A fresh face for sneakers

DJ Fresh

K-Swiss SA brand director Jeremy Nel says that a dedicated marketing and advertising campaign will be initiated to assist in building and amplifying both K-Swiss and DJ Fresh as leading South African brands.

“Fresh will act as the face of K-Swiss on billboards, and in print and broadcast ads over the coming months,” he says.

Urban youth

“Having been introduced in South Africa in 2005, K-Swiss has attracted a huge following among urban youth, and we are ready to take the brand to the next level through this partnership with somebody of Fresh’s calibre and status.”

Fresh says the Swiss collaboration appeals to him because of the brand’s global influence across the urban market. “There are so many companies who are primarily sporting brands, that are trying to branch into the urban sneaker market … and not doing it very successfully,” he says.

A self-confessed sneaker freak himself, Fresh says he was not only looking forward to the undeniable perks of this new collaboration, but hopes that the venture will allow him to continue his social responsibility causes, using K-Swiss as a vehicle for change among young people.

“I’m obviously hoping they’ll come on board over and above whatever we’ll be doing from a marketing perspective,” says the man who has founded such initiatives as the Rollback Xenophobia campaign and the DJ Fresh Annual Scholarship.

Up to challenge

K-Swiss marketing manager Sam Edwards says the brand is definitely up to the challenge: “It’s still early days, but one of the things we have lined up is a massive charity drive where we’ll be providing hundreds of pairs of shoes to underprivileged individuals in South Africa.”

“Fresh will add an entirely new dimension to our brand,” says Nel, “and we’re looking forward to what will be an interesting journey for all parties.”

Asked what his favourite sneaker is, Fresh replies that he has just about one pair of every sneaker ever known to man, but adds: “For the next year or more, I’ll make sure I’m only ever seen in one sneaker brand.”