C.C. Filson Clothing Company

EMAIL MARKETING/WEB PAGES/EVENT ADVERTISING

Email Marketing Case Study

Designing emails people return to—with care, clarity, and measurable impact.

The Problem

When I arrived at Filson, the team had a clear goal: improve email performance—especially on mobile. Open rates were steady, but we knew there was room for growth, both in engagement and in sales across devices.

There was a deeper question underneath all of it: How can we create emails that people actually want to read?

Results

Built a system of reusable, high-performing templates

Increased production from 4 to 7 emails per week
Helped drive a 4x increase in email-driven sales over four years
Email became the company’s top-performing sales channel

By designing emails that respected people’s time and reflected the quality of the Filson brand, we made space for trust to grow. Customers came back not just for the gear, but because the experience felt consistent, clear, and worth returning to.

Discovery: Know your customer

As the primary driver of this initiative, I began by listening—looking at what customers responded to, what they ignored, and what they shared.

Filson’s longtime customers were deeply loyal. They loved the quality, the heritage, the sense of adventure. I wanted to protect that connection while also making space for new customers who didn’t yet know the brand.

So I studied.

I hand-inspected every product we promoted.
I asked Sales Associates to walk me through product highlights and benefits.
I read through customer reviews.
I worked a seasonal stint on the sales floor during the Christmas holidays to understand customer behavior firsthand.
I brushed up on mobile UX best practices.
I sketched layouts while picturing someone scrolling their inbox in line at the grocery store.

I kept asking: How do we meet people where they are—without losing what makes Filson feel like Filson?

Design: Every Detail Matters

The brand had strong creative direction, but email was often an afterthought. I wanted to change that.

I focused on structure, rhythm, and flow. Could someone skim this email in five seconds and still feel something? Could we help them take the next step—whether it was reading a story, exploring a product, or simply pausing to appreciate good design?

Step 1

I chose images that reflected the campaign stories—bold but real, adventurous but grounded
Step 2

Used the brand’s typography and textures with care
Step 3

Created layouts that were simple and clear, even on a 4-inch screen

Iteration: Let the Work Teach You

Over time, patterns began to emerge. Some layouts just worked better. Certain placements of text and imagery led to more clicks.

We used eye-tracking studies and sales metrics to guide our decisions, but I also relied on instinct—on watching what people returned to again and again.

Eventually, I built a flexible system of core templates that allowed us to move quickly without starting from scratch.