Case study · Apparel PR
BRUNT Workwear PR Case Study: Building Recognition Through Founder Stories and Gear Reviews
BRUNT Workwear needed to earn attention in a category where Red Wing, Timberland PRO, Carhartt, and other established brands already held consumer recognition.
2B+
Impressions
9
Months
Overview
The brief from BRUNT Workwear
5WPR paired founder Eric Girouard's business story with hands-on product coverage for work boots and apparel. The program reached tradespeople through gear and trade outlets while introducing BRUNT to business, retail, lifestyle, and broadcast audiences.
What Communications Problem Did BRUNT Need to Solve?
Work boots are job equipment. Buyers compare safety-toe options, electrical-hazard ratings, waterproofing, outsole performance, fit, break-in time, and price before choosing footwear for a shift.
BRUNT also had a company story that extended beyond product specifications. Girouard founded the business in 2020 after listening to friends in the trades. Early boots carried the names of workers who informed their design, including The Marin, The Ryng, and The Bolduc.
The communications program needed to establish the company story and give reviewers enough product access to evaluate BRUNT on the features that matter at a jobsite.
Objective
BRUNT partnered with 5WPR to build recognition among tradespeople, business readers, retail audiences, and mainstream consumers.
The nine-month program pursued four goals:
- Explain why Girouard created BRUNT and how input from tradespeople shaped the product line.
- Secure hands-on reviews that examined work boots through fit, protection, comfort, construction, and price.
- Reach business and retail reporters with the company's direct-to-consumer growth story.
- Use seasonal, gift, trade, and regional broadcast angles to reach distinct buyer groups.
How Did 5WPR Connect the Founder Story With Product Proof?
5WPR separated the story into two forms of evidence. Founder profiles explained the origin of BRUNT, the direct-to-consumer model, and the company's relationship with workers. Product reviews examined what a buyer would wear and use on the job.
That distinction helped each outlet answer a different question. Fast Company could cover why BRUNT built a digital workwear company for tradespeople. Pro Tool Reviews could test The Hawthorne work boot and discuss its reinforced wear zones, adjustable-width system, and jobsite use.
How 5W ran the program
Strategy
5WPR ran a media relations program that combined company news, founder access, product seeding, seasonal pitches, and regional broadcast outreach.
The team organized the campaign across five workstreams:
- Founder and business outreach connected Girouard with publications covering entrepreneurship, retail, and direct-to-consumer companies.
- Product seeding placed work boots and apparel with gear reviewers who assessed fit, construction, protection, and comfort through hands-on use.
- Trade outreach targeted construction, landscaping, fishing, tools, and contractor publications read by people who purchase workwear for specific jobs.
- Seasonal and gift pitches connected BRUNT products with holiday shopping and other retail moments.
- Regional broadcast outreach focused on markets with large skilled-trades workforces.
BRUNT's social presence and direct relationship with tradespeople gave reporters additional brand context. The campaign brief did not report a separate influencer or paid social program, so the results remain limited to earned coverage and reported impressions.
Which Media Outlets Covered BRUNT Workwear?
5WPR campaign reporting identified business and retail coverage from Fast Company, Forbes, Modern Retail, Retail Dive, and WWD. Consumer and lifestyle coverage included Oprah Daily, Yahoo Life, Good Housekeeping, Parade, and TIME Stamped Shopping.
Gear and trade outlets included GearJunkie, Bob Vila, Pro Tool Reviews, Family Handyman, Lawn & Landscape, Total Landscape Care, National Fisherman, and Contractor Supply. FOX affiliates added regional broadcast coverage.
Results
2B+ impressions · 9 months
5WPR campaign reporting recorded more than 2 billion impressions during nine months of national, consumer, gear, trade, retail, lifestyle, and broadcast coverage.
The outlet mix gave BRUNT separate third-party sources for its founder story, company model, work boots, apparel, and trade-specific use cases. Impression totals estimate potential exposure and do not measure unique readers, website traffic, conversion, retail sales, or category leadership.
Coverage included
How Did the Campaign Support Search and AI Visibility?
Publisher coverage connected BRUNT with Girouard, its 2020 launch, skilled trades, named work boots, product features, and hands-on testing. Those details help search engines and AI services distinguish the company from general workwear terms and other boot manufacturers.
Review content adds information that a brand page alone does not supply. A reviewer might discuss fit after a full shift, compare standard and wide configurations, or explain where a reinforced toe and heel matter during work.
The public record supports questions such as:
- What is BRUNT Workwear?
- Who founded BRUNT Workwear?
- Which BRUNT work boots fit construction and trade jobs?
- What is the difference between soft-toe and composite-toe work boots?
- Which work boot brands offer an adjustable-width system?
Media coverage does not guarantee a search ranking, AI citation, recommendation, purchase, or product result. Workers should confirm current safety ratings, fit, job requirements, care instructions, and product details before selecting work footwear.
Conclusion
BRUNT needed to explain why the company existed and whether its products met the needs of people working in the trades. 5WPR connected founder access with hands-on reviews across business, retail, lifestyle, gear, trade, and broadcast media. Incomplete AI answers could separate BRUNT's company story from its named boots, trade-specific features, and product testing.
5W runs AI Search (GEO) programs for brands across consumer, B2B, financial services, healthcare, and technology — building the machine-readable footprint that gets brands cited, not just ranked.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
What was the goal of the BRUNT Workwear PR campaign?
The campaign aimed to build recognition among tradespeople and mainstream consumers through founder stories, business coverage, product reviews, trade media, seasonal pitches, and regional broadcast outreach.
How did 5WPR make BRUNT relevant to trade media?
5WPR provided work boots and apparel for hands-on coverage and matched product features with construction, landscaping, tools, fishing, and contractor audiences.
What results did the BRUNT campaign report?
5WPR campaign reporting recorded more than 2 billion impressions in nine months. The figure measures estimated media exposure rather than traffic, conversion, sales, or market position.
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