Island life calls for solid footwear, especially for the farmers, fishermen and builders whose trades keep them outdoors year-round. Essentially, wherever Vineyard people are working with their hands, they’ve got boots on their feet — and an Australian boot brand has taken notice, with a social media campaign highlighting the boat builders at Gannon and Benjamin Marine Railway in Vineyard Haven.

Blundstone, known for their Chelsea-style boots, teamed up with the Island boatbuilder to create an Instagram video that was released on Blundstone’s page last month.

“At Blundstone, we’re proud to celebrate local makers like Gannon & Benjamin, whose dedication and skill embody the spirit of hard work and timeless design,” reads the text accompanying a 40-second video on the bootmaker’s page.

Focusing exclusively on the harborfront shipyard and its workers, the video is narrated by founding partner Ross Gannon.

Mary Morano was the brains behind the collaboration.

Ray Ewing

Mary Morano was the brains behind the collaboration.

Ray Ewing

“Teamwork is everything when it comes to boat-building. Every boat has some problem-solving in it,” Mr. Gannon says, as the camera moves from tight shots of the master builder in his workshop to longer views of the Gannon and Benjamin staff on the waterfront and a quick series of individual employee portraits, including partner Brad Abbott.

Boots — the employees’ own well-weathered Blundstones — are seen, but never mentioned in the video, which also takes to the air to follow a shipyard worker rowing through the harbor to a moored Gannon and Benjamin yacht.

It’s unlikely that the global Blundstone brand, founded in the 19th century and now based in Hobart, Tasmania, had Gannon and Benjamin anywhere on its corporate radar before the shipyard’s marketing director, Mary Morano, teamed up with a fellow creative in Rhode Island to propose the co-promotion.

Ms. Morano, who grew up on the Island, sailed competitively for Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School and the nationally-recognized team at the College of Charleston in South Carolina before returning to the Vineyard to be closer to her family.

She worked as a painter and varnisher for Gannon and Benjamin, where the partners soon recruited her to assist with the company website and marketing.

“We really love her and she’s been so helpful to getting our website organized, and our Instagram and social media,” co-founder Nat Benjamin told the Gazette.

Before long, Ms. Morano found herself launching her own boutique marketing firm on the Island, with Gannon and Benjamin her flagship client.

“It all happened so naturally,” she told the Gazette.

The campaign highlighted the work of the Vineyard boatshop.

Ray Ewing

The campaign highlighted the work of the Vineyard boatshop.

Ray Ewing

In the course of meeting other people doing similar work in the region, Ms. Morano connected with Newport-based photographer Maaike Bernstrom, who was looking for a reason to visit Gannon and Benjamin with her cameras.

“She always had a vision of wanting to shoot the boatyard. We just needed to find the right brand to do the spotlight,” Ms. Morano said.

Ms. Bernstrom’s business relationship with Blundstone provided the opportunity.

“We sent them a pitch. They were totally psyched,” Ms. Morano said.

The company sent both Ms. Bernstrom and cinematographer Casey Harrington to Vineyard Haven, where they spent a late-October day at Gannon and Benjamin to produce the video, titled Community Spotlight. 

The result is a reel that highlights the working waterfront and the team-based approach at Gannon and Benjamin, Ms. Morano said.

“It really was another day in the life,” she said.

While the social media campaign is likely to sell more boots than boats, Mr. Benjamin told the Gazette he is pleased with the video.

“We were happy to let them use our facility and take pictures,” he said. “It was all very nice.”

To thank the Gannon and Benjamin workers who took part in the video shoot, Ms. Morano said, Blundstone sent them all new pairs of boots.

Mr. Benjamin, who was hiking the Pyrenees with his wife Pam at the time, missed out on the bounty but had no complaints.

“I wear Merrill [boots],” he said.