Tom's Shoes — FOLLOW MY JOURNEY

I must say, when I found out that we were going to Tom's Shoes, I was confused. Isn't Tom's a shoe brand? What does that have to do with advertising? branding? marketing? Unlike Dollar Shave Club, Tom's doesn't have an in-house marketing agency integrated within. So what's the connection?

The cool thing is One for One, in fact, is Tom's marketing. Yes, it may not be marketing as what it used to be perceived as in the traditional sense. You don't see too many commercials or ads from Tom's. However, you do see One for One plastered everywhere in Tom's branding.

I believe that the main reason that people buy Tom's is that they are actually good looking, versatile and overall well made pairs of shoes. They offer a variety of designs and options. However, a typical customer comes out feeling great from a Tom's purchase because their purchase enabled someone underprivileged to receive a pair of shoes (One for One). Which is why I believe that Tom's model is successful - people genuinely come out feeling good from the purchase.

It is also harder for a different brand to copy Tom's model because Tom's already has these value chains established in various under-developed nations. Therefore, 'Bob's' is not going to have the same appeal and brand loyalty as Tom's.

It is, therefore, crucial for Tom's to make their message and cause known to as people customers as possible as this is what drives their sales (people who are aware of this message are more likely to purchase from Tom's). I was taken-aback when we were told that only 50% of Tom's customer's know of the One for One message - how is this possible? their message is plastered everywhere, including the insoles of their shoes.

We concluded that, in order to make more of their customers aware of their message, they would have to incorporate it in their packing in a more obvious in-your-face fashion. For example: Finding a scroll in your shoe box with the 'One for One' message including imagery that makes it obvious.

Tom's office looked very much like an ad agency's office! Lots of creativity around and the most random things laying around everywhere including a pink stuffed bear just chilling in one of the cubicles and a turbo tube slide that can bring you down to the first floor from the second floor - which I obviously took to get downstairs!