Stephen and Tim joined ILM Content Director Martin Ricker for a chat about the vital role marketing plays in driving the leather industry forward, and how Real Leather. Stay Different. is meeting the needs of the industry to promote leather to consumers.
While Stephen provides his perspective on the leather industry from the inside, turning a food by-product into a consumer product, Tim reflects on his approach to leather as a brand, how he took the aspirational, luxury aspects of leather goods and used them as the basis for a consumer-focused campaign.
Who are the guests?
Stephen Sothmann is the President of the Leather & Hide Council of America (LHCA). In this role, Stephen represents and promotes the interests of the U.S. hides, skins and leather industry before a wide range of stakeholders, including U.S. and foreign governments, industry trade associations, media outlets, and other organisations related to global leather production and trade.
He was appointed to this role in 2013 after serving as Director of International Affairs for three years in a previous iteration of the organisation.
Tim Lewis is the Business Director at gt&i, a London-based, strategy-driven
creative agency. There, he leads the programme for the Leather & Hide Council of America, helping develop the brand and deliver the campaign for Real Leather. Stay Different. He has worked with diverse organisations to clearly differentiate their offer and to frame that in the context of the demands and expectations of the consumer.
In the 90s, he worked across sectors from biofuels to HIV awareness and from gay rights to the launch of the fledgling carbon offset industry, working with both NGOs and FTSE 100 clients. Since then, he has helped corporations from retailers to airlines and the world’s largest games platforms to review their positioning and their approach to audience engagement.
Check out the podcast
To listen to or download this latest episode of the ILM View from the Top podcast, head to the episode page. You can also find our podcast on Spotify, Deezer and Apple Podcasts.
Each episode of ILM’s podcast series is designed to appeal to all parts of the leather supply chain, including tanners, traders, suppliers, academia and research organisations, OEMs, brands, and retailers.
