The Hybrid Life: Keen Footwear

I’ve always loved Keen shoes.  My first pair, bright orange, purchased around 5 years ago is still hanging tough.  I should probably toss them, but I just can’t bring myself to do it…that’s how much I love those shoes.  I’d always imagined that any company that makes such a cool shoe must be a pretty cool company, too, but I didn’t realize just how inspiring they were until I visited the Keen headquarters recently.

The Hybrid Life

Keen is one of those companies with a deep-rooted purpose that rules everything they do.  Their initial product, the Newport, was a hybrid shoe…a sandal that offered toe protection.   But this Hybrid shoe was designed for people who enjoy what CEO James Curleigh has dubbed “The Hybrid Life”.  To Keen, the Hybrid Life is a call to create, play and care.  And this Keen does in spades.

The Accidental Environmentalist

Curleigh considers Keen an “accidental environmentalist”.  In looking for ways to decrease their raw materials cost, they’ve turned to using scrap aluminum from which to fabricate grommets.  They discovered a source of scrap polyester and nylon and repurposed them into cool bags and wallets.  As a reward, Keen is now heralded as a “green” company.  The original intent, to hear Curleigh tell it, had more to do with input costs than waving the environmental flag but Keen wears the badge with pride.  It’s obvious that this thirst for creating new and different products with stellar design is at the very root of the Keen culture.

Customers Don’t Always Know What They Want

So often you hear marketers say, “Find out what your customers want and deliver it.”  Curleigh doesn’t buy into this philosophy as a leading business principle.  “Who knew they wanted a sandal with a toe?”  Keen had a vision, created a product, took it to market and asked people to join in the movement.  And it worked.  Keen explained to consumers what it was like to walk a Hybrid Life in Keen Shoes.  Their message spoke to those that both enjoyed the outdoors and resonated with the call to create, play and care.

Hybrid.Care

When the tsunami hit in 2004, Keen wanted to help.  They looked at their small advertising budget of about $1 Million and knew the money could be put to better use in tsunami recovery efforts.   They took a risk and donated the budget to tsunami relief efforts and ran a small ad explaining to customers why they weren’t going to be hearing from Keen for a while.  That risk paid of in spades with media attention and widespread recognition for their generous donation.  It was a living example of what Keen was all about.  Since that time, Keen has donated over $5 Million to non-profit partners that share “a philosophy of caring, conscience and sustainability.”  For Keen, the “Care” component of the Hybrid life goes far beyond a cause marketing effort, deeply entrenched in the Keen brand.  I doubt Keen would even consider this cause branding because they’re a cause crusader.  They don’t need a label for it, being such a part of their living example on a daily basis.

If I loved Keen shoes before, consider me a Keen disciple now.

What do you think of the Hybrid Life?  Do you love Keen shoes like I do?  What other examples of companies like Keen have you witnessed that has effectively woven cause and community into the very fabric of their being?