TOMS: The Story Of A Business With A Conscience

Nov 25th, 2012 6 Comments

One of my all time favorite brand stories belongs to TOMS.

It’s the story of a man who had an altruistic vision born out of the need to contribute practical solutions to the severe poverty situations in developing countries around the world.

The man behind the brand is Blake Mycoskie, a 36 year old American entrepreneur and author.  At TOMS, Blake’s known as Chief Shoe Giver.

Blake was inspired to launch the brand during one of his visits to Argentina where he witnessed kids running in the streets with no shoes.

He had to do something about it.  TOMS was his response.

About TOMS

TOMS’ business model is based on a simple premise; for every pair purchased, one pair is donated to a child in need.  TOMS stands for tomorrow (ie every shoe you buy today secures a shoe for a needy kid tomorrow). This altruistic story became the bedrock  of the company and the story that catapulted the brand to glory.

Their shoes are based on the traditional Argentinian alpargata style, where the TOMS movement began.

TOMS took the campaign digital with their One for One campaign and sponsor effective awareness campaigns such as One Day Without Shoes.  Watch:

 

TOMS also host donation stories on their YouTube channel, which has million of views.

Here’s one of these touching stories:

A Sustainable business model

The TOMS brand story is one of success.  Their shoes are sold at more than 500 stores around the world.

Since its launch in 2006, they’ve  donated more than two million pairs of shoes in 40 countries and have manufacturing facilities in three.

In addition to it being a sustainable business model, the TOMS story has helped shape the field of social entrepreneurship by providing inspiration to thousands of young entrepreneurs around the world and paving the way for a new disruptive start-up model that’s now been tried and tested.

Nicely done TOMS.  You’ve got a fan in me.

Over to you…

Has Blake’s TOMS brand story inspired you?  Share your views…

Other places to find TOMS

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New age adman, corporate brand storyteller and proud father of 2 incredible kids. Omar is Chief Strategy Officer at Sandstorm Digital; a new age brand communications agency. Omar has over 20 years experience in marketing and advertising, the last 10 years being in digital within large media agency environments. During that time, Omar developed and implemented cutting edge campaigns for some of the world's best known brands. For the latest in digital marketing and industry news and updates, follow Omar's Twitter stream (@OmarKattan) or add him to one of your Google+ Circles: Omar Kattan's Google+ Profile.

  • http://www.marksampson.com/ Mark Sampson

    I’m a massive fan of TOMS; they are truly a purpose before profit company. By defining their brand by what they believe, rather than what they sell, TOMS has evolved from selling footwear to eyewear – and it makes perfect sense.

    At the heart of their existence is the one-for-one model – for every item bought, they will give another away. If they’d defined their brand by product (the traditional way) they’d have only been able to sell shoes – imagine Clarks shoes suddenly selling glasses in their stores. It just wouldn’t work.

    The backstory of TOMS goes a long way to help humanise the brand and create a solid bond with its audience – however TOMS goes one step further. It uses social platforms to tell its story – creating a deeper connection by showing the difference the one-for-one model is making to those in need. This is the real power of social. In days gone by, brands would have made money in any way they could, and then cleansed their corporate soul by donating a portion of their profits to a charity. Giving is at the heart of TOMS existence, not just something that’s bolted on – and it always ensures that customers can always see how they are helping to make a difference. TOMS is a story customers see themselves in and more importantly want to be a part of.

    TOMS is a poster-child of the power of purpose and story in our increasingly noisy world.

    • http://www.omarkattan.com/ Omar Kattan

      Thanks for your input and for supplementing this post with excellent insights Mark. Very difficult not to be a fan of such brands and of such entrepreneurs who put purpose before profits.

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