A viral video from earlier this year starring a California teen and his gleaming sneakers featured a particular catchphrase (“Damn, Daniel!”) and particular footwear: white slip-on Vans. The combination proved powerful enough to help boost sales for the brand by mid-single digits in the Americas, parent company VF Corp. said on Friday, with a 20% increase in direct-to-consumer sales and 30% jump in online sales.
“It wasn’t planted at all,” said VF Corp. Chief Executive Eric Wiseman. “I won’t say it was a lucky gift, but it gets to how much California youth like the brand. And it was expertly managed in how our brand responded.”
Vans noticed the video early in its rise on social media and immediately took advantage. The Vans Web site sent all visitors directly to the white shoes seen in the viral clip, and the brand refocused its marketing. A Twitter account directed emoji-laden messages at the teenagers behind the video, 14-year-old Daniel Lara and his friend Josh Holz.
VF gave Daniel a lifetime supply of Vans shoes when they appeared on the Ellen DeGeneres Show in February. The media phenomenon started about a month before Vans kicked off its 50th anniversary celebration, building hype for its requisite big-money marketing campaign that accompanied the event.
The meme seems to have some staying power, too. This week, in fact, the CW show Jane the Virgin made reference to “Damn, Daniel.”
Since VF bought the skater-inspired Vans in 2003, the brand has grown from about $300 million in sales a year to $2.2 billion last year. VF has been expanding the brand’s physical footprint, Mr. Wiseman said, opening stores around the US in areas like New England, where five years ago Vans didn’t have any, and around the world in places like China and Korea. — Bloomberg
