BLACK STAR BOOTS —

These boots were made for… walking away from the brink

After several years of downward-spiraling sales, Black Star Boots owner Matt Milliorn found himself at a crossroads: increase sales, or fold. The competition in ladies boots is fierce. Just a handful of majors own that space. But Matt was at a loss to understand why his boots, made in the same factories as the top name boot brand — handmade to the same level of quality — couldn’t gain traction even though they sold for less. That’s where we stepped in. We loved that Matt’s desire was to offer women high quality, hand-crafted boots without the crazy markup. And we quickly understood that nothing less than a complete re-tooling of his brand’s marketing strategy could turn things around.

Here at Misfit, you’ll often hear us say “your logo is NOT your brand.” Yet, the existing BSB logo was distinctly western in feel—problematic, since our research showed that Black Star’s audience wasn’t just rodeo queens, but every girl in touch with her inner cowgirl. So, we revamped the logo to reflect that attitude and the class the Black Star brand embodies. We developed an entire brand book with messaging and a tagline to carry that through to every touchpoint.

Black Star Boots now has a broad audience of women and, even, men follow the brand, making it critical for us to build a strong following where these people naturally congregate: namely, on Instagram. In addition, we’ve established a Black Star Boots ambassador program to help extend its grassroots-level outreach.

We knew that a large percentage of carts were being abandoned on the original Black Star Boots site—an off-putting, masculine-looking affair that was both difficult to navigate and to buy from. We also understood that the essential Black Star Promise wasn’t being communicated. The resulting revamp establishes Black Star as a prestigious brand that could run with the boot company big boys.

The rebrand has been a true 360º revamp. From creating fashion lookbooks to promotional materials, flash sale campaigns to packaging, and from new website to a sweet pop-up experience — Black Star Boots is now beginning to connect with its broader audience.

Maybe it’s time to go to blackstarboots.com and get you some new kicks, girl!

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