Crocs picks Digitas as its global creative and media agency of record

Crocs has chosen Digitas as its global creative and media agency of record, Ad Age has learned. The footwear brand put the two accounts into review earlier this year.

Crocs’ last media agency was McKinney, which held the account since 2014 and participated in the pitch, according to people familiar with the situation. Before deciding on Digitas, the brand was handling creativity in-house, though it had previously worked with shops including Yard. It's unclear whether Crocs will continue handling aspects of creative in-house.

McKinney said it currently still handles media for the brand, but wouldn’t confirm details about the pitch process. Digitas referred comment to Crocs, which declined to comment.

Crocs —one of Ad Age’s Hottest Brands of 2020—saw revenue increase 67% in 2021, a record year for the brand. Its first quarter report released in May shows that revenue grew 43% and the company said it expects to grow sales by another 20% this year.

The positive gains come as Crocs has continued to make strides in brand collaboration and new product drops. It partnered with music superstars such as Justin Bieber, Bad Bunny and Diplo, and also created Crocs World in Minecraft. Crocs also partnered with luxury fashion brand Balenciaga for many years, launching its Crocs Pools sandal at the design house’s spring 2022 runaway show. The style goes for $565.

The brand has also increased its ad spending over the years, going from $83.2 million in 2019 to $101 million in 2020, and ramping up to $172 million last year, according to Kantar.

Part of the brand's strategy moving forward is focusing on purpose by investing in sustainability and continuing to engage with consumers in the metaverse and beyond.

“We set out to build these powerful relationships with our fans and connect to them as individuals,” Heidi Cooley, senior VP and chief marketing officer, said in May, when she was named one of Ad Age’s 2022 leading women. “We want to make sure we’re showing up for them where they were spending time with authentic experiences.”

This is a significant win for Digitas which won global media AOR duties for Norwegian Cruise Line earlier this year and integrated lead agency duties for The Auto Club Group in December 2021. Digitas, named AdAge's Data & Insights Agency of the Year in March, is known for work that integrates data into its media and creative. Last year Digitas helped attract more store traffic for Dunkin' by using location data to look for people near Dunkin' stores, particularly those who also had a purchasing history that showed they were Starbucks drinkers but may have stopped going to the rival chain during lockdowns. 

Digitas may also help Crocs if the brand continues moving into the Web3 space. In a March discussion about metaverse trends to watch, Danisha Lomax, head of media (West) and paid social for Digitas, spoke about how marketers will be able to take the lessons learned from social commerce on platforms like Snap and apply them to virtual worlds.

"I actually think that social as a behavior is really the bridge that opens the door for so many metaverse opportunities, when we think about live streaming and when we think about the evolution of shopping and how creators are now able to authentically host and showcase products that sell out in minutes in a way that's never been done before," Lomax said in March.

The news comes less than a week before Crocs’ second-quarter earnings report, due to be released Aug. 4.