Designer Shoe Warehouse (DSW) today (Sept. 2) launched a new brand positioning, “Let Us Surprise You,” per details shared with Marketing Dive. The effort celebrates the in-store experience, as the retail chain conducts 70% of its business in person, and is a “conscious shift” forged after months of consumer segmentation, shop-alongs and research.

“We know that we have a fantastic transactional relationship with our consumers today, but we really wanted to move into the emotional space,” said Kelly Ballou, vice president of brand and creative at DSW. “We saw a nice opportunity to bridge that gap between our stores and developing a richer experience for consumers.”

The positioning also allows the brand, which has struggled in a tough economic climate, to reintroduce itself as a source of joy for stressed consumers. The brand platform and associated campaign is the first work produced in partnership with Crispin, which was appointed creative agency of record for DSW last fall.

“We knew that we were looking for someone who was going to help us really elevate our marketing and sharpen those points of differentiation, because the category is extremely crowded today, and we wanted someone who had the creative chops to help us do that,” Ballou said of Crispin’s appointment. 

At the center of the platform is a 60-second ad that brings the excitement of finding and trying on new shoes to life through a dance routine performed by dancer and choreographer Sydney Moss and choreographed by Noelle Marsh. The spot was informed by conversations with consumers who said that trying on shoes allows them to find joy in exploring different sides of themselves.

“When we first kicked off this partnership, we said that DSW was more than just a warehouse, it's a whole playground. And we are seeing this come to life in the new brand platform strategy. It’s all about showcasing the joy, surprise, and fun of shopping in a DSW store, a feeling you won’t find at a primarily online retailer,” said Maggie Malek, CEO of Crispin, in a statement.

Meeting consumers where they are

The spot was produced in partnership with London Alley and directed by Courtney Phillips, and will air across connected TV, over-the-top, YouTube and social media in various lengths. DSW is also partnering with Hypebeast with a media buy targeting a fashion-forward audience, as the brand sees an opportunity to grow a cultural connection with consumers.

“The ‘Let Us Surprise You’ platform is going to provide us that opportunity to say, ‘You may think you know DSW,’ but if you could just leave your assumptions at the door… we might have something in our assortment that surprises consumers [and] they also might find something surprising about themselves,” Ballou explained. 

New brand platform elements will also appear in retail locations, which have been provided a “vibey” playlist and a new cheerleading approach for store associates. In addition, DSW will have a “try-on zone” in its newly remodeled store in Framingham, Massachusetts that uses augmented reality (AR) mirrors to show consumers how they can style shoes with different clothes.

“We saw that as an opportunity to create a testing lab for us,” Ballou said. “That’s all meant to encourage exploration through footwear. We're excited to see how that goes and then potentially scale that to the rest of the fleet.”

Despite DSW seeing its first positive comparative sales in nine quarters at the tail end of 2024, parent company Designer Brands has struggled in 2025 amid a strained macroeconomic environment and depressed consumer sentiment. 

The brand’s marketing overhaul is intended to help the company get back on track by keeping previous consumers and attracting new ones. For DSW, that meant looking into its 16-million-strong loyalty base and developing consumer segmentation research that was based on behavior instead of demographics.

“The common truth that we found was that shoes, unlike other parts of a consumer's wardrobe, allow them to express themselves and play with different facets of their personality, and that was as true for a 24 year old as it was for a 64 year old,” Ballou explained.

“The other thing that we heard is that everybody could use a little more joy in their life today, regardless of who you are, how you see the world or what age you are, so we're trying to bring that all together and get it in front of consumers through the platform,” she added.