We built a B2B growth engine for Red Wing. Then we floored it.
OVERVIEW
Brand Awareness
Demand Generation
Content Marketing
Most B2B marketing programs have a shelf life. Campaigns run, leads come in, budgets reset. Rinse. Repeat. When Red Wing launched its B2B division, Red Wing for Business, that’s exactly the kind of program they could have gotten somewhere else. Instead, we made a different call by designing a plan built for continuous momentum. Seven years later, that engine is still running and delivering outstanding results year after year.
OPPORTUNITY
Red Wing for Business operates in a highly competitive PPE market where safety professionals don’t just buy footwear. They are responsible for managing compliance, mitigating risk, and protecting workers who are often spread across multiple sites. This makes them some of the most exacting buyers in B2B.
Red Wing brings an iconic name to the table. Sometimes that’s enough, but for this audience, name recognition only opens the door. Expertise, consistency, and trust over time are what win and keep the business growing.
That’s the opportunity we saw from the start and still see every day: building a growth engine worthy of an uncompromising audience. And in doing so, helping Red Wing for Business make their market rather than just compete in it.
APPROACH
From the start, our position was clear: a new B2B division doesn’t need a splashier launch. It needs a fundamentally different kind of program. One built around how safety leaders evaluate partners and make decisions, not around a campaign calendar. Here’s how we built it.
Shifting the spotlight to the people who keep the world working
We built a program on a simple but powerful truth: behind every worker is a safety professional dedicated to protecting them. Anchored in the purpose ‘For Work That Moves the World,’ this direction shifted the focus from products to the people responsible for keeping the world in motion, giving an overlooked audience the recognition they had rarely received from any brand.
For Work That Moves the World campaign video
Thought-leadership and content marketing
Earning trust through relevance
To meet the distinct needs of each role within the buying committee, we designed a full-funnel content strategy to provide the educational content they seek and decision support they need. Thought leadership, storytelling, and authentic content help Red Wing for Business demonstrate expertise, build trust, and stay relevant throughout their buying journey.
Thought-leadership and content marketing
Meeting buyers from jobsite to inbox
We activate demand-generation and account-based programs aligned with when and where buyers evaluate solutions. Messaging and outreach are tailored to each stakeholder’s priorities and delivered through the channels they typically use and in formats they’re interested in. This ensures relevant information is accessible to the entire buying team, not just a single contact.
Demand generation
Constantly evolving to maintain relevance
Our program functions as a living system. Strategy, messaging, and creative are continuously refined based on performance insights, shifting market conditions, buyer expectations, and business priorities to maintain relevance with buyers.
Campaign evolution “Thanks For Nothing. It’s Everything.”
Landing page and user-generated content
Retail signage
IMPACT
Today, Red Wing for Business operates as a durable, buyer-driven growth engine that reliably drives awareness, authority, and measurable business impact. By establishing a program that resonates with buyers, provides relevant content, and is continually optimized, we continue to deliver results year after year.
19.4K
qualified leads captured since 2020, reflecting sustained demand from safety decision-makers actively evaluating solutions
44%
growth in leads over five years
38%
MQL-to-SQL conversion rate in 2025, significantly outperforming industry benchmarks and demonstrating lead quality, not just volume
141M
targeted impressions since 2020, building long-term brand recognition and authority within the workplace safety category
This sustained performance has made Red Wing for Business one of the company’s highest-performing divisions, helping cement Marketing as a driver of pipeline health and revenue growth—not a cost center.
The work has also earned external recognition:
Content Marketing Awards
2025 Finalist | Best Multi-Year Content Marketing Program
Association of National Advertisers | B2 Awards
- 2023 Gold | Content Marketing
- 2023 Bronze | Enterprise Demand Gen Program
- 2019 Gold | Corporate B2 Marketer of the Year
- 2019 Gold | Enterprise Demand Gen Program
- 2019 Gold | Trade Show Experience
Schermer has been a long-time strategic partner of Red Wing for Business, working alongside our team to build sustained, buyer-led growth. Their deep understanding of how safety decision-makers evaluate partners helped us evolve beyond running campaigns to establishing a marketing engine that consistently delivers qualified demand and pipeline impact.
Christina Willis
Global B2B Marketing, Red Wing Shoes
