“Cool shade, real people”

Keyston Bros. introduces a new campaign at IFAI Expo

In booth 1784, the backdrop is a beach, the carpet is printed like sand, and the fabric festooned overhead promotes Keyston Bros. new campaign: “Cool shade, real people.” According to president and CEO Dee Duncan, the company is promoting a new concept using ‘environmental’ designs that “go from inside to outside—bringing style and fashion into the awning business.”

Founded in San Francisco 146 years ago, Keyston Bros. started making ”whips and lashes,” according to Duncan, progressing through saddles, cowboy clothes up to athletic clothes, until the Keyston family sold the company to the employees in the 1960s. Dee Duncan purchased the company in 2001 and moved the headquarters to Atlanta, Ga. Now the company has 21 locations across the country, but he still considers it to be family business: “with great people and a great name.”

Keyston Bros. pursues what Duncan terms “innovative ideas and honest products,” and is working on a new product now where much of the sewing is done in advance—an acknowledgement to the difficulty of finding skilled sewers. Dee Duncan is also on an advisory board at Auburn University, working on creating business internships—and having lots of fun.