Kohl’s Brand Manifesto: “The New Everyday”

2020 was a tough year, for many reasons. Kohl’s brand platform at the time was “Rewarding the Everyday.” I wrote a new brand manifesto that reflected the global and local challenges that had profoundly affected our everyday lives and proposed how we might see those challenges as opportunities.

They say hindsight is 2020. We say 2020 has given us hindsight. 

We’ll never have the same sense of security again. And we realize some never had it at all. 

It’ll be a while before a kiss is just a kiss and a cough is just a cold. 

Before we feel comfortable taking off our masks, and letting down our guard. 

It’s going to take time and it’s going to take trust before we return to normal, they say.

But if returning to normal means taking our health for granted, or ignoring inequity, or paying lip service to sustainability, then let’s not go back to normal. Let’s make this moment not normative, but transformative. Because inspiring and empowering people to lead fulfilled lives requires nothing less. And being a retailer they can trust means so much more. 

And we are so much more. We’re more than a department store. We’re serving a lifestyle. We’re a partner, an ally, an advocate.  We lead, but more importantly, we listen, and learn. And what we’ve learned is that you want to look good, feel good, and do good. That you want shopping to be easy and inspiring. That you want to be recognized and rewarded. So we’re elevating the shopping experience and elevating your heart rate. We’re taking less from the planet and giving more to the community. We’re matching product to your lifestyle and makeup to your skin tone. We’re offering sizes that fit you and advertising that looks like you. We’re simplifying promotions and tapping into emotions. And we’re offering the best value so you don’t have to choose between what you need and what you want. 

 Welcome to the new everyday. We think it will be even more rewarding.