Footwear and equipment retailer Designer Shoe Warehouse (DSW) has chosen Crispin as its new inventive company of report (AOR), the company shared completely with ADWEEK.
Crispin will help the model’s inside workforce with model technique, visible identification and built-in advertising and marketing because it evolves DSW’s “positioning for the fashionable client,” in line with the businesses.
Earlier than Crispin, DSW didn’t have an AOR, however labored with a number of businesses for numerous wants, in line with Sarah Crockett, chief advertising and marketing officer (CMO).
This new appointment expands a partnership fashioned between Crispin and DSW in September, when the company formally assumed social media duties for the model.
Crockett declined to reveal the account dimension in billings, however Comvergence pegs the media’s annual billing at $33 million.
The evaluation
The aggressive evaluation concerned 9 businesses and started in August, two months after Crockett joined DSW. In line with a supply near the examine, Mom and The Martin Company have been additionally on the forefront all through the method.
DSW’s ambition was not solely to search out the most effective inventive associate, but additionally to search out an company that might act as an extension of its workforce.
“The crux of alternative [was finding] a associate to assist us refine our factors of differentiation,” she mentioned.
Maggie Malek, Crispin’s basic supervisor, mentioned the pitch course of was tough however pleasing due to Crockett and his workforce’s openness to new concepts.
The advertising and marketing director mentioned Crispin stood out for his “distinctive” understanding of the mandate and his capability to combine tradition into work that makes issues occur. She was additionally impressed by the nice power of the workforce.
“You wish to get to know the gamers,” she mentioned. “On the finish of the day, you purchase the workforce, you don’t essentially purchase the land.”
Malek mentioned Crispin plans to energise DSW with storytelling that displays the model’s identification.
A victory for the brand new Crispin
The DSW account is a key victory for Crispin, who rebranded since its merger in 2023 with different businesses Stagwell MMI, Vitro and Observatory.
Crispin now positions itself as a “continual on-line inventive and media company that makes manufacturers the dialog.” by his website.
The brand new positioning comes after a tough interval for Crispin, who confronted a interval of decline and departures of managers after establishing itself as one of the modern shops of the early 2000s.
In line with Malek, DSW joins a rising listing of companions for Crispin, together with Celestial Seasonings, Samsung and Orange Idea. The company mentioned it added $9.5 million in new enterprise this yr.
