos or an Ariat, they're coming to us saying, “We're 25 years old, but we are applying fundamentally new thinking or technology to a product that's been around for decades. No one knows that we've done this." They often still want to be known as the company that's innovating, the company that's doing things differently, despite their longevity as a brand. It's an interesting question: can we apply the same formula of uncovering an origin story [or] new technology story for a company that's 25 years old vs 1 year old? The answer is yes.

That's the throughline of questions we ask ourselves for every client we bring in: Do they have something innovative? Are they fundamentally doing something different? If so, how do we make that known and uncover why it matters? Why should people care?

For Ariat, the "why" was: if you're someone who works and lives your life outdoors (whether you are climbing telephone poles and working for a utility company, riding bulls, or an Olympic equestrian), it really matters if you have athletic performance for grip, or for fireproofing, or required safety standards, etc. This is shoe innovation that can be actually life-changing for people.

LISA: Laura, did they come to us knowing what they wanted? What was their initial objective? 

LAURA: They were previously focused on fashion and lifestyle and were doing glossy placements. Anytime someone did an equestrian-style shoot or country-styled content, they were getting really good product placement. But they wanted people to actually understand the brand’s DNA and the intention behind every product decision. Because in the past 10+ years, there have been all these new kinds of boot companies that have emerged. 

It came down to us realizing that product storytelling alone isn't enough. They knew they made a good product but wanted people to understand what they were really all about and why they should choose Ariat over a Lucchese or a Tecova. And because they had this edge with the technology, they wanted to know if there was an opportunity to revisit their roots and origin story. They wanted to see if they could get it to matter that they actually have a stake in the ground around the way they manufacture the materials and intentionally design the boots down to the very specific details. 

That was somewhat the same objective with On. They were saying, essentially, "We're launching in the US. We've tried the fashion and lifestyle side of things. But more than the product mentions, we want people to actually get to know us for what we stand for and how we're doing things differently." So we pitched Ariat and On with that similar core approach of saying, "We don't believe you're a lifestyle company. We believe you're an innovation company." And then we worked to reposition their story to talk about the technology and founder story first. That was what won them over; they both loved that approach. And ultimately, that's what we did for Taos, too: "You're not just a lifestyle shoe. Let's talk about innovation and foot health."

LISA: Yeah, let's talk about your podiatrist-approved sandals!

LAURA: Exactly! Get a medical board and build out your podiatrist team and let’s go deep on foot health.

Has your experience working and thinking so deeply about shoes—how they're made, their history—changed your personal relationships to shoes at all? 

LISA: Yes! I have fewer shoes that I wear. Right now, I wear only Ons. And then the other shoes I have are all heritage brands. I don't have that many shoes anymore. I think there's a lot of poor quality out there today, and I get disappointed when they break down in a year.

LAURA: I find that I talk to other people about their shoes all the time now. I'm the weird person at the dog park who will walk up to someone and be like, "Hey! What do you think of those shoes?" Or I'll instigate a conversation when I see people wearing Hokas about why they should switch to On. I talk about shoe mechanics, foot mechanics, and think way more about the health of my foot.

We’ve talked about how, as much as media has evolved, at the end of the day it’s still about making an excellent product and telling an authentic story. But what’s coming next in your opinion, for shoes or apparel more broadly?

LAURA: I think there's going to be a ‘Great American Brand Comeback’. We're on the cusp. I think people don't want all the bad polyester fabrics, and people are seeking out cotton and natural fibers. J. Crew is doing the same thing. They're trying to be more premium again.

LAURA: That was the origin story of the Gap and J. Crew: "These are the only 10 pieces you need: one incredible t-shirt, an incredible pair of jeans." Great basics is how the American Style Canon began.

LAURA: I don't think anyone knows where to shop right now. As in, where the hell can I buy the good or affordable basics? Bigger brands that aren't going anywhere like Gap, J. Crew, and Madewell are trying to figure that out. Gap did the DÔEN collaboration last year. They are trying to figure it out, but I think there's an opportunity here because everyone is asking the question of where to shop for timelessas opposed to trendy.

You mentioned the ‘deluge’ of trend cycles. Is it too simplistic to blame this shift on social media? And Tiktok and Instagram ads?

LAURA: There was a big New York Times piece by Callie Holtermann on this exact topic: Gen Z essentially saying the reason they're sick of influencers is because one week someone's like, "This is the Holy Grail and I'm gonna wear it forever!" And the next week they do it with another product and another brand. It was about how discouraging it is because people are like, "Wait what is actually on trend right now? Is this all just fake and pretend?" People eventually just give up and opt out of the trend cycle.

LISA: Yes, and if you circle back to what we're saying earlier, that points to the power of keeping it simple. There is a limit to how much you can be influenced or want to be influenced because there's always an agenda. Consumers today have to look at things with more skepticism.

LAURA: We've recently had journalists saying, "No, I can’t accept this product. I'm trying to limit the amount I take from companies. I'll still write about it— send me photos and I will include it—But I can't take it." That has actually never happened to me before.

The three of you have been doing this for more than 40 years combined and ~10-20 years each. How has the consumer landscape changed in your opinion?

LISA: Everything has changed; nothing has changed. Two truths that exist at once.

There are all these new mediums. There are new ways of connecting with consumers. There are new ways of making things. But at the end of the day, nothing has changed. People still want an amazing product. They still want to understand how something impacts them, and they still want to hear a story of optimism. That's hopeful and universal. 

I think we'll always be in pursuit of successful stories in general, but especially with consumer products, we're always trying to answer these core questions of, "How do we illuminate what's good and unique about a product?" "How does it impact people's real lives?" and, "Does it make us feel hopeful and forward-looking?" 

Those questions have really been the same since ~2009 when I started this work. That's what kept coming up for me when talking about our consumer work. 

CAROLINE: Yes, everybody's always asking us about earned media and whether "everything is paid now" ... if earned media has the same impact or if it’s all about influencers, creators, or 'insert-new-hot-topic' of the day. 

But across a decade of working with shoe brands, there are always new ways of talking to consumers and earning relevance that rise to popularity. It still ultimately comes back to the positioning and brand strategy we do with clients up front and then being intentional about how we get that story out. That is still the crux of what we do for companies. It just might look a little bit different in practice.