CONVERSE
In 2001, following bankruptcy and new ownership, Converse was preparing to reposition itself as “the athlete’s shoe of choice.” We offered a different path — not through sport, but through culture.
We shifted focus to the Chuck Taylor All Star. We identified what ownership hadn’t yet recognized: that the Chuck Taylor had organically evolved to become an Icon of the counter culture, worn and customized by artists, designers, musicians, and outsiders.
We repositioned Converse centering the brand on originality, self-expression, and creative collaboration. That strategy became the basis for the Blank Canvas Project, a platform designed to invite participation from a newly defined audience: the creative class. We led the execution across all marketing and creative, including website, community activation, influence, digital, and experiential — pioneering what would soon become mass customization and Brand X Artist collaborations.
By 2003, just two years after the relaunch, Converse was acquired by Nike for $309 million. The Blank Canvas ethos and creative community remains at the center of the brand.
Today, Converse is conservatively estimated to be worth $6 billion.
We shifted focus to the Chuck Taylor All Star. We identified what ownership hadn’t yet recognized: that the Chuck Taylor had organically evolved to become an Icon of the counter culture, worn and customized by artists, designers, musicians, and outsiders.
We repositioned Converse centering the brand on originality, self-expression, and creative collaboration. That strategy became the basis for the Blank Canvas Project, a platform designed to invite participation from a newly defined audience: the creative class. We led the execution across all marketing and creative, including website, community activation, influence, digital, and experiential — pioneering what would soon become mass customization and Brand X Artist collaborations.
By 2003, just two years after the relaunch, Converse was acquired by Nike for $309 million. The Blank Canvas ethos and creative community remains at the center of the brand.
Today, Converse is conservatively estimated to be worth $6 billion.