Insight & strategy Best foot Dr Martens has a long history of identification with subcultures, but insight is helping the brand to keep its solid footing for the future. By Liam Kay 34 W hether its a punk pogoing at a gig, a goth striding into a local bar or a guitarist stepping out on stage, Dr Martens has been a staple footwear of many subcultures in the UK in recent decades. The iconic brand celebrated its 60th birthday last year, and continues to be a prominent presence on todays high street. Despite its unique look and devoted fanbase, Dr Martens is always looking to stay relevant for a new audience, and insights and market research help keep it on the front foot. Michelle Faure, head of brand strategy and insights at Dr Martens, leads the companys insight function. She heads up a team of two others, including a strategy director who sits on the companys global leadership team. The team has not always had insight in its remit it adopted the discipline 18 months ago, after a request from the companys chief executive, having previously been focused solely on strategy. We used to do a bit of consumer research within our marketing department, but there wasnt an all-seeing insight function, says Faure. Starting life as pure strategy meant we circumvented many of the issues I hear so often from counterparts in other businesses, such as struggling to embed insights into the organisation or to get time with senior stakeholders. For us its the total opposite. Because we, alongside other functions, get to set the question and then answer it, we are very clear on our priorities we know exactly the impact it is going to have and we dont struggle to push anything through. The challenge has been building a foundation of knowledge on which to base future strategy. This is a big task,