Page 12 - Engage -- Fall 2018 -- no.14

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Fall 2018
BRANDS WE LOVE
Brands We Love:
BOMBAS
By Stephanie Walden
This series profiles brands whose marketing, vision, and mission we a Here’s how Bombas’s brand is making a serious impression (and impact).
PRODUCT AND BACKGROUND
One of the telltale signs of extraordinary marketing is that it turns an utterly ordinary product—a mattress, a razor, or even a pair
of socks—into something special. Bombas accomplishes this spectacularly through visually compelling, cohesive marketing campaigns distributed online, on air, and in print.
Bombas is a direct-to-consumer e-commerce brand that follows in the footsteps of the buy-one, give-one model popularized by companies such as TOMS and Warby Parker. The team behind Bombas spent nearly two years
researching, designing, and testing the product before landing on a perfect fit. Their diligence paid off: in 2013, Bombas hit an initial crowdfunding goal of $15,000 in just 24 hours on Indiegogo, eventually attracting 10 times the original target within one month.
Bombas’s colorful, durable socks stitch a
hole in the consumer market: the gap between high-end, technical socks and everyday, common ones. And for each pair of socks purchased, Bombas donates a pair to one of 1,200 partner organizations (yes—we said 1,200!), including shelters, community centers, and high-profile nonprofits such as Special Olympics. Cause marketing—check!
FEEL-GOOD FOOTWEAR
Founders Randy Goldberg and David Heath note that the concept for the company was spurred by a simple fact: socks are the most requested item in homeless shelters in the United States. Hearing this, something clicked for the duo, who had been toying with the idea of launching a start-up but had lacked the perfect product concept.
Today, Bombas is a certified B Corp, which means it’s a for-profit company that meets
the highest verifiable standards of social and environmental impact and public transparency. Consumers across all generations are willing to cozy up to brands who have achieved this status, and they will open their wallets to prove it.
Playing heavily into the brand’s marketing efforts, the message of giving back is a cornerstone of the brand’s vision and mission.
In every direct mail piece, email campaign, and interview opportunity, Bombas touts their premise of social good. Their website even includes a ticker that notes how many pairs of socks have been donated by the brand to date (more than 9.3 million at the time of
this writing).
PACKAGING AND DESIGN
Bombas is derived from the Latin word for bumblebee, representing the hive mind and how individual contributions can add up to have real community impact. The bee-and-honeycomb visual is a motif throughout all of Bombas’s marketing collateral, packaging, and online branding. Bombas socks come in a sleek, printed sleeve embossed with the brand name in all caps and their logo and slogan
(“bee better”) set against
a subtle honeycomb-
patterned background.
Simple, meaningful, and
memorable.
GETTING STARTED
Bombas effectively targets customers at the top of the sales funnel through social media and podcast ads, email marketing, and direct mail campaigns. Take for example the recent email campaign touting the brand’s starter pack (a four-pack of men’s or women’s socks) as well as packages for kids or toddlers. Copy promising free shipping, free returns, and a 100% money- back guarantee is prominently displayed below