The KIWI strategy journey has been one of defining the brand’s core purpose and then evolving it creatively every year. We wanted to create a deeper connection with the positioning every time we articulated it creatively.

The KIWI brand relaunch started in 2016 with the creation of the “Walk With Pride” campaign. In 2017 we maintained the base campaign but developed a wide reaching activation that positioned shoes and shoe care as the hidden secret behind unmistakable pride. In 2018 we expanded it even further with the First Steps campaign, highlighting how prominent figures’ journeys of pride started with single steps in shoes that bolstered their confidence and carried them forward.

The KIWI strategy journey has been one of defining the brand’s core purpose and then evolving it creatively every year. We wanted to create a deeper connection with the positioning every time we articulated it creatively.

In 2016, we developed 6 stories of pride, with protagonists ranging from a 6 year old girl in Kenya to an 88 year old woman in the UK. At the heart of each story was the idea that a small act of pride can make a big difference.

In 2017, we created the Portraits Completed experiential event where we completed the bottom half of several of history’s most iconic portraits, such as the Mona Lisa and Girl with a Pearl Earring, and ‘revealed’ shoe grooming to be the hidden secret behind their captivating and much discussed expressions.

In 2018, we even found the shoes worn by some of the world’s most endearing personalities, like Muhammed Ali and Amelia Earhart, and created the First Steps series of long copy print ads that told the tale of how these well cared for shoes played a part in their owners’ walks with pride.

We found that the act of polishing shoes elicited a lot of different responses from a lot of different people.

For some it was about a personal investment of time and effort to achieve tangible results, an understanding that hard work yields rewards.

For others it was a reflection of good manners and a proper upbringing, about having respect for yourself and for others.

A few even described it as an act of mindfulness, a form of meditation with a tangible outcome.

Even when they spoke about the finished product, it was about polished shoes symbolizing professionalism and preparation, about appreciating what you have rather than wanting more.

Whatever they spoke about, none spoke about the functional act of shoe care. They all spoke about something greater, something deeply meaningful that far transcended the action.

For them, it wasn’t polishing. It was grooming.

Every small act gave them a disproportionate feeling of confidence. Shoes may be the last thing you put on, but it was the first thing they noticed. It was seemingly small details like these that made the biggest difference in how you carried yourself.

It was an act of pride that started from the ground up.

KIWI’s market share has been growing in all our key markets since the launch of the strategy, and is growing still.

In Canada it grew 3.8 points over the last 12 months.

It grew 0.2 points in AFNE.

It grew 0.2 points in Indonesia.

It grew 2.1 points in Australia.

It grew 1.7 points in LATAM.

And it grew 1.3 points in Germany.

Germany.