MWW is now the public relations agency of record for Irvine-based footwear manufacturer Sanuk.
The company, known for its comfy Sidewalk Surfers sandals, has tasked MWW of Los Angeles with launching a multilayered brand communications campaign.
The campaign, set to capture the “sense of fun and funk of Sanuk,” will include guerilla marketing, or unconventional methods, social media engagement and local-market media takeovers.
The agency-of-record designation is a fruition of past successful collaboration.
The agency worked on last month’s grand opening of the Sanuk flagship store on the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica. Sanuk also worked with MWW to implement a communications campaign highlighting company-sponsored athletes who embody the culture and lifestyle of the brand—surfer and musician Donavon Frankenreiter of San Clemente, rock climbers Sierra Blair-Coyle and Chris Sharma, surfer Matt Meola and wakeboarder Bob Soven.
MWW will continue to work with Sanuk’s athletes as part of the campaign.
“MWW has done exceptional work for Sanuk,” said Michael Minter, Sanuk’s global director of marketing. “We decided to bring them fully on board as AOR because, bottom line, MWW gets us and what we’re all about. MWW’s media expertise and proven ability to reach influencers, especially in the footwear and outdoor categories, will be essential as we embark on this new phase of growth for our brand.”
MWW’s other clients include JetBlue Airways, In-N-Out Burger and McDonald’s Corp. Sanuk didn’t reveal the value of the Sanuk contract. Sanuk—Thai for fun—was founded in 1997 by Southern California native Jeff Kelley, who started out making sandals from indoor-outdoor carpet. It still uses such humble materials. Deckers of Goleta, Calif., bought it in 2011 for $120 million. The $1.4 billion company also owns the Ugg, Teva and Simple Shoes brands.
Services for Nonprofs
Tustin-based Echo Media Group has launched a division to provide public relations and social media services for philanthropies and other nonprofit organizations at discounted rates offering a 50% discount on hourly services.
“As part of our DNA, we have consistently dedicated hundreds of hours annually to serve many important causes,” said Kim Sherman, the agency’s founder. “We want to extend our reach to support these organizations in their ability to accomplish success in today’s highly competitive marketplace.”
Echo Group’s services will include strategic message development, news releases, crisis communications, internal communications and media training. Nonprofits must have in-house public relations or marketing personnel to spearhead the effort internally in order to qualify for the reduced rate.
Echo Media Group’s nonprofit clients include the Rotary Club of Coto de Caza/Rancho Santa Margarita, Simon Family Foundation of San Clemente and the Beckstrand Organization of Newport Beach. Â
“Earn Your Stripe”
Etnies, a Lake Forest-based action sports footwear and apparel company, kicked off another consumer engagement marketing effort. The Earn Your Stripe contest, launched on May 2, calls for skateboarders around the world to submit videos showcasing their skating skills.
Etnies-sponsored professional skateboarders Nick Garcia and Willow, who’ve “earned their stripe” on the etnies RCT skate shoes, will choose three finalists. The public will vote on the winner, who will receive a year’s worth of shoes.
In addition to the contest, the company is continuing its consumer engagement campaign Make Wilko Plant Trees, which encourages customers to buy Dapper Wilko shoes. It says that for each pair sold, company surf team rider Matt Wilkinson plants a tree. The campaign is part of etnies’ Buy a Shoe, Plant a Tree program, which it says has provided more than 200,000 trees to deforested communities throughout Costa Rica and Brazil since 2011.
Etnies is owned by Sole Technology Inc. of Lake Forest, a private action-sports company with “revenues closing in at $200 million.” Its main rivals are Vans Inc. of Cypress and DC Shoes Inc. of Huntington Beach.
Agency Revamps
FleishmanHillard has revamped its corporate brand.
The Irvine-based public relations agency’s new tagline, the Power of True, highlights its new approach to client service: insights, ideas, integration and outcomes.
“Having evolved, and with a new story to tell, we needed our brand—a brand that had not been touched since 1990—to catch up,” said Stephanie Marchesi, the company’s chief marketing officer.
FleishmanHillard was founded in 1946 as Fleishman, Hillard & Associates and has been a division of Omnicom Group Inc. since 1997.
FleishmanHillard’s branding effort includes a new website and logo, as well as the launch of its TRUE digital magazine. The magazine, starting this month and to be published quarterly, will focus on “new realities, challenges and opportunities that exist at the intersection of marketing, communications and media.”
The firm is supporting its refreshed brand with a multimedia creative campaign appearing in trade media, as well as in broadcast and digital display ads in mainstream business outlets.
