Over the last 10 months, the footwear retailer DSW has been interviewing customers and conducting dozens of qualitative and quantitative studies on their behavior. Now, all that learning is being put to use in the company’s newest campaign and brand repositioning, launching Tuesday, in the hopes that they will better align with how DSW shoppers are actually shopping today.
The new campaign, called “Let Us Surprise You,” will touch nearly every aspect of the business, according to vp of brand strategy and creative Kelly Ballou. The core of the brand repositioning is based on something the team learned from their customers: DSW shoppers like to be surprised.
“Often, they come in looking for something specific,” Ballou said. “But then they stumble on something they weren’t looking for, something they weren’t expecting. They try it on, and they love it. So surprise is a really interesting emotion we wanted to tap into.”
The treasure hunt and the discovery elements are also useful for a company with a massive store fleet. DSW has over 500 stores and is planning to increase its net number of stores opened this year for the first time since 2019. That’s alongside other big changes being instituted by Doug Howe since he took over as CEO of DSW’s parent company, Designer Brands, in 2023. Among other changes, DSW is relaunching an overhauled VIP program next year, which already covers 90% of all transactions at DSW.
Ballou said the Let Us Surprise You campaign will touch marketing, assortment and the store experience. On the marketing side, DSW is rolling out its first campaign with dancer and Taylor Swift choreographer Sydney Moss. In keeping with the theme of surprise, the ad features Moss wandering around a DSW store and trying on unexpected finds on the shelves. The ad will play across connected TV — a channel that Ballou said has been unexpectedly fruitful for DSW — along with more traditional marketing channels like Meta.
On the store and product side, DSW stores are getting a makeover. New in-store music playlists and marketing copy will be “more playful,” Ballou said, and new products include exclusive collaborations and collections with brands like Sam Edelman. At DSW’s store in Framingham, Massachusetts, the team is testing even more new features, including a dedicated try-on zone, augmented reality mirrors and, most notably, a customization bar where shoppers can trick out canvas tote bags and water bottles and adorn their shoes with “shoelery.” As of March, more than 70% of DSW’s revenue comes from physical retail.
The customization component is particularly important for younger consumers, Ballou said. For at least a year, Gen-Z shoppers have become increasingly drawn to “chaotic customization” and hyper-personal styles. So much so that even non-fashion brands like American Express have been offering customized clothes and accessories in brand activations to target young customers.
“Customization is new for us,” Ballou said. “We started doing it around back to school with Crocs. Younger shoppers have grown up with so much choice, and they really take to customization options.”
The brand repositioning comes at a time when DSW’s parent company, like many other large retailers in the U.S., is facing an uncertain market. The combination of tariffs and the subsequent market instability led Designer Brands to see an 8% drop in revenue in its last quarterly earnings reported in June, landing at $686.9 million. Goldman Sachs estimates that earnings-per-share for publicly traded companies across the U.S. will likely drop by around 4% this summer compared to last year due to the fallout from tariffs.
DSW carries brands and its own private labels that are manufactured in many of the countries with the highest tariff rates like China and Vietnam. Designer Brands, in response, has shifted its focus to lowering its expenses to balance out the hit to revenue. Howe told investors that Designer Brands expects to deliver “$20 million to $30 million” in cost savings by the end of the year, mainly by diversifying sourcing and reducing markdowns.
For Ballou, the uncertainty is also an opportunity. She said she tells her team that a bit of discomfort — from trying new ideas or stepping outside of the brand’s comfort zone — is a good thing.
“Cutting through all the clutter and noise is absolutely the toughest part about marketing,” she said. “We have to be a bit uncomfortable in order to make something that’s going to cut through all of that.”
