Columbia Sportswear is freshening the Columbia brand’s creative strategy with a new head of marketing and new creative agency partner, and gave its employees a preview of what’s to come in 2025 in Portland earlier this month.
“We’ve built an extraordinary outdoor brand that set the standard for excellence worldwide,” said Joe Boyle, executive vice president and Columbia brand president, in a statement. “The past year we’ve been retooling and reshaping our business to scale new heights. In the year ahead, you’ll see the Columbia brand roll out a product strategy that is deeply intertwined with marketing, allowing us to reach consumers in new, surprising ways to reintroduce our iconic brand.”
Matthew J. Sutton started as Columbia’s new senior vice president and head of marketing in September 2024, according to a news release. Sutton was previously the interim chief marketing officer at grocery delivery company FreshDirect, and before that led marketing efforts at The Black Tux, a suit and tuxedo delivery company.
“Matt will help lead the strategic integration of our entire global marketing, including developing omni-channel marketing strategies and upleveling our capabilities,” Boyle said. “His arrival brings significant momentum as we unlock our brand’s opportunity.”
Matt Sutton is Columbia’s new head of marketing. Photo courtesy of Columbia Sportswear.
London-based agency adam&eveDDB had the winning pitch among several global agencies, according to the release. It will work closely with its New York and San Francisco offices.
“The story of Columbia is so rich and full of personality, this was a partnership we felt excited about from the moment Joe’s letter inviting us to pitch landed on our desks,” said adam&eveDDB CEO Miranda Hipwell. “We’ve enjoyed every minute of the journey until now and can’t wait to tell more people, all over the world, about the unique marriage of irreverence, imagination and innovation embedded in the brand’s DNA. In a world full of purpose-led ambitions, Columbia is a rare example of the real deal – we couldn’t be happier to be kicking off this creative, collaborative partnership.”
Columbia Poised for Turnaround in 2025?
Columbia Sportswear’s net sales were down by 8% last quarter across all of its brands, which includes Mountain Hardwear, Prana, and Sorel in addition to the Columbia brand. Sales of Columbia brand products decreased by 5% year over year in the second quarter of 2024 to $508 million. The company attributed the decreases to lower wholesale demand, and flat direct-to-consumer sales. North American sales dropped, but were offset by better results in EMEA and LAAP.
The creative refresh is part of the Columbia brand’s turnaround strategy “that will pair product strategy with integrated marketing to meet consumers where they are to drive more meaningful brand experiences,” according to the news release.
Work on Mountain Hardwear’s creative strategy earlier this year appears to be paying off, and CEO Tim Boyle said last quarter that it was on track to show growth in 2024.
Columbia will report its third quarter earnings results on Oct. 30.
Kate Robertson can be reached at kate.robertson@emeraldx.com.
