Columbia Sportswear Company announced it has selected San Francisco-based Butler, Shine, Stern & Partners (BSSP) as its marketing communications strategy agency of record.  Butler, Shine, Stern & Partners succeeds Portland-based Borders, Perrin & Norrander, which served as the lead agency for Columbia Sportswear for more than two decades.

 

Columbia said it will task BSSP with creating a cohesive global messaging that conveys an integrated story around the company's brands, product concepts and seasonal initiatives. These programs will apply across multiple media platforms, including advertising, retail, interactive and new media.

“During a thorough agency review process covering several months, BSSP clearly demonstrated their global, creative capabilities,'' said Dan Hanson, vice president of marketing at Columbia Sportswear. “The early success of our Omni-Shade(tm) launch points out the benefits of evolving our ability to execute integrated global communications strategies in support of future concepts and initiatives. We welcome BSSP as a new member of the Columbia team and look forward to their strategic contributions in strengthening Columbia's emotional connections with consumers and increasing demand for our innovative products.''


“We are very happy to be working with Columbia Sportswear,'' said Mike Shine, creative director of BSSP. “Over the past 20 years, their advertising and communications have made them an iconic brand, and we're excited to take on the challenge of building on that. It's one of those brands that makes you smile, and we want to spread that as far and wide as possible to a new generation of outdoor consumers around the world.''


BPN developed Columbia's award-winning advertising campaign featuring Chairman Gert Boyle subjecting her son, President and CEO Tim Boyle, to a series of unique and entertaining product testing methods promoting the company's longtime commitment to superior quality and durability.