Copywriting and marketing support for a professional footwear manufacturer

The client: Toffeln/WearerTech

Established in 1978, Toffeln develops supportive, protective and comfortable footwear for professionals who spend their working lives on their feet, with a core audience of nurses, surgeons, and chefs.

The need

Toffeln had a strong heritage as a British-based family business, plus a solid track record of sales – particularly in the medical and catering industries.

Despite this, brand awareness among their target audience was low, and a clear marketing strategy was needed to grow the business further. What makes their shoes stand out in the professional footwear market is the science, research and customer feedback that go into them – but they were missing an opportunity to shout about it.

There was huge potential to capitalise on the company’s credibility and position within the marketplace, and to build on what they had already achieved – particularly as little had been invested on marketing in recent years.

Big changes were afoot within the company, fundamentally affecting the structure of the business and its sales channels, as well as the way they market their products. This included the introduction of a planned approach to marketing through two key channels – the catering trade, and the medical profession.

Without an in-house team to support him, their new marketing director needed help – and fast.

The solution

I was initially recommended to Toffeln by Mat Jolly, owner of Cheltenham-based design agency, Jolly Good. Things kicked off with a day of naming work, in which we helped to create a new brand name and tagline that summarises the care and technology that goes into Toffeln’s latest range of shoes. They liked one of my suggestions – WearerTech – so much that they decided to use it on the shoes themselves, and to transform WearerTech into an entirely new brand, with a new website and marketing materials.

This work has developed into writing product brochures, sales process and marketing emails, video scripts, website copy, sign-up copy, packaging materials, and documents for both staff and distributors.

I’ve helped the company to establish a clear messaging strategy, and developed an informal, friendly – sometimes slightly irreverent – tone of voice that’s now being used across the board to communicate with their target audience.

Mat and I continue to work closely as part of Toffeln’s extended marketing team (a rebrand means they’re now known as WearerTech) often brainstorming ideas and discussing projects, while regular production meetings with their marketing director keep things running smoothly.

This is a perfect example of how a business with little in-house resource can benefit from using skilled and experienced consultants to support their marketing, instead of expanding their own team.

In the client’s words…

“Sarah is the kind of person that just ‘gets it’.

“She’s incredibly professional, always meeting deadlines and she delivers content that always exceeds expectations.

“The combination of her creativity, flexibility and her ability to put herself in the shoes of both our distributors and direct customers to deliver engaging and effective content, makes her a key part of the team.

“I know there is never a need to worry when Sarah is working on a project.”

Justin Rocyn-Jones, Marketing Director, WearerTech

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