In 1986, George Yohn and Bill Mann decided to break into the industry with a simple goal: create shoes that are more functionally sound and durable for skateboarders. Hence, Airwalk was born. Airwalk is a real pioneering brand when it comes to the progression of that same sub-culture. It includes snowboarding, skiing, mountain biking and skateboarding. It is fueled by passion and progression, driven by people pushing innovation, supporting the scene, and taking risks.
Airwalk originated as a start-up skate shoe company in 1985
By the end of 1987, Airwalks were available in over 100 styles, selling for relatively low prices, between $20 and $30.
Airwalk was founded by Bill Mann and George Yohn. While developing the technical aspects of the new type of shoe, Mann also went to work on its styling.
Airwalk started to sell in Europe market.
Airwalk weathered the collapse of its core skateboarding market. The sudden proliferation of skateboard parks across the country soon sparked a backlash against the sport. Many of the skateboard parks were closed, and Airwalk saw its sales slump to $8 million.
Airwalk stepped up its advertising budget, in part to counter attempts by Nike--then facing a drop in demand for basketball shoes as the athletic market as a whole began to slip —and others moved to enter the action sports arena. Spending $30 million in 1995, the company pledged another $40 million for 1996.
Airwalk had taken the lead in sales of snowboarding boots, just as snowboarding was becoming the country’s fastest growing sport.
Airwalk rebrands and devotes its efforts to build and shape an innovative community of people who want to challenge themselves and pursue a passionate and active life.
Airwalk moved its company to Denver Colorado, and it was purchased by Sunrise Partner.
Airwalk aims to create a unique brand, community and purpose within the sports industry. The purpose of the vision can be to bring positive passion and adventurous spirit to people through innovative events, advanced social media and compelling brand activities.
Airwalk has been a pioneer in skating, snowboarding and many different action sports. Airwalk had a healthy business which gave people a good brand image, and it has began to design its professional skate shoes for a long time.
Brand Mission We devote our efforts to build and shape an innovative community of people who want to challenge themselves and pursue a passionate and active life.
We aim to create innovative products for people.
We deliver our passion and growth with opportunities in this community.
We are dedicated to promoting an active lifestyle for people who lead a challenging and explorative life.
These original images depict the look of Airwalk in the past. Airwalk has developed and supported the footwear industry, skateboarding culture and surfing culture for a long time. We uphold a spirit of taking risks and facing challenges with an active life.
Brand Grid
These images represent the future look that Airwalk will showcase. In the future, Airwalk will bring our positive energy, passion and growth with opportunities for the community in action sports. Also, we believe this innovative culture will facilitate a better connection between people.
Brand Grid
Structuring persona plays a vital role for a brand. It facilitates a brand to mull over its potential target audience. My personas personality are based on 3 key points: challenges, urban and connection. I believe these 3 keywords can help my brand distill the people who want to stay close to the culture of my brand.
Nathan Age: 20 years old
Gender: Male
Occupation: College Student Location: New York, New York Income: 25,000
A Nathan frequently goes rock climbing and attends Spartan events because he enjoys extreme sports.
A Nathan participates in street graffiti competitions once every two months, so he can earn extra money to buy more art supplies.
A Nathan likes to learn new languages in order to become polyglot, so he can paint different scripts on streets.
B Nathan has been a painter since he was 5 years old, and he has been obsessed with street graffiti culture for 10 years.
B Nathan likes to skateboard to school, so he can stay fit.
C Nathan always shares his artwork with his classmates in school, so he can make more friends.
C Nathan actively volunteers in his local community by hosting free painting classes once a week for young children.
Dexter Age: 22 years old Gender: Male
Occupation: Skier Location: Denver, Colorado Income: 60,000
A Dexter trains 5 days a week with the hope to eventually join the USA Olympic ski team.
A Dexter has a strict diet because he participates ski competitions once every 3 months.
A Dexter is passionate about helping his community so he volunteers for the ski patrol in his free time.
B Dexter always explores new things to do in Denver, and he likes to skateboard on weekends.
B When Dexter is not on the mountain, he’s in the streets roller skating with his friends.
C Dexter is an extrovert, so he likes to chat with his friends in the roller skate rink.
C Dexter likes to grab IPAs with his friends in downtown Denver in the evening because it is one of the ways to release his stress.
Linda
Age: 26 years old
Gender: Female
Occupation: Tattooist
Location: Chicago, Illinois
Income: 65,000
A Challenges
B Urban C Connections
A Linda takes part in tattoo competitions twice a year, so she can always improve her tattoo skills.
A Linda runs her personal studio which comes with the responsibility of handling day-to-day business operations.
A Linda has clients who ask her to do spontaneous tattoos on their bodies which tests her creative ability.
B Linda has a dog at home which requires her to take many walks a day in her neighborhood.
B Linda is an avid fan of rock music, so she likes to go to underground music venues every weekend.
C Linda always meets up with other tattooists when she travels abroad for work because she can gather different inspiration from other artists.
C Karaoke is one of Linda’s favorite pastimes where she can let loose and sing her heart out with her fellow tattoo friends.
65,000
A Drew wants to have his personal music studio in the future, so he is going on tours around the USA currently.
A Drew makes two songs per day because he likes to keep up his passion in music.
A One of Drew’s dream is to perform his music at EDC, so he tries to promote his music through marketing campaigns.
B Drew likes to check out different coffee shops while he is working on his music projects.
B Drew gets a trendy and fancy hair cut once every 2 weeks, so he can always have a fresh look when he DJs.
C Drew is an extroverted DJ, so he always talks to other DJ at Coachella.
C Drew shares firsthand information of his creations with his friends because that is his area of expertise.
A Annie takes 200 photos of skateboarders a week because she is obsessed with skate culture.
A Annie always learns how to develop different types of film, so she can advance in her career.
A Annie saves her money so she can fulfill her dream of one day visiting the Amazon Rainforest.
B Annie likes to shoot different angles of skyscrapers in her city.
B Annie grabs a cup of matcha every day and visit museums in her city once a week.
C Annie likes to share her film with skateboarders, so she can get her name out there.
C Annie posts her photos on Instagram every day, and she has her shooting tips in short tutorials.
Maurice
Age: 30 years old
Gender: Male
Occupation: Parachuting Coach
Location: Tracy, California
Income: 51,000
A Challenges B Urban C Connections
A Maurice wants to earn more money, so he has a part-time job as a bartender.
A Maurice has to teach 25 parachuting classes per week which he advertises on lots of platforms.
A Maurice’s kids are on school sports teams, so he always keeps his body in shape in order to be a good role model for them.
B Maurice likes to wear his fancy sneakers while he’s going shopping with his wife.
B Maurice wants to be a good dad, so he takes his kids to local museums once a month.
C Maurice posts his parachuting videos on social media twice a week.
C Maurice shares his parachuting experience to people in local sports bars who want to get a parachuting certificate.
Age: 35 years old
Gender: Female
Occupation: Lawyer
Location: Seattle, Washington Income: 110,000
A Daya needs to read 10 business reports a week in order to catch the latest information of business law industry.
A Daya wants to operate her personal law firm by 40.
A Daya has meeting with her lawyer committee every afternoon in order to catch the latest information.
B Daya likes to go to outdoor movie with her husband.
B Daya buys her fashion clothes online twice a week in order to get in vogue.
C Daya attains new connections when she communicates with her, colleagues and judges.
C Daya is the chief leader in her lawyer committee, so she always share her experience with new lawyers.
Joji Age: 37 years old Gender: Male
Occupation: Hedge Fund Manager Location: Tokyo, Japan Income: 160,000
A Joji needs to check his client’s hedge funds and investments every day because he wants to build and maintain long term relationships with his clients.
A Joji needs to structure the strategies of investment processes and risk management for his team.
A Joji wants to successfully complete 2 half marathons a year, so he can meet his personal fitness goals.
B Joji goes jogging around his city with his running group because he loves to explore new spots in the city.
B Joji drives his car to LA downtown for work every day.
C Joji shares his investment skills with other friends in bars on Fridays night.
C Joji shares his business knowledge and stock analysis on YouTube.
For the next coming pages, we will analyze current competitors, adjacent competitors and aspirational competitors. In order to position my brand on the market, it is important to know the competition in the same industry. On the other hand, it is a better way to help me understand the differences and attributes between Airwalk and other brands.
The current competitors show the challenges that Airwalk currently faces. The competitors here are mostly in the footwear industry.
DC Shoes is one of the American companies that specializes in footwear for action sports. It includes skateboarding and snowboarding. It has been committed to progression—from game-changing skate shoes to supporting the most groundbreaking skateboarders and snowboarders on Earth.
Vans is one of the famous American manufacturers of skateboarding shoes. Vans also devotes itself as an original action sports brand and an icon of creative expression.
In 1989, Adidas put together a dedicated section of their brand specifically for skateboarding. It brings to the brand a legendary acumen not just for skateboarding, but for photography as well. Adidas skateboard shoes themselves may be memorable from a visual standpoint, but they consider the functionality as well.
Converse first became popular with skateboarders in the 1970s. Converse is made exclusively for skateboarding, Converse CONS are made with extra durable materials and offer superior comfort for shredding the streets.
Nike introduced the “SB” brand in 2000. The Nike SB Dunk Low model was released and featured a padded tongue and collar, along with “Zoom Air” insoles. Nike SB’s journey began with a close-knit team of skateboarders and creatives led by innovation, a lot of listening, and thinking outside of the box. From tech, inspiration, or respect, any idea was fair game and over-the-top.
Numeric is a New Balance series dedicated to skateboarders and anyone involved in this colorful street culture. The series combines the features of New Balance, which have already become a unique heritage, such as comfort, high quality of materials, advanced technologies and transfers them to the section of skateboard culture. Sneakers of Numeric series also became a frequent icon of leisure style.
Cariuma dedicates itself to creating comfortable sneakers that are better for people and the planet. They empower sustainable choices and believe consumers should buy quality over quantity—the only true answer to sustainability.
Lakai is built on the dedication and pride that they have always invested into their skateboarding and the Girl and Chocolate brands. With a focus on creating an atmosphere that is supportive and motivating while developing a product line that team riders can be proud of, Lakai has maintained a distinctive level of integrity and respect within the skateboarding community since its beginning.
DVS is a global footwear brand dedicated to inspiring youth to have fun and always push forward. They focus on originality, quality, and innovation. We create a diverse range of performance & lifestyle products designed for those who share our passion for defying boundaries.
Fallen was known for their shoes, flannels, hoodies, T-shirts, snapbacks, book bags, jeans/shorts, and skateboarding videos. Professional skateboarder Jamie Thomas created Fallen Footwear to embody the quality, passion, and timeless tradition that characterized his career. Thomas’s love for skateboarding, his tireless work ethic, and his commitment to quality made Fallen one of the most iconic core shoe brands in skateboarding.
The adjacent competitors show the adjacent brands that also specialize in other athletic footwear for people who participate in other sports and action sport activities.
Puma is the third largest sportswear manufacturer in the world. The brand founder, Rudolf, wanted his brand to represent characteristics of a puma— speed, strength, agility and endurance. The footwear has a classic look, and it combines street and hip-hop subcultures together with the sports industry.
Reebok is an American fitness footwear and clothing manufacturer that is a part of Authentic Brands Group. It has some of the most casual and classic footwear with high-quality materials over sports performance. Reebok is dedicated to providing each and every athlete—from professional athletes to recreational runners to kids on the playground.
We can see nowadays Mizuno is a global corporation which makes a wide variety of sports equipment and sportswear for badminton, baseball, boxing, cycling, football, running, skiing, athletics, swimming, tennis and volleyball. The well-known running shoes have durable rubber outsoles and offer plenty of stability and comfort for professional runners.
One of the most famous features of HOKA running shoes is that it is highly cushioned with lightweight and breathable material. Other than that, it has a compression-molded midsole and inner heel support. Also, with HOKA’s Meta-Rocker technology, it is designed to propel you forward and encourages a more natural stride.
FILA is a sportswear brand of shoes and apparel. It is a brand which combines a vintage look with a contemporary spirit. The target audience of FILA varies quite widely. We can see that teenagers to elderly people wear this fashionable brand nowadays.
The North Face specializes in shoes which can make all the difference for a long day of hiking or backpacking. It has sturdy fabric and the specially crafted outsoles are perfect for even the toughest trail. The North Face shoe line includes booties, running shoes and hiking boots.
Asics believes physical activity is an essential part of overall wellbeing. Its running shoes are well-known across the world. The founder Kihachiro Onitsuka’s goal was to create footwear for Japanese youth so they could maintain healthy lifestyles.
Under Armour is an American sports equipment company that manufactures footwear, sports and casual apparel. Its footwear has high quality basketball shoes and running shoes.
Brooks is a Seattle-based fitness apparel company that’s best known for producing high quality, reliable running shoes. The 107-year-old brand continues to be a favorite among casual and distance runners alike, as it offers shoes that are durable and comfortable.
Wilson has long been recognized as the leader in tennis rackets and balls. They also have a solid offering of tennis shoes. Regularly updated to handle the demands of the sport, Wilson tennis shoes are among the most innovative shoes out there.
Airwalk will take advantage of building connections with other active organizations in the community in the future. The aspirational competitors show that Airwalk can collaborate with or expand into new markets from now onwards.
Hurley is an American brand that sells clothes and accessories in the surfing and swimming industry. This community upholds a spirit of innovation through the lens of inclusion, turning the ultimate result into a wonderful celebration of the people, music and art. The principle of Hurley is to empower and fuel the next new era.
Gatorade, an American brand, includes sports-themed beverage and food products that built around its signature line of sports drinks. Gatorade focuses on creating more possibilities and opportunities for equity and belonging in sports.
Monster community takes encouragement and support to make dreams come true. Monster Energy is an energy drink that was created by Hansen Natural Company in April 2002, and it encourages active spirit in action sports, punk rock music, partying, and living life on the edge.
O’Neill is a American brand that was founded in San Francisco, California in 1952 by Jack O’Neill. It specializes in wetsuits, performance water and snow sports, inspired apparel for young adults and lifestyle apparel. They encourage people use our imagination to overcome our barriers that restrict and confine us.
Sony Music Publishing is the largest music publisher in the world. The mission of Sony Music Publishing is to elevate the songwriters by supporting their careers, amplifying opportunities, building collaboration and protecting their rights.
The United States Parachute Association (USPA) is a voluntary non-profit membership organization of individuals who enjoy and support the sport of skydiving. USPA devotes itself to promote an ethos that allow their sport to be safe, inclusive and fun. They value inclusivity and reject discrimination based on race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation and religious belief.
Universal Music Group is the world’s leading music company that is a Dutch–American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. In their mission statement, UMG is committed to playing a role of leader in the music industry’s technological transformation. According to this engagement, it enables their artists to explore more and more new opportunities and possibilities in the music field.
The Skatepark Project achieves their mission of helping young people by issuing grants to low-income communities, building quality public skateparks, and providing guidance to city officials, parents, and children through the process. The founder, Tony Hawk, believes skateboarding is a healthy outlet and recreational challenge, and it creates creativity in social groups.
Red Bull’s mission statement is to support people in their goals and help them achieve their dreams by drinking the best energy drink in this world. The community of Red Bull focuses on promoting freedom and an active lifestyle, providing quality products, service and upgrading lives.
Burton has been committing to innovating and changing the way that people enjoy the outdoors since day one. The community of Burton believes that they have a responsibility to support skiing, snowboarding and the lifestyle that they pioneered. They are challenging themselves to reject the status quo and seek for the next evolution.
We will identify and explore 20 keywords based on our current and adjacent competitors. Also, by observing these attributes, we can see what makes Airwalk unique and where is Airwalk’s niche market.
Relevant / Good Positive -Unique -Creative -Professional -Quality -Trustworthy
Neutral -Contemporary -Athletic -Active -Sporty -Casual
Bankrupt / Stale / Negative -Footwear -Basic -Vintage -Outdated -Challenged
Claim / Own -Innovative -Urban -Collaborative -Passionate -Connection
It is important to understand the brand soul and the brand mission to help the new Airwalk grow and evolve. In order to bring Airwalk into next level and give more possibilities for the new Airwalk, we will have the second book—Visual Development Guide in this series, and there will be three books in total in this rebranding journey.
This is student rebranding project. Any content here are only for educational purposes and non-commercial use.
This project is only for educational purposes
