I’ve been curious about Hurley’s Walk the Walk event for a while. It seems like such a direct way to get kids involved with the brand.
The event is a friendly competition between high schools where students are given Hurley clothes and they get to remake the clothes any way they want. There’s a runway show at the end and a winner is chosen. The winning school gets $5,000 for its arts and music program.
One of my biggest questions: How hard is it to conquer the red tape that must be involved in getting public schools all around the country to sign on?
Lyndsey Roach, VP of Marketing for Hurley’s young women’s division answered that question and a few others.
How did Hurley get the idea for WTW?
Hurley aims to be the microphone for youth. This event gives them the opportunity to explore interest in design, marketing, production, modeling, etc. Hurley provides the creative platform-and the participants bring the event to life.
What is it like logistically to coordinate it with school permissions, etc?
After selecting schools that provide an eclectic mix of students, Hurley educates the student body and administration of each school to Hurley, as well as the Walk the Walk event concept. Providing the schools with a vision of Hurley’s goals, passions, and inspirations has proven to be the most successful tool Hurley has in confirming the school’s participation. The administration of the schools are often aligned with Hurley’s mission of giving the youth a safe, creative venue for expressing themselves. Once we have the schools’ commitment to the event, we set up a series of meetings to discuss their theme, styling, promotional strategies, and invite them to take a tour of Hurley headquarters.
How does Hurley measure the success of the event?
Hurley equates success with giving kids the opportunity to pursue their goals and interests. Walk the Walk reaches anywhere from 1,000-2,500 students in one night. To see that many smiles is always rewarding.
How has the event evolved?
Walk the Walk is always evolving. We’re continually blown away by the creativity of the students involved. Each show seems to build on the one before it, and the students raise the bar for themselves. A new element of the marketing aspect for students is their opportunity to blog on Hurley.com, as well as the Walk the Walk myspace page.
These mediums provide a great way to promote the event, as well as show a little competitive spirit. The interest shown in Walk the Walk by high school students across the county is so astounding that we have created a feature on Hurley.com that allows kids to tell us why Walk the Walk should come to their school.
What’s next for WTW?
The opportunities for Walk the Walk are endless. Our next stop is Virginia Beach in the spring, and then we’re coming back home to Orange County. Due to the nationwide and international appeal of the event, we have high hopes for taking Walk the Walk to new places. As creativity of youth is limitless, we expect that this event will continue to grow — and we are committed to providing a platform for their expression.
