Based on the analysis of Carhartt's sonic environment, here are some suggestions for executions that could strengthen Carhartt's connection to specific sounds and whole soundscapes.

1. Sounds of Brands
Lennart Fleschhut
Sound Branding 2015

2. Creative Executions
Sounds Associated with a Brand
Lennart Fleschhut
2015

3. Creative Executions
1. Out-crafting them all
with Nick Offerman
Who else fits better into the category
of craftsmanship?

4. INTRODUCTION Carhartt, Inc. was founded in 1889 by Hamilton Carhartt in Detroit, Michigan. The companies
headquarters are still located in Detroit, fostering their strong connection to their origin.
Throughout the United States, Carhartt is known for their durable and long-lasting workwear,
including jackets, pants, overalls, west, shirts, headwear etc.
Through their long-lasting evolvement in the working class field, the brand and their products
are strongly connected to the sonic environment of construction sites. Their latest campaign
called Force®, emphasizes this connection. The campaign, which to the current point includes
four videos, features specific sounds, e.g. hammer pounding steel and heavy machinery, taken
from a soundscape* that is well-known to the intended audience.
The next step in Carhartt’s pursuit to connect sounds specifically to their products and brands is
owning the soundscape of craftsmanship. Through a video series called Road Home to
Craftsmanship, started in 2014, Carhartt started this pursuit. So far the success for this project,
based on the number of views, is negligible. Highest number of actual content video views:
1,944.
The art of craftsmanship not only inherits a set of sounds, but also delivers cultural meaning
that is strongly connected to Carhartt’s culture; put your heart into your work, fellowship &
community, respect the material, work from dusk till dawn and don’t stop until something is
perfect.
This fresh approach should differentiate itself from Carhartt’s other projects.
In contrast to the current Force® campaign, which has serious tone to it, this approach should
add a humorous facette to the overall Carhartt brand voice.
*soundscape: the sounds of the environment as
a great macro-cultural composition, of which
men and nature are the composer/performers
The Road Home to Craftsmanship:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLs7nOxw3zsx6LpcHL33aKAlaxWPhlRvQR
Force®:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLs7nOxw3zsx4gFXVXBo9cEdF8vV0pB_Ah

5. Problem previous attempt to add humorous tone to brand voice unsuccessful
low respondance on Social Media Channels

6. PROBLEM
low respondance on
Social Media Channels
The engagement of people with Carhartt’s Social
Media Channels is very low. This makes it hard to
push the connection of Carhartt and
craftsmanship. The content is visible but not
appealing to the audience.
This is partly because the Social Media Channels
are not fully coherent, pushing similar content.
To force this sonic connection, people need to
see and engage with the content.

7. previous attempt to add
humorous tone to brand
voice unsuccessful
PROBLEM
By introducing the character “Chet Grogan” in one
of their Youtube series, Carhartt attempted to add
a humorous side to their brand voice.
An older attempt, a video series called Product
Talk, had the same goal.
In this series, they used a character called “Hank
the foreman”, who was cut out after a few
episodes.
Both attempts had low response rate.
Views: 2,191
Views: 2,907

8. Problem previous attempt to add humorous tone to brand voice unsuccessful
low respondance on Social Media Channels
Objective successfully add humorous tone to brand voice
strengthen connection of Carhartt to craftsmanship sounds

9. OBJECTIVE
working class/construction sites
crafting soundscape:
sawing, pulling cords, sharpening,
grinding, wood creaking,
hammer on metal, welding,
cutting, carving, nails rattling

10. Culture spokespeople, working together with celebrities creates higher level
of engagement
people become digitally fatigue

11. spokespeople/working together
with celebrities creates higher
level of engagement
CULTURE
Views: 58,566
Within their Force® campaign, Carhartt teamed
up with San Francisco Giants pitcher Madison
Bumgarner. He grew up in a middle-class family,
sharing the values that Carhartt delivers.
“Can’t imagine having soft, sissy hands.”
M. Bumgarner
The video including him has 10x more views than
any other video on Carhartt’s Youtube Channel.

12. people become digitally fatigue
More and more people are becoming fatigue from
a constant digital experience. People develop a
desire for unplugged activities.
According to Fjord 2015 Trend Report, “people
tend to feel overwhelmed, distracted and stressed
as a result of being continuously online and want
to turn off.”
CULTURE
http://www.accenture.com/SiteCollectionDocuments/us-en/accenture-fjord-trends-
2015.pdf

13. IDEA Out-crafting them all with Nick Offerman

14. Nick Offerman is most famous
for his role as Ron Swanson in
the TV-Show Parks and
Recreation. Beyond this role,
he represents a character that
stands in for American values,
hard work and most
importantly craftsmanship.
One could see him as the
personification of everything
that Carhartt stands for. Nick
Offerman is a comedian,
basing his concept on the idea
of being overly American in his
Stand-Up show American Ham,
released in 2014.

15. IDEA
How it works
Country-wide workshops with Nick Offerman
Together with a team, Nick Offerman will tour the United States with a program called “Out-crafting
them all with Nick Offerman”. People can purchase tickets to tour dates and participate in a workshop
session, crafting different kinds of objects.
The name of the project is based on the Force® campaign’s slogan “Out-work them all”.
By doing so, we add a new facet to the overall brand voice, but keep the brand and it’s campaigns
coherent.
The tone of a brand voice is part of their sonic environment and just as important as specific sounds.

16. Content The new campaign will be covered across various
Social Media Channels, including Youtube, Facebook,
Instagram, Twitter and for the first time: Periscope.

17. Content
Different channels will be used differently at a various times
before, during, and after the tour.
before
before tour announcement:
short clips to tease an
upcoming event, not
mentioning any details
after tour announcement:
clips of Nick preparing for
the tour in his workshop,
focus on sound
before tour announcement:
tease an event:
e.g.:
Nick Offerman spotted in the
Carhartt HQ, what could that
mean?
after tour announcement:
referencing Nick’s
preparations, referring/linking
to Instagram posts
before tour announcement:
livestreaming “spotting” of
Nick Offerman in the Carhartt
HQ
after tour announcement:
livestreaming Nick’s
preparation sessions
Periscope is a mobile App,
which enables the user to
livestream anything he wants.
Users can join any livestream
and comment, as well as like,
parallel to the livestream
before tour announcement:
after tour announcement:
weekly Check-in from Nick
presenting things he created
during the week and his
thoughts on the tour

18. Content
during
Different channels will be used differently at a various times
before, during, and after the tour.
during Tour:
pictures & videos pre-and
post workshops
participants are called
upon to contribute
content
videos & pictures from
being on-the-road,
“tour-diary”
during Tour:
live-updates before,
during and after the
workshops
participants are called
upon to contribute
content
during Tour:
livestream parts of the
workshops, focus on
sounds
participants are called
upon to live-share their
experience
during Tour:
individual event for every
tour date
more formal updates,
such as event starting
time, updates on ticket
availability
repost Youtube content
during Tour:
prompt recap videos
after every event, using
material Carhartt team
shot, as well as including
user provided content

19. Content
after
Different channels will be used differently at a various times
before, during, and after the tour.
after Tour
use content created
during the tour
call upon participants to
share their favorite
moments
after Tour
call upon participants to
share their favorite
moments on Instagram
after Tour
repost Youtube videos
repost Instagram content
reflect on tour
experience
after Tour
recap video
unpublished behind the
scenes, not-yet-used
content video
follow-up video with
Nick Offerman

20. Benefits Nick Offerman
Cross-channel
Live-event

21. Nick Offerman
BENEFITS
Choosing Nick Offerman as a spokesperson brings along a
number of benefits. As mentioned, he is well-known through his
role in the TV-Show Parks and Recreation. More importantly is
his role he plays in this show. His character Ron Swanson is a
craftsperson and a big supporter of creating things with your
own hands. He carries on this part of his role outside the TV-
Show.
In fact, he has his own woodshop company called Offerman
Woodshop.
Nick Offerman is also a successful Comedian, having his own
stand-up show called American Ham.
This combination makes him the perfect fit to connect a broad
audience to Carhartt, the connection of Carhartt and
craftsmanship, and on top of that, add the desired humorous
facet to the brand voice.

22. Cross-Channel
BENEFITS
Promoting, documenting and engaging the audience through
multiple channels benefits both aspired objectives.
It also boosts Carhartt overall Social Media channels.
By using several Channels, Instagram, Periscope, Facebook and
Youtube that feature sound, Carhartts get the chance to really
emphasize the sonic aspect of this campaign. Sounds within
the art of craftsmanship will be highlighted subliminally and
will consecutively be closer associated with the brand.
Through creating interesting and entertaining content, this
connection will organically grow in the viewer’s/listener’s
mind. Meaning we don’t force it with a direct approach, but we
force the connection to perseverance and repetition.

23. Live-Event
BENEFITS
The idea of a live-event is in so far beneficial, as on-hand
experiences are memorable than watching created content.
A personal experience grows in importance over time.
According to a recent article in The Atlantic, anticipation
creates happiness and excitement, which in this case, causes
the viewer to look into craftsmanship and do anything they can
to inform themselves. At this case they have already been
charged with the idea that the upcoming event is connected to
Carhartt.
The positive experience will stay in the visitor’s head with close
ties to Craftsmanship in connection with Carhartt.
As the tickets to those workshops are limited, we extend our
reach visually and sonically through live-streaming on
Periscope, giving more people the chance to get an insight into
this experience.
http://www.theatlantic.
com/business/archive/2014/10/buy-
experiences/381132/

24. Whats next? As a next step, we will send Nick Offerman on a world-tour,
exploring abstract design crafts and the art of craftsmanship
in different cultures.
The resulting content will ultimately anchor the soundscape
of craftsmanship with Carhartt.

25. Creative Executions
2. All by hand, all in the US
Carhartt X Monome
a collaboration, bringing
together two brands,
seemingly poles apart,
yet so close.

26. Monome is a manufacturer of interface devices for computers.
Their products are produced in Upstate New York with the help
of local suppliers and manufacturers. On their website they
state that they believe in beautiful design and quality
craftsmanship. They are supported by a strong community,
based on the concept of sharing and enthusiasm for creating.
These are values they share with Carhartt.
So how does that collaboration look like?
Using the community of Monome, Carhartt will start a musical
challenge. To push the goal of connecting the brand to sounds
of the field of crafting, on-the road, farming and community, we
will create a database of sounds from those soundscapes.
A weekly assignment will challenge participating artists to
create unique songs and musical pieces of art from an assorted
fraction of the collected sounds.
Every artists is welcome to experiment with the pieces as much
as possible. Songs will be gathered on a newly created Carhartt
Profile on Soundcloud.
To ensure on-going participating, a point system, based on
social-media feedback will create a ranking among
participating artists. Short-term prices, as well as long-term
prices will serve the same goal. Prices will come both fromhttp://monome.org/devices/

27. Creative Executions
PROOF
1. Connection to subcultural music
scene
Since the 1990’s, Carhartt has been closely
connected to the scene Hip-Hop scene. Their
collaboration with Danny Brown shows that they
are willing to work together with experimental
artists. Despite that, they attempted to enter the
electronical music scene before, by collaborating
with Vestax, manufacturer of electronic
equipment.2. Openness to work with company
that shares their values
Their collaboration with Chrysler, car
manufacturer, emphasized their interest in
connecting with a brand that doesn’t necessarily
seem to be a perfect fit at first glance. Despite
being from Detroit too, Chrysler inherits similar
values as Carhartt.
The idea of community, hard work and producing
in the United States is what creates the bridge
from Monome to Carhartt.
3. It relates and builds upon the
Road to Craftsmanship Campaign
Through the video series called Road Home to
Craftsmanship, Carhartt shows that they are
attempting to own sounds related to
craftsmanship.
To take a step further from just filming creators
and turning it into video content, this interactive
concept strengthens the connection of crafting

28. Creative Executions
3. Carhartt goes Podcast
from going back to what made
this country what it is, hard
work, we take another step back
to the earliest form of
entertainment

29. Let’s take a few step backs to an early form of entertainment
and communication, the radio. At first glance, one might
consider the radio as outdated, and as an advertising tool it is
most definitely for many companies. This is not the spot to look
at for new start-ups, but this is Carhartt.
Radio, in form of Podcasts has risen immensely in popularity
over the last year. Shows, such as This American Life and
Serial, have millions of listeners simmering every week towards
a new episode.
Why a Podcast for Carhartt? Carhartt represents the American
working-class, the backbone of this country. Work that needs to
get done, nothing fancy, no garnishments. So are Podcasts and
Radio, they are pure and linear.
Carhartt is represented in an immense spectrum of work, which
offers an unlimited variety of areas to explore for content.
Episodes will range from interviews, both with people like you
and me and also celebrities like Madison Bumgarner, that
share the company’s values, to features of working fields.
The episodes will subtly incorporate sounds from the different
working areas to make those explicit to the brand.
Commercial breaks will highlight products, focusing on their
specific sounds. (e.g. a commercial featuring the heavy sound

30. Creative Executions
PROOF
1. Carhartt is linear and emphasizes
the idea of perseverance
Through their collaboration with Chrysler on their
comeback, Carhartt emphasized their focus on
perseverance and that American companies and
values are there to last.
2. A concept that hasn’t been
explored by a company in this field
Carhartt’s competitors, Dickie and Helly Hansen,
collaborated in similar ways with musicians and
other companies. They also have endorsements
with teams and spokespeople.
Podcasts is a medium that hasn’t been explored
by a workwear related brand and yet offers many
possibilities to develop the brand sonically.
3. It relates and builds upon several
of their campaigns
A Carhartt Podcast offers a chance to support all
of their ongoing campaigns, as well as online
video-series. All of these have high sonic potential
and Podcasts will be a new outlet to explore this
potential.

31. THANK
YOU
Lennart Fleschhut
Sound Branding 2015