Who Made Crocs Cool?
Once exclusively the shoe of nurses everywhere, Crocs’ marketing team has done a phenomenal job of making the foam clog shoes a staple for Gen-Zenials everywhere. In addition to strategic influencer and brand partnerships, this boost in popularity was mainly done with the help of some really strong and eclectic celebrity partnerships.
Crocs’ choice of celebrities provides an incredible range of people, hitting demographics that span all ages and genders. In this blog, Hollywood Branded explores some of the top Crocs celebrity partnerships with Ruby Rose, Luke Combs, Post Malone, and more.
Post Malone
No stranger to the brand, Post Malone has created not one, but four unique launches for Crocs. His first collaboration with the brand featured his brand’s name “Posty Co.” on the heel along with six custom Jibbitz charms, one of those being Malone’s “Stay Away” tattoo. This pair sold out in under an hour, so it was a no brainer when the brand approached Post for a second collaboration. This version was inspired by his latest album at the time, “Beerbongs & Bentleys,” and the shoe featured a yellow and black barbed wire design with another six custom Jibbitz charms. This collaboration AGAIN sold out in under an hour – sensing a pattern here?
By his fourth collaboration, the Crocs basically marketed themselves. Knowing they wouldn’t last long though, Malone made a surprise delivery of this design to hundreds of employees and customers at Chicken Express in Southlake, Texas, where the musician worked his first and only job pre-music. And it’s a good thing he did because to literally no one’s surprise, this collaboration also sold out in minutes!
Justin Bieber + DREW
Given his immense popularity combined with his relaxed streetwear vibe, Justin Bieber was a no-brainer when it came to a Crocs collaboration. The partnership is actually between Justin Bieber, Crocs, and Justin’s clothing brand Drew, which is very obvious when you see the bright yellow color of the Crocs that matches Drew’s iconic colors perfectly. Just teasing the collaboration at first with a cryptic Instagram post from Justin’s account featuring a pair of Crocs floating in a pool, the brand’s stock jumped 13%! When the co-branded design finally launched, it barely lasted 90 minutes before every pair was sold out. In his promotion of the collab, Justin said, “I’ve been wearing Crocs since the beginning of time, and now I have my own design.”
Drew Barrymore
Launching in 2018, Drew Barrymore is one of the few non-musician celebrities to collaborate with Crocs. The actress and talk show host launched a limited-edition line of Crocs for both women and kids that of course featured the brand’s iconic aesthetic mixed with a touch of Drew’s personal style and embellishments. And… the collaboration has been a confirmed hit as the styles are sold out on Crocs’ website. It seems that appealing to moms and kids in addition to the coveted Gen-Zenial market proved a worthy risk for the brand to take on!
Luke Combs
Tied only with Post Malone for the most Crocs collaborations to date is country music superstar, Luke Combs, with a whopping FOUR collabs with the brand. And similar to Post Malone, each collaboration is has been more successful than the last. Previous designs have featured a wood pattern, another one featuring a camo print, and a third being a fresh take on a Croc slide. His latest collection, releasing in November of 2020, is white with a black fleece interior, proving that not even winter weather should keep you from rocking clogs with holes in them. This pair again sold out in minutes and can be found on resale sites for over $200 (they originally retailed for $65).
Ruby Rose
After a successful collaboration in October 2019, Crocs sought to remake the magic yet again with actress Ruby Rose. This time the collaboration, which launched in June of 2020, marked a celebration of PRIDE, with proceeds of the sales being donated to GLAAD, an organization dedicated to promoting and ensuring fair, accurate, and inclusive representation of people and events in the media as a way to build a culture that fully embraces and accepts the LGBT community. Keeping with the PRIDE theme, the foam clogs featured a rainbow marble design unique to each show, removable black laces that read “PRIDE”, and a 2.4 inch sole for added height (who needs stilettos when you got heightened Crocs!). And… shocker! The collaboration sold out within hours, proving yet another successful campaign for the brand.
KISS
Created with their "End of the Road" tour in mind, iconic hard rock band, KISS, teamed up with Crocs to create a line of Jibbitz charms and limited edition clogs.
The first pair of clogs released in the collaboration is a new style - the brand combined their Baya clog with extra ventilation holes with their Crocband Silhouette with a "sporty midsole" to create the "Bayaband KISS Clog" - a shoe as iconic as the band.
Along with the new type of shoe, the collaboration introduced two new Jibbitz. At $3.99 a pop, Crocs and KISS fans alike can adorn their favorite shoe with charms featuring the band logo and Gene Simmons' face! The collaboration includes four types of Crocs (two in the Bayaband style, one classic style, and one platform style), with four different designs, and all are sure to help consumers live out their rocker-dreams - all while staying comfortable!
Bad Bunny
Yet another massive star with a Crocs partnership is the king of Latin trap music, Bad Bunny. The collaboration included the classic Croc in white with added glow-in-the-dark Crocs and Bad Bunny-inspired Jibbitz.
While the shoe wasn't reinventing anything, the collaboration was highly anticipated and inventory was completely sold out in 16 minutes - a record for the brand! Crocs hasn't restocked the shoes (despite fans begging the brand to do so), and now they're being resold online for $265+!
Diplo
Everyone's favorite unconventional DJ and record producer has yet another project to add to his resume - Crocs designer! The eccentric musician teamed up with Crocs to create a mini line of clogs that were inspired by a walk in the woods (albeit a very trippy one).
The multicolored tie-dyed and swirled clogs are nothing short of a statement piece; with tons of bright colors and fun patterns, it's impossible to go unnoticed with these new clogs! Along with the standard clog version of the shoe, Diplo and Crocs created a colorful line of sandal Crocs - all the comfort of the clog you know and love, with an open toe! Both versions of the shoe come with tons of Jibbitz - including ones with Diplo's name, so psychedelic flowers, trippy doodles, and (my personal favorite), 3D glow-in-the-dark mushrooms.
Balenciaga
Not so much a flesh-and-blood celebrity as it is an iconic fashion house, Balenciaga paired up with Crocs for an out-of-this-world collaboration. Sticking with the standard format of the rubber Crocs, but adding a sky-high platform, designer Demna Gvasalia created green, pink, yellow, and black clogs for models to wear as they strutted down the runway for Balenciaga's Spring 2018 ready-to-wear show.
The brightly colored clogs came with a myriad of Jibbitz, including the Italian flag, the Balenciaga logo, and flowers, and retailed for a mere $850. The shoe, unsurprisingly, sold out in minutes and opened up the fashion giant to yet another Crocs collaboration, this time with a stiletto-style clog, for their 2022 spring runway show.
Crocs Is Doing Something Right
The SOLD OUT graphics all over their website is a great indication of how well these collaborations are performing for the brand, even amid the pandemic that is butchering many retailers. In October 2020, Crocs reported a $362 million quarter, which is 15.7% higher than their earnings the year prior. This isn’t to say that they weren’t affected by COVID-19. The brand certainly took a bit of a nosedive around the March-April 2020 time period, but thanks to the shoe’s comfort (they’re perfect for rocking around the house, quarantining) and these celebrity partnerships, the brand is in a better place than they were pre-pandemic. When speaking with investors, Crocs CEO Andrew Reese had this to say about the celebrity collaborations, “They drive consumer engagement. They drive social and digital impressions on a global basis and on an enormous scale. In addition, the dynamics of the consumer shopping on our website allows us typically to collect their email addresses and create a relationship with those consumers, which obviously has value beyond the sale of that collaboration… Given the portfolio of collaborations, and the different types of consumers that we’re bringing to the site, that obviously broadens our reach as a brand.”
It's also important to note again the sheer range of celebrities the brand is partnering with. They’re reaching all genres of music with a sprinkle of some unique actresses, ensuring that there is a collaboration for every demographic. No one is off-limits for Crocs, which is exactly how a brand should be approaching marketing right now, and it’s working!
What's Next?
Crocs isn't the only brand to use celebrities and influencers to their advantage. Take a look at some of the below blogs featuring other notable brand partnerships!
- The Most Effective Celebrity Endorsements For Super Bowl 2020
- Ariana Grande's Partnership With Starbucks
- Celebrity Partnerships With Makeup Brands
- The Top Food Influencers and Branded Partnerships
- Top Celebrity Beverage Endorsers
One of the top questions we get from brands interested in celebrity and influencer partnerships is, "How much will it cost?" Of course a very fair question, but not an easy answer. Check out the below calculator to get a better idea of how much your dream influencer will cost!
