TOMS Shoes-A Brief History
Apr 30, 2009
Brief history of TOMS Shoes, "Changing the world one step at a time"
TOMS Shoe Drop Argentina 2006
Jan 1, 2008
Para cada par de Toms que compras, donamos un otro a un niño que lo necesita. Esto es el primero Shoe Drop en Argentina en Octubre 2006.
TOMS Shoes video case study: VCU Brandcenter Fall '08
Mar 4, 2009
Jay Adams - Art Director
Alex Aloise - Strategist
Kelly Diaz - Copywriter
Chris McVay - Brand Manager
CASE STUDY FOR TOMS SHOES
Introduction
With the development of the globalization and highly competition in the world, every company all desires to occupy a good market share for its products or services. People in the world could communicate conveniently than before with the help of internet and other methods, such as blogs, Facebook. Those social medias have made social culture changed across demographics especially for those young generations. As a result, customers are well informed about the products and brands as well as value. And there are many other factors influence customers in decision-makings, not just including product quality and face value. In this essay, it will firstly show a brief description for the video about TOMS Shoes. Following this, it will discuss the trends in the market currently. Subsequently, it will discuss how TOMS Shoes has created value for consumers. Finally, the essay will show how TOMS Shoes has made it fit with the current marketing environment.
Brief description for the video
Toms Shoes is a company that has been founded for 2 years. Their operation follows a rather simple message: Buy a pair of our shoes, and we give a pair to someone who really needs a pair. The founder of the company is called Blake Mycoskie. When he visited Argentina, he was inspired by the low cost alpargatas. Here, many people still could not afford to buy the basic shoes. In the video, audiences could see that TOMS Shoes has done as it has said.
During people’s basic life, shoes are necessities. In the world, there are many kinds of famous shoes companies and brands. Toms shoes, as a newly emerged brand, are forced to confront with challenges from other competitors in the current market and has to win them so as to win a market share. In this video, Toms shoes adopts the one for one business model and while selling a pair of shoes, toms shoes will give a pair of shoes to someone who need them. Blake knows that if toms shoes hope to draw customers’ attention, the company should carry out a marketing strategy which customers could make differentiation from the new brand and the shoes’ value. Toms shoes has successfully carried out its unique marketing strategies for its purpose of entering into a new market and win the market share with a relatively lower cost. The marketing strategy adopted by toms shoes named cause-relayed marketing, namely the one for one business model used by Blake in the video.
Cause-related marketing is effective because consumers can directly link it to corporate social responsibility (CSR) of the company. CSR can be defined as concept of business integrates social and environmental concerns in their corporate operations and in their interaction with their stakeholders on a volunteer basis. Studies have shown that cause-related marketing can benefit enhancement of corporate brand reputation, demonstration of corporate or brand values, raising of brand awareness, development of customer locality, differentiation of products and services, increase in sales volume, building relationships with stakeholders, providing differentiation, and making CSR and corporate investment visible. Because of globalization and interconnected world, “increasingly, a combination of heightened sense of empathy or awareness among consumers, coupled with the increasing significance of world-wide social causes or movements has resulted in consumers who are more interested in consequences of their purchase behaviors” . Toms has successfully captured this trend and applied appropriate strategy in the right time. For consumers, brands play an essential and important role in identifying and differentiating products and services through their symbolic nature. Consumer perception on Toms brand is becoming an ethical brand for doing-good cause and its shoes bring more value for consumer.
The trends in the marketing environment
Cause-related marketing become more popular in recent years due to increasing trends of consumer’s perception on corporate social responsibility and socially connected marketing environment. Toms understand the concept “exposure to any type of well conceived promotional initiative for a brand leads in theory to more positive feelings and judgments about the brand in consumer’s mind (Bloom et al., 2006). Toms’s strategy is also more effective especially in the environment internet and social networking sites are influencing word-of-mouth marketing as never before. With this changing market environment and social trend, Toms shoes has successful take leverage of cause-related marketing combined with word-of-mouth marketing into its strategy. In addition, the consumers in its target market segment are also the most active demographic in online as well as they are highly interactive in the actual world. Some research has reported that word-of-mouth marketing strategy has very strong impact on new customer acquisition and it can have larger and longer lasting effects than traditional marketing activities. If a company has the best product, but if its strategy does not fit with the market environment, it will not be successful in the target market. In fact, scanning and understanding market environment is vital for the success of a company. The clear marketing strategy of Toms was already in place when the company started manufacturing shoes. Toms shoes creates the strategy to fit to the changing market environment, consumer behaviors at target segment of demographic. The company founder and most of the staffs at the Toms shoe are in the same demographic and as majority of its customers and that factor can also be advantage for Toms in brainstorming strategies and executing its plans. Toms’s on online marketing video convey the message to its customers in the form of social awareness movement rather than commercial advertisement. For example one of Toms’s 2011 one day without shoes movement video convey the message of how poor and bare foot children in developing nations have to walk for miles for food, clean water or to seek medical help and cut and sores on their feet, serious infection or even not being able to go to school. It also share the story of some children with disfiguring disease like Podoconiosis, caused by walking bare foot on the volcanic ground in Ethiopia, and how it can be prevented by making them wear a pair of shoes. These kind of messages and narrative are effective and appealing to its target segment of customers.
Creating value for customers
It is the simple fact that a customer will not buy a product that he or she perceives if the value of product or service is not up to his/her expectation. The main factor for Toms’s success is its ability to add value in Toms shoes beyond the face value of its simple product like shoes. Toms’s marketing strategy and primary goal is about creating value for customers rather than just to serve children by giving away shoes for those in need. Giving away shoes is a key part of Toms’s marketing strategy and also a mission to make partnership with its customers and other stakeholders. By allowing individuals to participate to its cause related mission of giving away shoes to the needy children in developing countries, Toms has created more value to its customers. For the customers, every pair of shoes they purchase from Toms will make them achieve additional benefits of charity work .As the consequence their purchase decision will make the customers feel good and fulfillment and longer lasting satisfaction. Those existing customers will retell about Toms’s stories to the other people around them after their purchase of products from Toms as they become a part of Toms’s greater good cause and Toms’ movement. Toms’s marketing strategies satisfy four requirements for effective segmentation; measureable, accessible, substantial, differentiable and actionable (Amstrong and Kolter, 2010). Its target segments of shoes market are mainly young adults who are internet savvy generation and the most active age group in online community. Toms understand the interest, purchasing power, psychographs and behavior of its targeted demography. This segment of market is substantially growing and it can be easily and effectively accessible via online with lowest cost for the company to engage in regular basis. Under those given market environment, Toms uses appropriate and effective marketing mix concepts of four Ps; product, price, place, promotion. Toms essentially sets the price for a pair shoes at around 30$-80$ range and it is reasonable and affordable to majority of target segment consumers especially young adult age group. The shoes are sold online or in the stores. Toms marketing advertisement are mainly word-of-mouth in person or online. Advertisement and promotional events are almost no cost for the company as they are mainly done in the form of cause-related events and through online media by stimulating social interest.
Fitting in with the changing marketing environment
Toms shoes created its strategy to fit this changing social environment as internet becomes one of the most active market place for marketers, customers and competitors nowadays. Consumer also share enormous amount of information related to market, brand or product and company activities online easily and instantly. This changing internet social culture also nurtures the word-of-mouth marketing in this new market place. Word-of-mouth marketing strategies significantly lower costs for the Toms shoes as the company save millions of money from expensive commercial advertisements such as on TV. This type of customer communication and engagement also help first delivery through internet especially social networking sites. One of Toms shoes strategies for cause related marketing and mobilizing the people is its annual event called “one day without shoes”. There were 250,000 people from different countries participated in 1,600 events for TOMS’s one day without shoes events in 2010. The participants of the event walk one day without shoes as part of the movement or public awareness campaign to remember those children without shoes and to remind their suffering consequence of walking in bare foot. One day without shoes event is a big success for Toms marketing campaign and the company gains substantial amount of public interest as well as main stream media attention. Free media coverage of the event can be translated as free advertisement for the Toms shoes brand. Moreover, Toms’s one day without shoes movement is a fun activity for the good cause and the event creates the environment for emotional bond of the people and the brand. Part of the marketing activities, Toms organizes to form “TOMS campus clubs” in different university campus. The company also actively recruit interns and its internship program is also designed to bond young students with the company and its movement. Both Toms campus clubs and internship programs allow the participating students to develop valuable experience in marketing, promotions, viral marketing, event planning, networking and leadership. These activities will again bond the participants with the brand and all respective individuals involve the company marketing activities and all of them collectively become part of the marketing force of the company. Toms “one for one” strategy, its shoes donations and shoes delivery to needy children also stimulate the interest of individuals with volunteerism. About 62.8 million people volunteered through or for an organization at least once between September 2009 and September 2010 in the United States which is 26% of nation total population (U.S department of labor, bureau of labor statistics 2010). These numbers are also indication of increasing people interests in volunteer in developed countries especially in the United States. Toms is also able to tap into this segment of market by its strategy. Stories, events, news and personal activities are shared by millions of people in every hour in online social media. Toms effectively use online social media and continuously communicate and engage with its customers. In addition to the interested individuals who view Toms web site, Toms shoes company now has over 1.4 million Facebook fans and twitter followers. These fans and followers continue retelling Toms shoes story to other people around and consequently maintaining the good reputation of brand and expanding the market.
Conclusion
In conclusion, because of Toms’s brand innovation by the use of caused-related marketing, the company is respected as ethical company and consequently builds trust by its customers and achieve retention of customers. Toms driving of cause-related mission and words-of-mouth marketing strategies make the company is uniquely stand out and Toms brand and product are differentiated from among many other shoes brand in the market. Its socially responsible mission also attracts advertisement of big brand marketing partners such as AT&T. Rapid change of socio-culture and market environment, the trend of cause-related consumption will continues and increasing numbers of consumer will engage more with the brand that has good reputation as socially responsible behavior. In its own website, Toms states that the company has given over one million pairs of new shoes to children in need through giving partners around the world as of 2010 which is the strong indicator for the success of this relatively young shoes company.
Because of its continuous engagement with customers by using effective tools and fitting in with changing market environment, Toms is expected to well maintain its customer equity. As long as Toms keep promoting its brand image as socially responsible company while improving appealing shoes design with competitive price and quality for its target market, Toms is expected maintain its long term sustainability and high growth in the years ahead.
Blake Mycoskie Speaks at the Clinton Global Initiative
Apr 3, 2009
Bill Clinton interviews Blake Mycoskie at the Clinton Global Initiative about how he came to start TOMS. Blake explains many of the frequently asked questions about TOMS including, "Why Shoes?" and "Why start a business instead of a charity?"
http://www.TOMS.com
Blake Mycoskie - The Global Leadership Summit, 2010
Apr 12, 2012
Interviewed by Darren Whitehead, Blake Mycoskie tells of the birth and success of TOMS shoes and challenges the audience with his view of how capitalism can be leveraged for compassionate ministry.
"Responsible Capitalism and the Future of Business" -Tij Innova 12-
Oct 20, 2012
Keynote by Blake Mycoskie -Entrepreneur philanthropist, owner of Tom shoes, popular around the world and one of the most interesting conferences of the day.
"Capitalismo consciente y el futuro de los negocios". Tijuana Innovadora 2012
Blake Mycoskie at First-Year Experience® 2012 Random House Luncheon
Mar 15, 2012
Blake Mycoskie, author of START SOMETHING THAT MATTERS (Spiegel & Grau), speaks about his new book at the First-Year Experience® 2012 conference in San Antonio, TX.
Blake Mycoskie: Genius Network Interview
Feb 6, 2013
Blake Mycoskie is the founder and Chief Shoe Giver at Toms shoes. In this interview, Blake Mycoskie will discuss how is your story being told and retold?, the humanity of being a leader, and what are you yearning to be apart of?
http://www.geniusnetworkinterviews.com
Genius Network Interviews is a collection of podcasts where founder, Joe Polish, interviews some of the brightest and most intellectual minds of the 21st century. Popular interviews include: Sir Richard Branson, Peter Diamandis, Tim Ferriss, Dan Sullivan, and more. Don't miss out on the variety of interviews that will expand your knowledge of entrepreneurship, business, and life in general.
http://www.facebook.com/GeniusNetwork
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPvHlk...
2013 DSIC Awards - Blake Mycoskie
May 17, 2013
AT&T TOMS Shoes Commercial - Behind the Scenes
Subido el 26/10/2011
A behind-the-scenes look at the making of AT&T's "More Bars In More Places TOMS Shoes" commercial.
The spot features Blake Mycoskie and his company TOMS Shoes, which gives a pair of shoes to a child in need for every pair it sells. Mycoskie relies on his AT&T service to operate his business from anywhere in the world, from his headquarters in Santa Monica, Calif., to the remote villages where he conducts shoe drops for local children.
TOMS Founder Blake Mycoskie: Start Something That Matters
Uploaded on Sep 14, 2011
In just five years, Blake Mycoskie has taken his TOMS Shoes from his modest L.A. apartment to the shelves of retail stores all over America. Along the way the company has sold more than 1 million pairs of shoes and, thanks to TOMS' pioneering use of the One for One business model, given away just as many to children in need around the world.
Now Blake has decided to help others follow their hearts and start businesses that matter by sharing what he's learned during his company's meteoric rise.
His new book—which is called just that, Start Something That Matters—features the stories of TOMS and other businesses that Blake says are models for people who care about changing our world. Companies covered include Zappos, FEED Projects and Method Products.
For more information, please visit:
http://www.takepart.com/video/toms-fo...
For Tomorrow The TOMS Shoes Story
Published on Apr 24, 2012
The Story behind TOMS
For Tomorrow The TOMS Shoes Story Part. II
TOMS shoes
Uploaded on May 8, 2011
This is from an already created video made by TOMS shoes that I enhanced with pictures, voiceover, and music:
*One Day by Matisyahu
Hey Hey Hey by Michael Franti & Spearhead*
for my social justice project
Tom's Eyewear...The next chapter of One For One Reveal Event
Source: www.youtube.com/www.toms.com
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