Dr. Martens Presents

Following extensive research into our audience as part of Dr. Martens ‘Tough Youth’ culture report, four key pain points emerged that limited their opportunities for self-expression.

• The fight for personal identity & expression against entrenched stereotypes
• Financial pressures stifling creativity
• Restricted access to culture
• Demand for social change, diversity and inclusion

With the arrival of Covid-19 and the re-ignition of global movements for social change, such as BLM, each was only further emphasised, taking on added significance and urgency for our target audience.

In light of the issues facing youth and culture, we wanted to ensure we were doing what we could support emerging creators by fuelling their resilience and sharing it with the world.

Leading with our purpose, we wanted to identify the next generation of cultural talent who embodied the Dr. Martens spirit, working collaboratively with them to push things forward and tackle the obstacles they faced.

In doing so, we could engage our culture-hungry audience with fresh perspectives and aspirational cultural content that aligned with their beliefs and passions.

Dr. Martens Presents

Dr. Martens Presents is the brand’s ongoing culture platform, providing much-needed support for a new generation of creators to connect with audiences and share fresh perspectives.

Regularly featuring collaborations with exciting new grassroots creatives and their collectives across a range of genres and creative disciplines, we set out to identify the next generation of cultural talent who embodied the Dr. Martens spirit and work with them to push things forward and tackle the obstacles they faced.

To date, we’ve worked with an array of innovative, emerging talent and their networks, including: Arlo Parks, Shygirl, Clyde Built Radio, Bobby Vylan, Gemma Dunleavy and Girls
in Film.

The platform delivered everything from live gigs, exhibitions and local radio launches, to making and marketing EPs, music videos, zines and short films. And, in the wake of Covid-19, we turned to innovative remote capture content solutions and multi-cam live streams to ensure support was still provided to emerging artists against the odds.