R.M.Williams has created a new brand platform ‘Crafted for Life’ with a long-term vision of guiding the business over the next 10 to 20 years.
The platform was helmed by R.M.Williams CMO Chris Willingham, who joined the retailer after a three-year tenure as DDB Aotearoa managing director.
Willingham is part of a new leadership team under Australian-owned Tattarang, which purchased R.M.Williams from Louis Vuitton-backed L Catterton in October 2020.
‘Crafted for Life’ will aim to reposition R.M.Williams as a premium heritage Australian brand, Willingham confirmed.
“The previous ownership had ambitions to take it into a slightly different luxury space and that caused confusion internally and externally as well,” he said. “It’s really important for us to reset and be very clear about what we stand for as a business. We are a proud Australian premium heritage brand. We are not a luxury brand."
Willingham joined R.M.Williams in June 2021, following the departure of former CMO Mathew Hayward after a four-year stint.
He has retained creative agency Special to develop the new strategy, which has worked with R.M.Williams since late 2014. Extensive customer research was carried out in January/February and the first campaign shot in South Australia over August/September.
Independent consultancy Audience Precision has also been appointed media-side, with the launch campaign rolling out this month across TV, OOH, Cinema, OLV, Social and Owned channels.
The next iteration will be a Christmas 2022 creative, launching ahead of the festive season.
“Crafted For Life is hopefully a 10 to 20 year platform that will guide the business through its next chapter,” Willingham said. “The first campaign is the biggest we’ve launched in a long time and we’re excited that it’s going to be a national one across Australia and New Zealand.
"The film, I think, is representative of the campaign. It's a story of a pair of boots that have lasted an individual through all his life's adventures."
The film highlights the platform’s two key themes: the craftsmanship of R.M.Williams’ boots, which are manufactured in its Adelaide workshop, and the longevity of the brand, which was founded in 1932.
The creative was shot in the Flinders Rangers by filmmaker Justin Kurzel and produced by Special and Revolver. It has launched in 90 and 60 second spots for TV and cinema, alongside 30, 10 and six second edits for digital and social.
The OOH and print campaigns were shot by photographer Saskia Wilson.
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