Stance stands for something bigger than socks. I had a lot of fun trying to fit it all into one line.
Socks haven't been my thing for years. Unless the weather or my wife forces my hand, I'm definitely going sockless clogs. It's not that I don't like them, per se. I've just reached that stage in life when I can't be bothered with certain things but I haven't completely thrown in the towel yet.
Here's a classic LinkedIn/marketing trope that probably doesn't mean anything when you sit down to pick it apart – but there's little on Linkedin or within marketing that merits any sort of mental rigor, so I won't attempt that here.
But I mention it to say that culture is a big deal for Stance. Like many outdoor/lifestyle brands, they found a community that expanded to more communities. When I started the project, I sat next to a finance guy on BART at 5 AM. He was wearing the standard finance guy suit uniform, but I could see a pair of Dodgers socks. The choice of teams was questionable. But he told me the socks gave him a chance to "be himself" in an office where he had to wear the same thing every day.
Stance, in the brand sense, had become underpinned by athletes, artists, and people who all wore their uniqueness on their sleeves (or feet in this case). That's a powerful idea.
I'm not always in favor of "taglines" because they come with so much emotional baggage. For clients, it can feel like getting a tattoo. They tend to overthink it, want the line to say everything, and there's rarely consensus. Stance was rare occasion when a tag line makes a lot of sense – when a brand needs an idea that brings culture, strategy, and product together.
Stitched Different speaks to the product and the community of artists, athletes, and 5 AM finance bros who all love the brand. But at a fundamentally human level, I guess we all want to feel like we're stitched different. That we're unique in our passions, hobbies and weirdness.
It wasn't enough to make me wear socks. But the tagline fits. And I'm happy I had the chance to write it.
