Carhartt builds its brand with makers and doers

This event report shows how Carhartt, the apparel brand, boosted its standing with members of the "maker movement" while maintaining its traditionally high standing with people working in physically demanding jobs.

Carhartt builds its brand with makers and doers

Stephen WhitesideWarc

Carhartt, a 126-year-old apparel brand famous for its durable workwear, faced a classic marketing dilemma: how to attract a new audience without alienating its existing customer base.

Tony Ambroza joined the firm in October 2010, when the "core of our core" – blue-collar Americans with physically demanding jobs, and often living in relatively rural parts of Alaska, Montana, Maine and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan – were suffering as a result of the financial crisis.

"At Carhartt, we celebrate – and care about – them every single day, because...

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