KEEN Foootwear

+5M Reach
+9.5M Impressions
+660 Publications
+276.3K Interactions

220+ Talent Partnerships Across

Seeding, Paid, UGC, & Campaigns.

From your Grandpa’s Favorite Shoes to Culturally Relevant

About

KEEN Footwear is a Portland-based, family-owned company known for its durable, innovative outdoor shoes. Since 2003, KEEN has remained committed to making an impact not just on the people who wear their shoes—but also on the planet and communities around them. With a legacy of transparency, ethical manufacturing, and timeless design, KEEN continues to shape the future of sustainable footwear.

Problem

While KEEN has long been a leader in the outdoor industry, creating reliable footwear for all types of adventure, the digital landscape has shifted. Consumers—especially Gen Z—now prioritize brands that align with their personal values: ethics, individuality, and transparency. KEEN had the credibility, the product, and the mission. But visually and socially, they hadn’t yet translated into content that resonated with tastemakers and cultural trendsetters.

They needed support repositioning their brand—not by changing their story, but by telling it in a way that connected with a new generation. This meant getting their message in front of the right creators and communities, in ways that felt both intentional and authentic.

Solution

Our goal was to evolve KEEN’s influencer marketing strategy and establish cultural relevance without sacrificing their identity. We focused on:

Partnering with taste-driven creators:

We intentionally seeded KEEN product into networks that aligned with their values and aesthetics, including seeding speciality shoes from their debut collection with Comme de Garçons.

Event Influencer Management:

This included events like Highsnobiety Not in New York event during Fashion Week and Only NY Collection In-Store Event.

Toro y Moi, ceramicist Danny Dooreck, LA-based photographer Brian Chorski, and VOGUE Published, climate advocate Aditi Mayer are to name a few.

Partnering with style-forward artists

We gave The World’s Ugliest Sandal (the KEEN Newport) a
Gen-Z makeover through personalized gifting, storytelling, and social reposting. The result: 1.7M reach, 2.2M impressions

Special campaigns for iconic products:

Each collaboration helped KEEN step into new cultural spaces while staying true to their purpose—ethics, longevity, and thoughtful design.

Telling a visual story through diverse creators:

We established 14+ brand collaborations per year, choosing creators who could authentically weave KEEN into their own narratives. This resulted in deeper relationships and evergreen brand content usable across social and web.

Creating meaningful paid partnerships:

White Label Program launch:

We developed a KEEN-branded creator program for content creation—2-minute vertical storytelling videos by consistent creators with the brand’s product at the center. This gave KEEN more control over narrative and execution while still allowing for creative freedom from the talent and familiar faces across social platforms.

Impact

We helped shift KEEN’s brand perception without losing its core values.

From heritage product to hype conversation, the campaign brought KEEN into the feeds and conversations of a new generation of outdoor lovers, creatives, and conscious consumers.

@jordans.archivess

This project was completed at ALLY Marketing & Communication in Los Angeles.

Seeding | Photographer @cobeyarner (IG) | Talent @ryanwinnen (IG)
Creator Gifting Seeding Strategy | Notable creators gifting product to their network | Gifted from @camillelenore (IG)
Creator Guestlist Management for HIGHSNOBIETY NOT IN NEW YORK x KEEN Event & After Party | Creators @shaquillewynter_ @iamtamuno @chvrlesjr
ONLY NY x KEEN Collaboration Pop-Up Creator Partnership | @vote4pedrooooo (IG)
Seeding Creator Content | @fabrizioquinoa (IG)
Seeding Creator Content | @laiyonelth (IG)
Paid Couple Collaboration | @nikl0w & @_sanct_ (IG)
Paid Partnership | Creator @emimatsushima (IG)
LA Ceramic Creator Workshop Sponsored by KEEN | @dannydsmudshop (IG)