DR. MARTENS

Dr. Martens boots got their start from a german army doctor in WWII. While recovering from an injury, Klaus Märtens came up with added improvements to the standard issued military boot by adding soft leather and air padded soles made from tires. This led to the beginning of a the well known AirWair boot that everyone has come to recognize today. 

However, it is in Britain that the DM's got their iconic branding and look that is represented today - going from a standard work boot to a iconic name in fashion.


In 1959 Märtens sold his original patent to a UK shoe manufacturer, the Griggs company. The Griggs company added to the design and introduced the well known yellow stitching and AirWair tag. For the first few years DM's continued as a workers boot. Being used by postman, police officers, shop workers, and in factories. Martin Roach, the author of "Dr. Martens: The Story of an Icon" mentions that it wasn't until Pete Townshend of The Who wore them that they became fashionable and caught the eye of British youth and subcultures.


After a brief stint in the early 70's as being affiliated with a racist culture of skinheads - the brand took a bad hit. However, once the punk culture started to take hold, only a few years later, DM's had their revival. They also started to take notice to the creative individualism the punk culture had and how they were altering the original black and red boots to fit their own looks. 


Fast forward to the marketing of DM's today we can see how unique these shoes can be, how functional they are, and how they can cross over to a vast background of audiences. From an every day work boot, night time fashion statement, to a general part of your life. In 2011 ODD, a London based creative agency, launched their #firstandforever campaign with DM. 

"...a campaign that would challenge perceptions and celebrate its heritage by encouraging self-expression, a key pillar of Dr. Martens’ brand values."

ODD specializes in building a lifestyle around a brand. Their work with Dr. Martens and the First and Forever campaign brought an engaging platform to connect the brand and the consumer. Aside from showcasing the lifestyle that is DM, they also directly connected the consumer by using social media and asking them to share their first moments; from their first heart break, gig, or time they bought their first DM's. 

Dr. Martens have continued to showcase the lifestyle, creative individuality, and cultures that their consumer are a part of. Originally being marketed to workers and government officials to spanning decades of music, fashion, art, individualism, and activism.  What do you think?

Included below is a graph from the Atlas showing Dr. Marten's annual revenue from 2007-2017. You can see the impact that their work with ODD has had. 

Links: 
http://fabrikbrands.com/british-brands-dr-martens-history/
https://therake.com/stories/style/how-dr-martens-became-iconic/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dr._Martens
http://www.oddlondon.com/work/