CREATIVE TRANSFORMATION

GROWING a relationship from a pilot project into a multi-million dollar account

understanding the bottom-line advantage of a design-led business, VF corporation was seeking ways to empower and inspire its creative leaders to drive growth

1 / the ask

Start with a pilot project: steer Vans through a creative and organizational transformation that would revitalize their creative strategy, portfolio strategy, and business strategy.

With growing commercial success, Vans was becoming an increasingly sales-led organization. Creative leaders feared the brand was losing its edge, but they didn’t have the tools to successfully influence and grow the business.

2 / THE BRIEF

Work with senior creative leadership to define an inspirational creative vision that:

• Elevates Design by giving creatives the tools to actively contribute to the brand’s business success

• Aligns creative disciplines (Design, Marketing, Retail, Digital) under a shared vision

• Resolves brand/creative/portfolio inconsistencies globally

• Provides specific, actionable tools for near-term change 

• Builds towards a longer-term transformation of each brand’s creative culture

The Outcome: A revitalized creative culture in a transformed relationship with the business side of the brand, with the tools and vocabulary to directly impact and influence the business.

3 / / extending the vision

Using the Vans project as a prototype, VF’s major global brands (The North Face, Timberland, Wrangler, Dickies, etc) each undertook a massive Creative Vision program uniquely tailored to their own capabilities and challenges. This multi-year, multi-million dollar engagement transformed VF from a one-off client to a Key Account.

4 / going deeper

Having succeeded in transforming several of their flagship brands into more creative-led organizations, VF was hungry for more in-depth optimization of their creative tools and processes.

Expert consulting and relationship building resulted in multiple additional programs with VF brands, activating their Creative Visions in specific strategic initiatives, tool, and processes.