• Ad Age, Monday, January 7, 2008 11:15 AM

Footwear and apparel retailer Timberland and agency Arnold, Boston, are parting ways after three years, and the company is putting the business into review. Both sides confirm the split, but cite different reasons for it. Arnold blames marketing budget cutbacks, while Timberland says it is looking for "fresh thinking."

Timberland consolidated its global business account at Arnold in 2004, and the shop gave it the "Make It Better" tagline and pushed its environmentally-friendly manufacturing practices. "From our perspective as a company and as a brand, we were interested in pursuing some new directions and fresh thinking, and realized it was a good opportunity for us to pause, review our current partners and explore the landscape a little bit," says a spokeswoman.

As far as Arnold is concerned, "we've enjoyed working with Timberland over the past three years and are proud of the Make It Better positioning we created for the brand," says Pam Hamlin, president of Arnold's Boston office. "However, due to declining budgets, we have decided to part ways."

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