K-Swiss announced the curriculum for its recently unveiled campaign ‘The Board’. The initiative is led by renowned DJ, producer and entrepreneur Diplo, and is built to inspire, and to be led by, the next generation of young entrepreneurs.
Serving as the director of a 100-person board comprised of creative and connected individuals, Diplo will introduce “The Board” to a six-course curriculum on a members-only site. The sessions, hosted by model-turned-blogger Natalie Suarez (Natalie Off Duty), will allow members to gain business expertise while working on real tasks to bring the K-Swiss brand back to prominence. ‘The Board’ curriculum and insiders were introduced today at www.kswiss.com.
‘The Board’ Curriculum & Insiders
Session 1: Brand Positioning
Diplo will introduce “The Board” to Scott Sasso (@skotso), founder and designer of streetwear label 10 Deep to lead a session on brand positioning. At the end of the session, members of ‘The Board’ will help create a new brand tagline based on K-Swiss’ mission to inspire and outfit the next generation of entrepreneurs. The owner of the selected tagline will receive compensation from the brand and their name in credited in association with the project.
Session 2: Ideas with a Conscience
In session two, Diplo will connect “The Board” with Tyler Gage and Dan MacCombie, co-founders of Fair Trade Certified beverage company Runa (@drinkruna), to learn the foundations of creating a brand with socially responsible mission. “The Board” will brainstorm ideas for a charitable activation in conjunction with Diplo’s Mad Decent Block Parties. The selected idea will earn the ‘Board’ member and a guest airfare and accommodations to meet Diplo and see their activation first-hand at one of the Mad Decent Block Party dates.
Session 3: Sneaker Design
The foundation to a successful sneaker brand lies with its product. In session three, Diplo will bring in the founder and creative director of Staple Design, Jeff Ng (best known as @jeffstaple), to share his expertise in sneaker design and innovation. ‘The Board’ will learn about K-Swiss silhouettes and get advice on colors, materials, prints and patterns. ‘Board’ members will then create and submit their best design ideas. Diplo and K-Swiss will select three designs to be produced and be sold by K-Swiss globally with the designers will receive royalty payments on all sales of their designs.
Session 4: Lookbook Shoot
Diplo will connect “The Board” Style.com fashion market director, creative consultant and street style star Rachael Wang (@rachael.wang) to teach the group how to position and market product through an essential tool, the lookbook. The group will concept a creative brief with recommendations for location, models, product and layout. Three submissions will be selected for execution, receiving product samples and a production budget to bring their concepts to life. The final lookbooks will be shared via the K-Swiss website and social media channels.
Session 5: Social Media Best Practices
Diplo will tap actor, writer and entrepreneur Josh Ostrovsky, the face behind social media personality “The Fat Jew” (@thefatjewish), to share insight on how to cultivate a voice and build assets for social networking channels. Each ‘Board’ member will submit three to five images that best encapsulate the K-Swiss brand with the best submissions taking over the KSwiss Instagram channel for 24 hours.
Session 6: Writing Your Business Plan
Taking the lessons in entrepreneurship gained throughout the program, Diplo will introduce “The Board” to Sharmadean Reid (@sharmadeanreid). The brand consultant and founder of London-based nail brand, WAH Nails, will take “The Board” through the components of a business plan. Following the session, individuals will upload a plan for their best business idea. One applicant will earn a six-month mentorship with K-Swiss to help them actualize their idea.
Learn more at www.kswiss.com/theboard. The application period remains open through April 30, 2015 at 11:59 p.m. PST.
