Nikki Wetzel
Deborah Sloan
October 23rd, 2012
J453 Case Study #2
Timberland Case Critique
Synopsis of Case: In 1991, Jeffrey Swartz took over the family business, Timberland, an
outdoor shoe and clothing company. He wanted the company to incorporate the idea of
“belief” into the Timberland brand by partnering with City Year, a nonprofit that focused
on young adult community service. Together the business and nonprofit successfully
created service projects, training exercises, and a brand new product line. Timberland
also scheduled community service events and paid its employees to do 32 hours of
service work yearly. This new community service program implemented by Timberland
gave a new image and meaning to the company and brand. In 1995, Timberland hit
economic trouble and had to restructure its company, causing employees to question the
community involvement plan.
Timberland’s Brand History: Timberland formed from the Abington Shoe Company in
1952 when Nathan Swartz bought half of the company shares. Not long after, Swartz
bought the remaining shares and brought his family into the footwear endeavor. By the
1970s Abington had a boot called the Timberland which became so popular the company
rebranded its business as ‘The Timberland Company’. Expanding internationally in the
1980s, Timberland became extremely trendy. Popularity among college students, rap
musicians and fashion designers inflated Timberland’s image, causing sales to rise from
$196 million in 1990, to over $650 million in 1994, the year after Timberland and City
Year’s first partnership.
History of City Year: City Year is a national nonprofit corporation of young adults
committed to community service. “City Year’s mission is to build democracy through
citizen service, civic leadership, and social entrepreneurship.” Co-founders Alan Khazei
and Michael Brown wanted to make City Year a nonprofit that advocated making
voluntary community service available for everyone in the U.S. City Year and
Timberland’s relationship began when City Year asked Timberland to donate footwear so
that City Year could create a uniform for its members and staff. Timberland agreed and
donated 70 pairs of work boots. From there Timberland’s commitment to City Year grew
and in 1993 Timberland provided an entire uniform for City Year. City Year helped
improve Timberland as a business by providing Timberland with a number of
organizational development tools; leading groups of Timberland employees in teambuilding and diversity exercises. In return Timberland provided millions of dollars to City
Year’s mission.
Target Audiences: The target audiences for Timberland and City Year’s partnership
expanded as the project grew. Initially, the collaboration affected the employees who
benefitted from a product exchange in Timberland’s City Year uniform. Later as service
became a focus, the individuals who benefitted from the service projects became a
secondary target audience. Eventually the media became another target audience as the
scope of the volunteer efforts became large enough to warrant attention. With the
introduction of City Year Gear into Timberland’s outlet stores, consumers were added to
the target audience, and Timberland included a measure of the impact of customer
purchases with City Year’s philanthropic message into its research.
Research and Planning Tactics: Timberland had to prove to its employees that the
community service program was necessary in order to continue it. The combination of
secondary and primary research done by these organizations led to a well thought out
plan. Timberland and City Year outlined a way for both organizations to help promote
each other while staying true to their mission statements. They created three new
initiatives listed below.
1.
They provided clarity of visions and values that both organizations believed in by
providing training programs, joint service days, and presentations.
2.
They developed a “first circle” of sponsors who shared a passion for City Year.
3.
They formed a joint enterprise between their two organizations. They called the new
product line City Year Gear. Through research the company discovered that 82% of
Timberland’s current customers said they would buy products to support a cause. After
Timberland launched the product they did a second round of quantifiable research that
proved its success.
Long Term and Short Term Effects: The long term effects of the Timberland and City
Year partnership lie in the history of both organizations. By partnering together to serve
the greater good, both brands were elevated in the eyes of the consumer. Furthermore,
Timberland’s decision to partner with City Year was an investment in the employees
themselves. According to COO Jeffrey Swartz, “Many companies pay thousands upon
thousands of dollars for the type of team-building skills we learn through giving
ourselves, together. So not only is Timberland furthering positive change and community
betterment: we are making an investment in our infrastructure... I firmly believe that the
minds we turn on here at Timberland explode our productivity and effectiveness”. The
short term effects of the partnership manifested in media attention for both organizations,
betterment of the communities involved through service projects, and increased revenue
from the sales of City Year Gear.
How Timberland Successfully Maintained its Mission Statement: When Timberland
hit financial difficulties in 1995 they were forced to shut down a few factories and lay off
workers. City Year receives millions of dollars from Timberland for the community
service programs, and since Timberland had to let employees go this service money was
viewed as money that could have saved former co-worker’s jobs. Timberland’s idea of
paying its employees to do 32 hours of community service showed the company had a
goal beyond providing quality outdoor clothing and footwear. Community service also
became a big selling point because potential employees who wanted to make a difference
were more inclined to work for Timberland. Lastly this helped the company build their
employee’s self esteem and teamwork skills. From a PR standpoint it was crucial for
Timberland to continue doing the community service program, but the company should
have better communicated to its employees the importance of the program.
Planning Recommendations: Since 2011, Timberland has merged with the VF
Corporation. In order to create the same positive media attention and impact received in
the 1990s, Timberland might look to the past. Service projects are timeless in that they
will never go out of style for the individuals involved or those who bear witness.
Timberland’s strong history of collaboration and service would translate well into today’s
media landscape, generating positive attention for the brand. In order to achieve this
Timberland should find another organization like City Year who does great work but
goes largely unnoticed. Holding its employees to a higher standard will benefit morale,
and another merchandizing collaboration might be lucrative in today’s market.
Consumers still “remain loyal to brands they feel are socially responsible” and another
partnership might be a push in the right direction for Timberland, whose popularity has
fallen since it’s hay-day. The strategic communications planning matrix would benefit
Timberland by simplifying the process. The matrix lends itself well towards cooperative
relationships by establishing a clear direction. The research required for the matrix is
strategic and mindful of the organization’s overall goals.