• by Sarah Mahoney , Staff Writer, 6 hours ago

Kelly Ballou, vice president of marketing at DSW, spent her first year tearing down assumptions about who the customer is and what she wants — then building something new on top of the rubble. Parent company Designer Brands is reporting improving profits and stronger consumer demand, early signs that the repositioning is gaining traction. At the center of that effort is a deceptively simple new tagline: "Let Us Surprise You." The result this spring is a CTV campaign built around a dollhouse metaphor — equal parts whimsy and strategy.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Retail Insider: You joined DSW about 16 months ago, starting just before Black Friday. What was the assignment when you arrived?

Kelly Ballou: Black Friday is chaos, but I actually highly recommend it. It's a great way to drink from a fire hose. I was hired to help reposition DSW in the hearts and minds of consumers, and we spent a year really diving in. Working with Crispin, our agency of record at the time, we dug into consumer segmentation to understand how behavior shifted since the pandemic. We completely rebuilt our brand strategy. The culmination of that was "Let Us Surprise You," which we launched last fall.

Retail Insider: And the new spring campaign builds on that?

Ballou: Yes. Before I arrived, DSW had been building new campaigns from scratch each season. What I wanted to do was build something on more durable insights. I'm a big believer that when you show up consistently for the consumer, they learn to know what to expect from you.

And that's this idea of stumbling on a treasure at DSW. I might have come in for a pair of heels for an event, but I found these sneakers on clearance, or sandals that look perfect for vacation. That moment of surprise is the emotional underpinning of our entire platform: a self-guided adventure. It's connecting with consumers and showing strong results, and that's made us confident to keep building on it. The mood is lighthearted and optimistic.

Retail Insider: You've moved your creative work in-house. How does that work?

Ballou: We worked with Crispin to build the research and brand platform, and they launched the fall campaign. But we have a big creative staff — 16 people. For holiday and now the spring campaign, we also worked with Spacejunk, an Ohio-based video and production company. That allows for quicker refreshes based on trends and styles.

Retail Insider: How much does trendiness matter to your core audience?

Ballou: They're very aware, but also very particular about what makes sense for them and what they're going to avoid. That depth of assortment is the beauty of DSW. They can find tried-and-true pieces, but also whatever is having a moment — like right now, the Carolyn Bessette-inspired minimalism.

Retail Insider: You're targeting younger shoppers — millennials and Gen Z. How do you reach them without losing the existing customer?

Ballou: We did our segmentation research on behavior, so what surfaced is as true for 22-year-olds as for 52-year-olds. But yes, our new consumer segment skews young, and is a broader split of men and women — more diverse. That's pushed us to do more ad testing, making sure we're not turning off older customers. And getting that younger customer back has also meant regaining strength with fashion footwear — items that come for a season and then they're gone. Because of our internal agency, we can be very reactive, bringing trends to life in real time.

Retail Insider: Economically, this cohort is squeezed — rent, student loans, tariffs. And yet shoes seem non-negotiable for them. What are you hearing?

Ballou: They believe parts of their wardrobe have to conform to whatever they're doing — at the office, at a black-tie wedding, at a music festival. Shoes can be where they splurge, and where their personality comes through. They're also thrifty, and value means something different to them. It's very important to them that we offer shoe repair, for example. They're into our loyalty program. And they really do seem to use a cost-per-wear calculation to decide when to pay more for a quality brand.

Retail Insider: Any surprises in what's actually selling — brands or categories you didn't expect?

Ballou: Yes — the acceleration of Birkenstocks, which are at a rather high price point for us. And not just seasonally — we sell them all winter. More affordable fashion brands like Steve Madden have also been accelerating, as have fashion sneakers across the board.