JADED CONSUMERS HAVE TIMBERLAND TO GIVE THEM A SOFT LANDING

The folks at Timberland have realized that consumers don’t want to be told what to buy. That’s why they started a very creative, yet quiet campaign, to imprint the Timberland brand in the psyches of their followers.

That’s because young people are weary of marketers telling them what to do. (They listened to mom tell them to clean their rooms, and they still haven’t gotten over it). So, in the name of creativity Timberland is putting up billboards made by artists in materials used in Timberland boots.

The billboards, in New York boroughs, support their website (10061.com) that has user-generated content. (This is how you engage your customer).

”The approach ‘freed us from the need to sell’ while facilitating a dialogue with consumers,” said John Kieselhorst, creative director at Arnold (who created the campaign).

Other online galleries featuring consumer-created content, are the HYPE gallery, sponsored by HP and the Converse Gallery from Nike.

In 2007 Timberland will debut a wordless commercial called "Rain." In this spot a man will face down a wall of rain due to his Timberland coat.

The billboards, which are set at street level, are stapled and glued down. "We wanted it to be Open Source—and our hope is that people will like it, but not steal it," said Kieselhorst.

"The leather billboard campaign Arnold created really harnesses the power of self-expression and community engagement," said Gene McCarthy, president of Timberland's Authentic Youth division, in a statement.

If you ask me this is genius marketing. Since young people make up a good portion of your target market, it’s important to know how they think.

Off beat marketing techniques, such as these, are the best way to consume your consumer. It’s also a great way of building a brand (think Nike).

Just when you thought that marketing had reached its zenith, you find out that it’s not cool to do the marketing. Who said Life is Easy?