Brown Shoe Company Inc has made two key moves toward building even more powerful marketing communications for its Famous Footwear chain. The company named Willie A. Smith to the position of Senior Vice President - Marketing and has engaged creative and branding agency Campbell Mithun.

"Famous Footwear marketing from store design to in-store displays is driven by consumer feedback. We believe these additions to our team will foster an even stronger customer connection," said Joe Wood, President of Brown Shoe Retail and Famous Footwear.

"Will brings a proven track record of success in marketing footwear brands, and a keen understanding of the shoppers Famous Footwear serves. Likewise, Campbell Mithun excels at creating innovative campaigns that speak to consumers on an emotional level. With this new team in place, Famous Footwear will expand the reach of our communications campaigns and excite even more shoe enthusiasts to visit our stores."

Smith:
Smith will be responsible for managing all marketing functions, and directing the strategic development of the Famous Footwear brand. He comes to Brown Shoe with extensive specialty retail and wholesale marketing experience, most recently as Chief Marketing Officer-Athletics for Steve and Barry's, where he led the marketing and brand development for the Starbury (Stephon Marbury), EleVen (Venus Williams) and Big Ben (Ben Wallace) product lines.

Prior to that, Smith was with Liz Claiborne Inc.in roles ranging from Group Vice President of Marketing in the retail realm to Vice President of Marketing for the company's outlet division.

During his tenure, he drove multichannel growth of more than 11 fashion brands, using aggressive customer relationship management (CRM) strategies to build consumer loyalty and transactions.

He also held senior level marketing positions with Footstar Athletic and Philip Morris USA, and has an extensive music marketing and promotions background with companies such as Blackground Records/Virgin Records, Atlantic Recording Corporation and EMI Records.

Smith holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from Cornell University and a Master of Business Administration degree from Duke University's Fuqua School of Business.

Campbell Mithun:
Famous Footwear's search for a creative and branding agency led to Minneapolis-based Campbell Mithun. The new agency will handle Famous Footwear's national advertising and consumer imagery, as well as contribute to various marketing and consumer relationship-building programs.

Famous Footwear plans to enhance its effective reach and reinforce its positioning strategy against its core audience, while driving market awareness and purchase interest among customers.

Campbell Mithun is one of the largest national advertising agencies in the United States and is a member of the Interpublic Group.

Their client roster includes Burger King, H&R Block, General Mills Inc nd Alberto Culver Company. The first Campbell Mithun-created campaign is currently under development, and is expected tolaunch later in the year.