Timberland's Shoelaces 'Untied'? : A Look at Timberland's Social Media Presence and New Campaign

Timberland's Image

Boots. Celebrities. Service. The Timberland Company has many connotations. Timberland conjures up different experiences for many consumers aware of the brand.

The Timberland Company brand was founded in 1973. The company brand is known for its work boots and outdoor clothing line. It’s waterproof products has made it a favorite among outdoor adventurers and “blue collar” workers constantly on their feet.

Timberland has also formed a strong connection with the service group, City Year, since joining forces in 1989. Service has always been a main component to the company's mission and philosophy. 

But Timberland doesn’t hesitate to use their social media outlets to highlight the more adorable moments created with their brand.... 

Timberland Online Trending & Social Media

Timberland isn’t the trendiest of brands in the fashion world, given the purpose of the products’ design. However, it’s “made it” in the outdoor work and service world (even in the Hip Hop world… though that ship has pretty much sailed since JayZ bailed).  But even today most of Timberland's "buzz" comes from endorsement from the entertainment world. 

        By looking at the company and brand(s) through online monitoring tools, like Google Trends, it is interesting to see where Timberland lies in the groundswell.  It is interesting to see how much content is generated through visuals on their social media platforms.

   

Also, it should be noted that the interest in the brand spikes at November and December consistently (probably because of Christmas, but also possibly because of the their line of winter products).

A look at Timberland's presence on other social media monitoring sites...

Timberland Boot Company Brand & Campaign: “Untied”

        Most recently Timberland’s brand, Timberland Boot Company, has created a campaign called “Untied.” For this campaign they have engaged in the groundswell primarily through YouTube and Tumblr profiles. The campaign has it’s own site, but it could be more highly integrated on The Timberland company’s Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages.  However, to the campaign’s credit, there has been crossover between Timberland’s main brand and the “Untied” campaign through the hashtag “inmyelement.”

This “In My Element” tag has inspired shared stories from several followers/Timberland consumers, but it is fairly new (it just began for the Fall 2014 season) and still has a way to go. But it is engaging and energizing the grounswell through contest and encouraging followers to share their stories and “In My Element” moments using “#inmyelement.”  

        My biggest setback with this campaign is that I don’t know if I could describe its meaning accurately or not. When I search for more details on the campaign I get a lot of engaging and well designed content, but not so much the message behind it. The only element (pun sort of intended) of this campaign that is sort of clear to me is the “Life Swap” stories. Timberland Boot Company has set up a “marathon” of sorts for four participants going to four different locations. 

A Look at the Untied Campaign 

  Going Forward…         

        I’m still “feeling out” this campaign and getting a sense of its impact on brand recognition and appeal, but they are doing most of the basics right. Timberland overall has been going through turbulence since it was sold to VF Corp in 2011 for $2 billion. Since the company has left the hands of founder Nathan Swartz it is harder to conceive Timberland as the company that once held the family and service values it had for the past 3 decades. I think that’s the biggest challenge facing the brand at the moment. I will be interested to further monitor the Untied campaign and investigate the Timberland brand and see what patterns become evident.