Columbia Appoints New Creative Agency and Hires New Head of Marketing to Lead Creative Strategy Forward
New agency and marketing head will work collaboratively to drive Columbia's refreshed creative strategy
Columbia Sportswear Company (NASDAQ:COLM, the "Company"))), a global leader in designing, sourcing, marketing, and distributing outdoor apparel, footwear, accessories, and equipment products, today announced that the Columbia brand has a new creative agency partner and marketing leadership to oversee the brand's new creative strategy. The approach will lean into the eighty-six-year-old company's unique character to elevate the Columbia brand. These changes are part of the brand's forward-looking strategic brand vision that will pair product strategy with integrated marketing to meet consumers where they are to drive more meaningful brand experiences.
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Joe Boyle, Columbia Brand President presenting in Portland, Oregon (Photo: Business Wire)
The Columbia brand has been working to bring the new strategic vision to life internally over the last few months, culminating in a company-wide preview of what's to come at the Newmark theatre in Portland, Oregon this month.
Joe Boyle, Executive Vice President, Columbia Brand President, said: "We've built an extraordinary outdoor brand that set the standard for excellence worldwide. The past year we've been retooling and reshaping our business to scale new heights. In the year ahead, you'll see the Columbia brand roll out a product strategy that is deeply intertwined with marketing allowing us to reach consumers in new, surprising ways to reintroduce our iconic brand."
To lead the creative direction forward, the Columbia brand appointed adam&eveDDB as its global agency of record following a competitive pitch against several undisclosed global agencies. The global account will be led by adam&eveDDB London in close partnership with its New York and San Francisco offices.
"As we look to grow our brand we wanted to build a relationship with an agency that can help tell our unique story in a way that connects emotionally with global audiences, while helping consumers understand the innovation that has powered our products from the beginning," said Boyle. "There's never been a better time for people to enjoy all the outdoors has to offer and we want to unlock that for more people around the world and inspire them through a strong story-telling approach and creative strategy with adam&eveDDB."
Miranda Hipwell, CEO of adam&eveDDB, added: "The story of Columbia is so rich and full of personality this was a partnership we felt excited about from the moment Joe's letter inviting us to pitch landed on our desks. We've enjoyed every minute of the journey until now and can't wait to tell more people, all over the world, about the unique marriage of irreverence, imagination and innovation embedded in the brand's DNA. In a world full of purpose led ambitions, Columbia is a rare example of the real deal – we couldn't be happier to be kicking off this creative, collaborative partnership."
To lead its new marketing direction, the Company hired Matthew J. Sutton to serve as Senior Vice President and Head of Marketing for the Columbia brand in September 2024. Sutton brings deep experience in brand and digital marketing, recently leading retail and direct-to-consumer brands including The Black Tux and FreshDirect as Chief Marketing Officer, and previously global marketing for Facebook.
"Matt will help lead the strategic integration of our entire global marketing, including developing omni-channel marketing strategies and upleveling our capabilities," Boyle said. "His arrival brings significant momentum as we unlock our brand's opportunity."
About Columbia Sportswear:
Columbia, the flagship brand of Portland, Oregon-based Columbia Sportswear Company, has been creating innovative apparel, footwear, accessories, and equipment for outdoor enthusiasts since 1938. Columbia has become a leading global brand by channeling the company's innovative spirit and passion for the outdoors into technologies and performance products that keep people warm, dry, cool and protected year-round. To learn more, please visit the company's website at www.columbia.com.
About adam&eveDDB:
We are a creative agency that puts Feeling First, based in London, Berlin, New York, and San Francisco.
We believe in the power of creativity to unlock business advantage for brands. We are an agency that feels welcoming and responsible. We work with a range of clients including Amazon, CALM, PlayStation, International Paralympic Committee, Eurostar, Marmite, Lloyds Bank, Savills, Volkswagen and MARS.
Forward-Looking Statements
This document contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws, including statements regarding the Company's expectations, anticipations or beliefs about the growth of the Columbia brand and the Company. Forward-looking statements often use words such as "will," "anticipate," "estimate," "expect," "should," "may" and other words and terms of similar meaning or reference future dates. The Company's expectations, beliefs and projections are expressed in good faith and are believed to have a reasonable basis; however, each forward-looking statement involves a number of risks and uncertainties, including those set forth in this document, those described in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q under the heading "Risk Factors," and those that have been or may be described in other reports filed by the Company, including reports on Form 8-K. The Company does not undertake any duty to update any of the forward-looking statements after the date of this document to conform them to actual results or to reflect changes in events, circumstances or its expectations. New factors emerge from time to time and it is not possible for the Company to predict or assess the effects of all such factors or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement.
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