Inside the marketing strategy powering Shinola’s ‘new era’

For Shinola, this summer has been full of firsts.

Last month, the American-made timepiece and lifestyle brand put out its first-ever brand campaign, in which Succession star Nicholas Braun starred and made his directorial debut. The ad, reminiscent of a tense psychological thriller, features Braun accusing somebody—or something—of causing feelings of anxiety, stress, and being rushed, complete with a rapidly ticking clock. The clock slows, and Braun declares, “I’m in charge,” before the audience sees he’s been addressing his Shinola Runwell watch the whole time.

The campaign, which is the first major work from creative director Jonathan Bailey and created with the agency GentleForces, is also the first traditional commercial spot for the 15-year-old brand, Dana Mosa-Basha, Shinola’s director of marketing, told us

“We definitely are entering a new chapter for the brand, a new era, and this campaign kind of signals all the new firsts,” she said.

“Set the Pace” is part of a broader marketing transformation at Shinola that is a few years in the making. About two years ago, Shinola’s parent company appointed a new CMO, Kevin Wertz, as part of a broader executive shakeup; Mosa-Basha, who joined around the same time, said the brand has slowly shifted from product-focused marketing toward broad brand-building efforts that inject more emotion, personality, humor, and humanity into the brand voice. That has extended beyond “Set the Pace,” with refreshed efforts across e-commerce, social, email, and paid media.

Mosa-Basha said those efforts are particularly important in a world where it seems anyone can start a brand and consumers can get convinced to make one-off purchases on social. “You can convert people [with] a beautiful product,” she said, “but in the next five to 10 years, what sort of memory are people going to have of you?”

That memory, she said, is strengthened by the brand’s connection to Detroit’s manufacturing legacy. Mosa-Basha said those ties are more brand DNA than marketing vehicle, but there are certainly marketing perks—the brand’s local factory has served as a stage for social content, for example, including concerts and interviews.

For Mosa-Basha, stories of craftsmanship can help build emotional connections that can support long-term brand love, especially with seemingless endless consumer choices.

“Connecting with your audience and being super memorable and differentiating yourself in their mind…that is the key to unlocking longevity and sustainability,” Mosa-Basha told us.

Mosa-Basha is set to speak at the Marketing Brew Summit on September 30, and we recently sat down with her for a wide-ranging conversation to understand more about her approach. You can watch our full conversation below.