Timberland’s cultural clout among hip-hop fans

Since the early 1990’s, the Timberland work boot has been associated with hip-hop culture. From Mobb Deep to the Notorious B.I.G., icons of the culture have worn them in photos and mentioned them in lyrics. The rise to prominence in the hip-hop world also made the brand a fashion staple.

Decades later, Timberland is still capitalizing on this association. Last month, the brand released the Christopher Wallace Collection in honour of the 30th anniversary of Ready to Die, Notorious B.I.G.’s debut album. The response to this collection shows Timberland’s cultural clout is still strong, especially among hip-hop fans, as shown below.

Demographics of Timberland fans

Data from YouGov Profiles, an audience profiling tool, shows that 14.9% of Americans would consider Timberland the next time they’re in the market for shoes, representing a target population of nearly 40 million.

But Timberland consideration is not the same across all demographics. For example, Timberland is considered by 17.4% of 35-44-year-olds, more than any other age group. This age cohort were teenagers when Timberland rose to prominence within hip-hop culture.

Looking at other demographic splits, men are more likely to consider Timberland than women (19.2% vs. 11.0%), Americans living in the Northeast more than Midwesterners (19% vs. 13.5%), city-dwellers more than rural audiences (16.7% vs. 12.4%), and Black Americans more than whites (21.9% vs. 13.4%) or Hispanics (15.8%).

Timberland’s hip-hop connection

Beyond top-level demographics, YouGov Profiles provides evidence of the deep ties between Timberland and hip-hop culture. Consumers who would consider purchasing Timberlands are more likely than average to say that rap or hip-hop is one of their favourite music genres (38.2% vs. 24.0%). Conversely, hip-hop fans are also more likely than average to consider Timberland (21.4% vs. 14.6%).

Considerers of Timberland are also more likely to like specific hip-hop artists than the average American. The below chart shows the most popular hip-hop artists in America and what proportion of respondents gave them a positive rating.

For all five artists, Timberland considerers are more likely to give them a positive rating than the general population. This pattern holds for most artists in the genre. If they rap, Timberland considerers are more likely to be fans. There are, however, exceptions. Lin-Manuel Miranda, creator of Hamilton, is less popular among fans of Timberland than the general population (32.5% vs. 36.0%), as are Mac Miller (26.4% vs. 29.6%) and 21 Savage (22.3% vs. 26.2%).

Timberland considerers’ top five artists is mostly the same as the top five for a nationally representative audience, but Profiles can also show which artists are most distinctively liked by Timberland considerers. These are the artists for whom the difference in opinion between Timberland considerers and the general population is greatest.

Clay “Krucial” Perry III is the most distinctively “Timberland” artist in hip-hop. More than a quarter of Timberland considerers rate the Memphis artist positively compared to only 17% of the general population. Perry is followed by Gunna, with 30% approval from Timberland considerers compared to 20% from the general population. Gunna also apparently approves of Timberland, since he’s been wearing the Louis Vuitton collaboration  from the bootmaker.

How many fans of Timberland, the shoe, are also fans of Timbaland, the musician who produced hits for Missy Elliott, Nelly Furtado and Justin Timberlake? According to the last data collected by YouGov, 45.1% of Timberland considerers give the Timbaland a positive rating compared to 33.9% of consumers.

Timberland’s Ready to Die collection a hit with hip-hop fans and fashion aficionados alike

According to YouGov data, Timberland isn’t just a hit with hip-hop fans, it’s also popular with fashion lovers.

On September 26, Timberland released a collection commemorating the anniversary of the Notorious BIG’s seminal album Ready to Die. Biggie often mentioned the brand in his raps, including in his hit “Hypnotize” where he mentions “Timbs for my hooligans in Brooklyn.” The collection, promoted in top hip-hop publications such as The Source, is being sold in select Foot Locker and Champs locations.

The chart below shows Timberland’s Index score among hip-hop fans, fashion followers, and the general population. Index is a composite metric combining Impression, Satisfaction, Quality, Corporate Reputation, Value and Recommendation.

Speaking generally, Timberland’s brand health is more robust than average among hip-hop fans and those interested in fashion. The data also suggests that these audiences are more sensitive to specific cultural marketing promotion. Among those interested in fashion, Timberland’s Index score was 27.5 on the release date of the Biggie boots, rising to a high of 33.7 on October 11. With hip-hop fans, the brand’s Index moved from 31.8 to a high of 37.0 on October 6. The shift among the general population was positive but more muted, chancing from 23.2 to a high of 25.7.

Timberland’s greater popularity with audiences interested in hip-hop and fashion, as well as the response to the recent promotion both suggest that the footwear brand’s cultural clout remains strong.

Methodology: YouGov Profiles is based on continuously collected data and rolling surveys, rather than from a single limited questionnaire. Profiles data for the US is nationally representative of the online population and weighted by age, gender, education, region, and race. Learn more about Profiles. 

YouGov BrandIndex collects data on thousands of brands every day. Timberland’s Index based on six metrics, including General Impression, Satisfaction, Quality, Corporate Reputation, Value and Recommendation. Scores in this article are based on daily sample sizes of approximately 300 to 2600 depending on audience between September 15 and October 14, 2024. Figures are based on a four-week moving average. Learn more about BrandIndex.