Birkenstock USA launched  its 2011 advertising campaign that will be
featured in more publications than at anytime in its history. The extended reach is part of an overall program to pursue additional outdoor and specialty running accounts. The
company also announced its title sponsorship of the Sustainable Living
Roadshow.

Creative elements from the campaign spotlight Birkenstock product as time-tested and enduring to represent the brand's iconic, unwavering authenticity and craftsmanship. The campaign focuses on four market segments: health/wellness, après/recovery, active/outdoor and fashion, with copy that states without pretense:

  • 'be yourself, be naturally good”
  • 'be yourself, be naturally fit”
  • 'be yourself, be naturally active”
  • 'be yourself, be naturally beautiful”

“We walk a fine line of telling a wellness story with fashionable elements – a nuance and brand asset we have to balance perhaps more than other footwear brands,” says Shelly Glasgow, director of product development and merchandising. “As Birkenstock pursues additional outdoor and specialty running accounts, we're excited to be advertising with key outdoor, active and men's publications.”

The media mix includes: Men's Journal, Outside, Outside Buyer's Guide, Backpacker, Runner's World, Fitness, Yoga Journal, More, Better Homes & Gardens, Parents, Southern Living, People Style Watch and more.

Birkenstock is complenting these efforts with over a dozen sponsorships of events including Oustide's Weekend in Aspen, Ladies Home Journal's City of Hope Walk for Hope and More's Reinvention Convention.

Birkenstock is also joining forces with the Sustainable Living Roadshow to partner in spreading the message of being kind to the planet.

“Providing resources to support this important organization and its message link directly to Birkenstock's core values of social responsibility and community involvement,” explains Jay McGregor, vice president of sales and marketing.

The nationwide Tour will arrive at college campuses, conferences and concerts on the east and west coast, producing sustainably themed off-the-grid eco-villages and festivals with interactive learning attractions.

Birkenstock offers sandals, clogs, shoes and arch supports all based on their original contoured cork latex footbed.