• by Nina Lentini , Staff Writer @Nina_Lentini, March 7, 2019

Footwear maker KEEN started out by asking, “Can a sandal protect your toes?” And answered, resoundingly, “Yes.” Since 2003, it has sold 30 million of its Newport-style sandals alone, Ash Williams, senior director of global brand marketing, outlined several points about values within a brand and their importance at Thursday’s MediaPost Brand Insider Summit D2C in Austin.

What and Why

Values are broad preferences concerning appropriate courses of action or outcomes. They reflect a person’s sense of right and wrong or what ”ought” to be.

Create a strategic, moral direction for how you do business. 

More people are getting behind brands that have values as part of their core.

Value makes science feel like art. 

Values in Motion

Quality, integrity, health, caring, pioneering. 

Values start from within.

KEEN renovated a building and upcycled, using just one Dumpster when normally, 50-60 would be used.

KEEN mployees get paid time off to volunteer.

Measure and Learn

To be a values driver, it has to be at the very core, and start at the top.

It’s a journey, not a destination. 

Jump in, get your hands dirty.