Clarks’ latest campaign asks consumers to reconsider what shoes they wore.

Darren Day, Clarks’ chief marketing officer, explains that the basis of the campaign came from wanting to understand its consumers needs. So it asks a very simple question- “Are You Wearing The Right Shoes?”.

The campaign is centred around Clarks‘ comfort technology, C360 Foam, which was first introduced last year with its Clarks Pace shoe.

Day highlights that the retailer’s research discovered 74 per cent of people who walk for exercise wear running shoes despite the footwear needs of walking being different to running.

He explains: “That gave us a really interesting consumer insight to build around. This season, we’re taking things further. When people think of Clarks, they think of comfort – we’ve been owning that space for more than 200 years and it’s part of our DNA.”

Clarks took the initial question of ‘Are You Wearing The Right Shoes’ and played with it, creating “tongue in cheek, social first content”.

He says: “Ultimately, we want people to think differently about the shoes they wear every day and understand how the right footwear can help them walk further for longer.

“It’s less about changing what people know us for and more about evolving it. Clarks has a very strong association with comfort, quality and incredible value. What we want consumers to increasingly understand is the innovation and technology behind that comfort and quality.”

He explains the campaign allows them to remain true to what people value about the brand, while showing a more modern and innovative side.

Day’s highlights that he enjoys the simplicity the question- ‘Are You Wearing The Right Shoes’. He says it makes it you think about what you are wearing on your feet and whether they are actually comfortable.

He shares: “We’ve all had those days when you’ve been walking, commuting, shopping, at work or out for dinner and you reach the point where you just want to get home and take your shoes off. We want to challenge the idea that this is something people simply have to accept.

“The right footwear can make a real difference to how you feel throughout the day, and C360 is about helping people walk further for longer without having to compromise on style.”

The new campaign is connected to its Back to School campaign earlier this year by Clarks’ focus on “providing comfort, quality and value to our customers.”

“The product and the consumer might be different, but the principle is the same: creating quality shoes at affordable prices which are designed around how people actually live and move.”

Clarks measures success by looking at the whole customer journey rather than a single metric. Day explains that its metrics include looking at reach, impressions and engagement across social and digital and through traffic to the website, as well as footfall into its stores. It also looks at product consideration and sales.

For Clarks, Day highlights that it listening is important.

“Social media is incredibly valuable because it gives us immediate feedback on how consumers are responding to the campaign and the product. We’re constantly analysing that feedback and using those insights to inform what we do next. Our consumer comes first, always.”

Social media also provides the brand with something traditional advertising doesn’t offer- a two way conversation. Traditional advertising allows brands to tell their story but doesn’t always allow them to hear from their customers.

He says: “With this campaign in particular, we wanted the content to feel entertaining and engaging rather than simply telling people about a new technology.”

However, the campaign also makes use of out-of-home- running ads in key locations in the UK and US. These locations include high-footfall areas and areas that are close to Clarks stores.

“There’s a strong connection between the message and the medium here. We’re asking people who are already out walking through cities, commuting or shopping, “Are you  wearing the right shoes?” – and giving them the opportunity to experience the product nearby.”

The campaign is a “good of expression” of where Clarks is heading in the future.

Day says: “Comfort, quality and value have always been fundamental to Clarks, but we also want to tell a much stronger story around innovation and the technology behind our products.

“From a marketing perspective, our role is to make those innovations meaningful to consumers. Rather than simply talking about the technology itself, we want to show why it matters in their everyday lives. This campaign gives us a simple, relatable platform to do exactly that.

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