Megastar singer Taylor Swift has signed a deal with classic footwear company Keds to release a line of ‘red' sneakers on the occasion of the release of her new album.
Swift's album is also titled Red and is due out on October 22. The shoe, available in just the one color, will be available that same day on keds.com, taylorswift.com, nordstrom.com and journeys.com for $50.
Swift has proven appeal with the Keds's target demographic of teenage girls and women under 25. The star's Facebook fan page boasts 34.8 million "Likes" and her appeal is further broadened by the 19.5 million followers of her Twitter account. Sitting in seventh position in the current rankings, she is topped only by Lady Gaga, Rihanna, Barack Obama, Katy Perry, Justin Bieber and Britney Spears in terms of number of followers.
Following the birth of her singing career in Nashville, and the path of Swift's own brisk rise to fame, the digital and print campaign will be targeted at teenage girls, and will focus on tales of strength and dedication, as WWD reported.
"What we're seeking to do is to tell the stories of girls who are 13 to 24, who have fantastic tales of bravery," Keds brand president Rick Blackshaw told WWD. "Taylor is a superpositive role model for girls, a hero, in a sense," he continued.
Thirteen pairs of shoes will be given away every month via social media competitions (Taylor's lucky number is 13).
This move comes as part of Ked's wider strategy of focusing on the women's market. The iconic American lifestyle brand was established in 1916, but the company was recently taken over by Wolverine World Wide Inc. A representative was able to confirm that the company will be exiting the men's business entirely over the next year. The brand also has a longstanding deal with Regatta USA offering apparel which it hopes to expand internationally.
The winner of six Grammy awards, Swift's latest single "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" shot straight to the the top of the charts, and according to Forbes, the singer has already earned $57 million in 2012.
