• by Nina Lentini , February 19, 2008

Rockport is focusing more heavily on online advertising and will relaunch Rockport.com in June with a focus on e-commerce and revamped visual elements from the new "Live in Rockport" campaign.

Michael Mahoney, director of brand marketing at the Canton, Mass.-based company, tells Marketing Daily that Rockport wants to showcase its competitive advantage. "One big part of our brand--and it's another piece of the new advertising--is that we incorporate a lot of technologies and concepts that consumers wouldn't expect to find," he says.

A big push for Rockport this spring will be around its washable collection. "We'll be using the Web to bring concepts to life and to interact with our consumer," Mahoney says. In the fall, the company will focus on incorporating the athletic technology of parent company Adidas. "We'll use interactive dynamic units all over the Web to tell that story, to show the performance of the footwear."

Why the drive online? Mahoney says traffic to its Web site was up 70% in the third and fourth quarters, "higher put-through than industry standards for which we credit our agency," Hill Holliday, he says.

The new campaign, "Live in Rockport," focuses on the benefit of wearing a shoe that looks and feels good. It is being launched in more than 60 countries in the next two weeks. It "connects the Rockport brand to the global metropolitan consumer," says CEO/President Michael Rupp in a statement.

The new campaign features people in everyday situations--ranging from a free spirit playing Frisbee to a mother holding a baby to a couple dancing in a club. A unique combination of fashion and product photography techniques successfully illustrates the beauty, detail and style of the new Rockport collection. The common theme seen throughout the images in the campaign is one of people living their lives in a pair of Rockport shoes.

The "Live in Rockport" campaign will appear in print, radio and online advertising channels, on in-store displays and on the Rockport Web site. The company plans to update the campaign imagery later this year to promote the autumn/winter 2008 collection.

The Rockport logo and tagline, The Differences Inside, will continue to be used in all advertising, product packaging and branding.