SmartWool, the maker of outdoor and snowsports socks, has declared October as National Sock Month and will launch a month-long retail engagement campaign known as Socktober.
“In declaring October National Sock Month and introducing Socktober, we challenged the team to leverage all channels in a coordinated effort to drive excitement at retail,” says Mark Satkiewicz, SmartWool’s president. “The result is that our rep force is totally aligned; our media dollars are targeted around hundreds of doors and our social audience is engaged.”
On Oct. 1, SmartWool’s inaugural Socktober promotion kicks off at participating retailers nationwide and takes design cues from ’80s hair metal artwork. Participating dealers will be ‘socked’ – ie: completely surprised – with boxes of socks and Socktober-specific promotional programs. Additional retailers, as well as random fans and followers, will be ‘socked’ throughout the month. SmartWool will also initiate a month-long advertising campaign based on the consumer profiles of participating merchants.
“More than ever, consumers are seeking out a meaningful purchase dialogue,” says Carol Davidson, Smartwool’s vice president of marketing. “Our goal with Socktober is to not only facilitate this discussion, but to also place our retail partners at the center of it – inviting our audience to become their customer.”
Consumer outreach will drive traffic to a specific Socktober URL, directing users to a participating Socktober dealer landing page, a Socktober playlist by the Spotify music service, as well as a Facebook sweepstakes portal. SmartWool will also reward the stand out rock-themed tweets, Instagram photos, and Facebook posts with socks, Socktober guitar picks, and other promotional items.
Follow or interact with SmartWool’s Socktober initiative at rockoutwithyoursocksout.com or #Socktober.
