It’s Cool to be Keen

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Keen shoes have tipped. In a repeat of the Doc Martens phenomenon of the late 80’s, we’re going to start seeing them everywhere, on everyone. The thing about a pair of Keen shoes is that you can’t help but notice them when they stroll by — their designers took a risk and added a big old ugly toe-protecting bumper to the front of the tried-and-true Teva, and came up with something which screams "Look! I’m different and kind of cool." That toe bumper may be ugly, but it represents Keen’s entire "brand", and no amount of money thrown away on awareness building could come even close to the word of mouth (message of foot?) buzz generated by this aesthetic oddity. Now, I’m a TiVo guy, so I don’t watch many commercials, but to the best of my knowledge Keen doesn’t spend anything on advertising. I saw my first pair at REI, then I saw another set on the toes of a friend… and… and I had to have a pair.

The lesson here is to build your marketing into your offering. Make something great, something interesting, and make sure that you design that offering such that private usage is made unavoidably public.

Keen. All the cool kids are wearing them.

9 thoughts on “It’s Cool to be Keen”

  2. Hi Martin,
    Thanks for hanging out at metacool!
    Good luck with your venture, keep on reading metacool, and tell your friends.
    Best,
    Diego

  3. I was shopping with a friend today, who had heard about Keen shoes. Neither one of us had heard of them before, but a friend of ours recommended them. I had no intention on purchasing a pair of shoes today, but after trying them on I had to have them! The pair I bought today were the women’s Bronx in plum, and I am determined to find myself a pair of Newport H2’s as soon as possible. I have never been this impressed in a shoe before, big thanks to Martin Keen for coming up with a shoe that is not only practical, but cool looking too.

  4. the way i (36 yrs old) was intro’d to keen was through my 63 year old stepmother! she’s always struggled with finding good shoes for walking, hiking, etc. she and my dad (66 yrs old) walked into an outdoor store somewhere in colorado and tried on KEENs and walked out with a pair each. a few months later they have 3 pairs each in different styles now. I’m now two pairs deep and heading for more. but not for the cool factor but for the amazing product quality. I received my taos this past week and spent the weekend doing my version of product testing – 4 hrs hiking in the hot florida swampy woods – felt like i was walking on a soft forest bed the whole time. that’s what matters most to me, the extraordinary quality – i’m heading for the UK in two wks for 100+ miles of trekking and need the best shoes with me to make that happen and i’ve no doubt i’ve found them now.

  5. fantastic!! had a pair of “bostons” bought on line from USA for a while, can you tell someone to get the “bronx” range over to the UK. PLEASE!!!
    keith.

  6. I’m currently 4 deep in Keens. Newport & H2 Newport, Providence & Bronx. I’ll be getting the Prov boot & Boston chukka very soon. I’ve purchased a pair for 3 people & bought Keens in 4 different cities: Bellevue & Spokane, WA, Tampa, Fl, & Columbia, MD. I was THIS close to picking up a pair of Brooklyns in Manhattan, NY.

  7. I’m currently 4 deep in Keens. Newport & H2 Newport, Providence & Bronx. I’ll be getting the Prov boot & Boston chukka very soon. I’ve purchased a pair for 3 people & bought Keens in 4 different cities: Bellevue & Spokane, WA, Tampa, Fl, & Columbia, MD. I was THIS close to picking up a pair of Brooklyns in Manhattan, NY.

  8. Martin: I heard that you are starting a new shoe company, the next step up from Keens. I have about 8 pairs of Keens… they are the only shoes I wear, and I started wearing them when they first came out. I love them, and am very interested to know what you are up to now in the shoe business. A salseperson at LL Bean told me about your new shoe company and said that they were going to carry them. Let it be known so the Keen lovers can get in on the ground floor! Thanks for finally inventing a comfortable and extremely cool shoe.
    Lisa

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