Merrell looks to expand global platform with Sundance Collab partnership

Outside is everywhere, including at Sundance.

In April, footwear brand Merrell introduced its first global brand platform, “It Starts Outside,” encouraging audiences to experience nature and outdoor living ranging from grand adventures to neighborhood walks. Now, the brand is taking that idea to Sundance Film Festival, where Merrell is providing six filmmakers with $20,000 grants to interpret this messaging into short, social-first films.

It’s the start of a three-year partnership with the Sundance Institute’s digital learning platform, Sundance Collab, which Merrell Global CMO Rich McLeod said is about “consistency of message.”

“The beauty of ‘It Starts Outside’ is it certainly has longevity, and we contextualize it to the consumer depending on the moment,” McLeod told us. “I’m excited about the opportunity for consumers, for filmmakers, for storytellers to continue to bring their own personal stories to life.”

Points of view

Merrell and Sundance first announced the storytelling program in June, at which point they called for filmmakers from around the world to submit proposals for how they would bring the idea of stepping outside to life. More than 1,200 filmmakers from 90 countries submitted briefs, which were reviewed by a committee of Merrell executives, athletes, creatives, and film experts, according to the company.

McLeod views the partnership as a way to expand the larger content ecosystem that the brand is trying to build, which he said also includes social media creators, media partnerships, and multiple perspectives from creatives like filmmakers. Sundance, in particular, brings a form of storytelling that broadens Merrell’s scope with its global network of filmmakers and position as a cultural institution, he said.

“You don’t want to have a linear way of telling a story. What the filmmakers allow us to do is tell the stories in very different ways,” McLeod said.

Across the six grant recipients, creative concepts run the gamut. One winner plans to showcase the wonder of a city park at a dog’s-eye level, showing the experience of being outside from an unexpected point of view. Another turns “It Starts Outside” into a mantra that keeps her film’s main character alive for 29 years. The six grant recipients will have through the end of the year to fully produce their short films, which will then premiere at Sundance in January 2027 and include a panel event spotlighting the creators themselves, according to McLeod.

Though the films won’t necessarily become direct marketing materials for Merrell, McLeod said the brand will continue to platform the projects. In addition to the Sundance event, he said the company plans to continue pitching the shorts to film festivals globally, and the team will work with media and creators to bring additional attention to the project.

“Stories are only as good as your ability to bring them to life,” he said.

A natural story

Brands getting involved with film festivals is not exactly new; there are always major sponsors and activations to contend with, and companies like AT&T have established grant programs at events like the Tribeca Festival for nearly a decade. But by asking artists to interpret the brand platform through a film lens, McLeod said Merrell’s Sundance partnership is looking to stand out and further the brand’s messaging more directly, if more broadly.

“Brands, more generally now, are recognizing that people choose what’s worth paying attention to,” McLeod said. “For Merrell, it’s really about creating stories that people want to spend time with.”

Perhaps kismet, too, is the festival’s move to Boulder, Colorado. Though Sundance has spent more than 40 years in Park City, Utah, another location known for its access to nature, the event’s uprooting is a new chapter that also sets an apt scene for a hiking-shoe brand.

“It’s definitely a natural setting for this partnership because when people think about the outside, I think Boulder would probably be one of the places that would come to mind,” McLeod said. “If you were to capture a place that can really embody that notion of ‘the outside can be anywhere,’ I think Boulder is probably one of those places.”