Keds® Launches New Campaign, 'How Do You Do?' and Hits the Road With a Mobile Shoe Box

NEW YORK and LEXINGTON, Mass., March 15, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Keds®, the all-American original sneaker brand that represents timeless American style and inspires the art of what is possible, unveiled its new "How Do You Do?" (HDYD) road trip tour. The tour features a Keds mobile shoe box that will do a cross-country journey to college campuses across the United States aiming to inspire students to create, collaborate and contribute within their local communities.  The goal of the tour is to encourage campus communities to 'do what they do' and incorporate Keds into their lifestyles.

The giant interactive Keds shoe box opens up to bring the "How Do You Do?" experience to life.  Keds has partnered with two students at each participating campus to generate excitement and build buzz around each HDYD event.  Local artists, bands, models, and charities will all be participating to give each tour stop a local feeling and show how Keds inspires each city and college it visits.

"The phrase 'How Do You Do?' has two meanings – the first as a salutation, serving as an introduction to the brand, and the second is in reference to 'How Do YOU Do...' style, art, music, charity, your craft, etc.," said Kristin Kohler Burrows, Keds President. "Keds has represented timeless American style for nearly 100 years and through this new program, Keds is presenting an interactive experience that encourages creativity and truly inspires the 'art of what's possible.'"  

Attendees will be invited to participate in many different aspects of the "How Do You Do?" campaign that will be focused around the following questions:

• HOW DO YOU DO (AUSTIN, LOS ANGELES, ETC.)? Each tour stop will bring to life how each community uniquely creates, collaborates and contributes.  In addition, limited-edition city-inspired Keds will be on display. This "Road Trip" collection will be available exclusively at keds.com throughout 2011, and a portion of all proceeds will go to a local arts-based charity in each local community.
• HOW DO YOU DO KEDS? Attendees will have the ability to express what inspires them about their city on a pair of Keds via two freestanding touch screen Keds Design Your Own Kiosks. The kiosks will also promote the nationwide Keds How Do You Do Your City? shoe design contest, running March 1 – May 31, 2011. The winner will receive $1,000, as well as a $5,000 donation to a local arts-based charity of their choice.
• HOW DO YOU DO STYLE? Spectators will watch local models strut their stuff along the Keds blue carpet, revealing the individual style and flare of each city and how each uniquely styles their Keds.
• HOW DO YOU DO CHARITY? Each community visited by Keds will be asked to tweet what inspires them about their city, with the hash tag #KedsHDYD. Keds will donate $1 per tweet received (up to a pre-determined amount) to a local arts-based cause in each market.  
• HOW DO YOU DO ART? At each campus event, muralists native to each city will be invited to create live works on large eight-foot square canvases influenced by the tweets received by the local community at each tour stop. Local artists will also show the "art of what's possible" with Keds by creating original works of art on Keds classic white Champion shoes.  
• HOW DO YOU DO MUSIC? Local bands and DJs will perform at each tour stop to add to the experience and celebrate the local flavor of each How Do You Do? location.

Students can step inside the Keds shoe box to get a glimpse into how Keds is creating, collaborating and contributing at each tour stop. The inside right wall of the shoe box will feature two 50-inch touch screen maps that also show video of local artists and charity partners, as well as select retailers who sell Keds in each city.  The opposing wall will showcase a video of all stops along the US tour and a gallery of all 30 city-inspired shoes that have been created for the "How Do You Do?" campus tour.  The floor of the shoe box will tell the brand's almost 100 year history of American style, complemented by a ceiling shoe gallery that will artistically showcase a multitude of the iconic Keds Champion silhouette.

The Keds How Do You Do? print ad campaign features three Keds Collective artists from around the country and showcases how they "do what they do" in and with their Keds. All print ads direct consumers to learn more about the artists and the "How Do You Do?" college tour at www.keds.com/hdyd.

The 2011 Keds "How Do You Do?" Tour will make a stop in the following cities:

• Austin, TX  – Style X at SXSW, March 18-19 and The University of Texas, March 22-23
  • Charity Partner: Austin Art + Music Partnership
• Los Angeles, CA – UCLA, March 29-30
  • Charity Partner: Inner-City Arts
• Boulder, CO – University of Colorado at Boulder, April 4-5
  • Charity Partner: BreakThrough Arts
• Lawrence, KS –  University of Kansas, April 7-8
  • Charity Partner: Van Go, Inc.
• Bloomington, IN -- Indiana University, April 20-21
  • Charity Partner: Blooming Artists Agency
• Philadelphia, PA -- University of Pennsylvania, April 25-26
  • Charity Partner: City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program
• Savannah, GA – Savannah College of Art & Design, April 30
  • Charity Partner: Savannah Arts Academy
• NYC – Fashion Institute of Technology & Pace University, May 5
  • Charity Partner: Free Arts NYC
• Boston, MA – Boston University and Massachusetts College of Art and Design, May 7
  • Charity Partner: Artists For Humanity

For more information about the Keds How Do You Do? campaign, and to learn how you can get involved, visit www.keds.com/hdyd.

About Keds

In 1916, Keds created a Timeless American Original: a shoe with a soft rubber sole so comfortable and quiet you could "sneak" up on your boyfriend or girlfriend -- and the "sneaker" was born.  This original sneaker, called "the Champion," has remained a style icon for almost 100 years.  From movie stars, artists and tennis pros, to first ladies and beatniks, just about everyone has walked, skipped or jumped in a pair of Keds.

Relevant now as it has been for generations prior, Keds has a contemporary new position -- timeless American style and the art of what's possible.  Today, a new generation is discovering the Keds brand, which is helping to inspire a collective spirit of new American style, youthful optimism, collaboration, contribution, and togetherness.  America was founded on the premise of possibility and Keds is the canvas to help people discover and create their own.

In 2009 Keds launched the Keds Collective.  Inspired by the brand's vision of creative freedom and individual style, this online community, housed at www.keds.com, brings together designers, cutting-edge artists, musicians, and other creative individuals, giving them an easy-to-use online design capability to express their creativity through designs on the Keds Champion™.  Keds Collective members can then set up an e-store to market and sell their designs creating a first-ever electronic business model to design market and sell shoes.  

Keds® is a division of Collective Brands Performance and Lifestyle Group (PLG), which focuses on lifestyle and athletic branded footwear for men and women, and high-quality children's footwear.  PLG is a unit of Collective Brands, Inc. (NYSE: PSS), headquartered in Topeka, Kan., a leader in bringing compelling lifestyle, fashion and performance brands for footwear and related accessories to consumers worldwide through multiple channels including retail, wholesale, ecommerce, franchising and licensing.  

SOURCE Keds