Why Merrell’s virtual advertising VP believes group is a model’s very best tech play

For an organization that makes mountaineering boots, you’d suppose the terrain used to be predictable. But for the Merrell marketer, it’s extra like scrambling over virtual cliffs, political crosswinds and financial uncertainty.

“In recent times, we’re working through all the political unrest, the tariff situation and we’re always thinking about people’s discretionary spending,” she tells us. “What is it that is going to be most important to them?”

Against that backdrop, Merrell’s positioning hasn’t ever felt extra well timed. “We’re really lucky. Our mission is to get people outside and in a time when there’s a lot of mental health struggles and people might not have extra dollars to spend on gyms or trips, getting outside can both help your mental health and also is a great way to exercise and travel.”

Building model with blueberries and bunnies

Rather than defaulting to reductions, the emblem is pushing connection. One of its maximum a success campaigns, ‘Good Things,’ leans into the “small wins” of time spent outside, whether or not that’s the view on the finish of a path or stumbling on wild blueberry trees.

“In one of the most anxious times in recent history, so we’re trying to send that message of positivity and community. Not just with nature, but with people – discovering those small, good things.”

That message is being disbursed throughout each touchpoint possible: attached TV, virtual, out-of-home and in-store. But Smith is clear-eyed about balancing long-term model constructing with momentary efficiency pressures.

“There was a line in judging today that I wrote down, ‘Performance marketing is the fastest way to the bottom.’ It’s true. We’ve learned through a lot of studies that the more you invest in brand, the bigger your buyer base and the more you can convert in the long run.”

Reframing social as seek – and model

Social media, as soon as the area of last-click conversion, is now one in every of Merrell’s maximum essential brand-building arenas.

“People – especially Gen Z – use social as a search engine. They’re comparing brands, looking at values. It used to be where we put mid-funnel dollars. Now it’s more about ethos. Who are we? What do we stand for?”

And as seek adjustments, so too does the tactic. Enter Lily AI, a device Merrell just lately deployed to seize real-world seek behavior in genuine time.

“Someone might search ‘boho chic leather fall bootie’ and end up clicking on a Merrell ad,” she says. “Never in a million years would we have built a campaign around those words, but Lily AI watches natural search behavior and automatically applies that to our campaigns. It’s fascinating.”

‘Marketers have to be technologists now’

Despite its outdoorsy aesthetic, Merrell has no illusions concerning the tempo of alternate within the tech stack – or the desire for companions who can stay up.

“I’ve worked in digital my whole career, since the dotcom boom in Seattle in the 90s. Back then, things changed every few years. Now, it’s every quarter. You need agency partners that don’t just react. They have to get ahead of it.”

It’s additionally why she believes entrepreneurs themselves wish to evolve. “One of the judges said today, ‘Marketers have to be technology experts now.’ That’s 100% true.”

From trails to tech

What inspired Smith maximum within the judging room used to be what number of campaigns embraced that duality.

“A lot of the winners really understood how to use technology to advance their creative, whether through clever out-of-home or media strategy. The downside is benchmarking. A lot of results were hard to measure against anything, because the work was new and the data wasn’t always there.”

Still, for Merrell, that’s a part of the adventure. In a global of transferring platforms and AI-powered searches, the emblem is making a bet on human connection – and making a bet giant.

“We’re always going to talk about community. Even in the AI age, it’s the thing that grounds us.”

The Drum Award for Marketing Americas effects will likely be introduced on June 12 in New York.