Brands usually collaborated with celebrities and athletes and preferred them as the face of the brand while marketing.  April Vitkus, Senior Director of Global Brand Marketing and Strategy, Vans, opined that people now considered ‘real people’ as the mark of authenticity of a particular brand and hence, Vans is set out to make history.

Vans, a shoe and apparel brand, in their 2021 campaign decided to channel their budget for production to fund new and innovative projects from across the world for selecting the face of the company.

The innovative projects were later displayed through an ad that was aired globally and also on the Vans official website. According to Vitkus, this campaign underlines the brand’s basic value i.e. supporting and enhancing creative expression. Their work is based on pure collaboration as they work with their ambassadors, who are from different parts of the world and different communities, horizontally.

This authentic form of collaboration that is based on creativity rather than immediate profit strengthens the brand value. Collaboration is authentic only when the brand is ready to give importance to the real connection with its consumers. The brands have to work to build a meaningful relationship with the people in a consistent and dedicated manner to improve them.

Vans try to empower underrepresented communities through their collaborative approach. Joining hands with different people is also a method with which the company can reveal their approach to cultural diversity.

Vans is a brand that has decided to voice its support to multiple voices from different communities. According to Vitkus, this is not a simple task as the voice of the company has to be strong and supportive enough to sustain the diverse voice it tries to represent.

Vitkus emphasises that the companies who choose to work based on collaboration should be determined to create a long-lasting impact rather than immediate results. They also must alter their plans and prospects to suit this long-lasting impact that they wish to create and also strengthen their company internally to provide long term support for their vision.

She also states that Vans has chosen to collaborate with people from across the world to create enduring relationships and also a legacy that could be a model to other companies.