• by Sarah Mahoney  @mahoney_sarah, July 22, 2014

Skechers has tapped pop star Demi Lovato as its latest face, and says she will appear in global marketing and social media campaigns through 2016.

Besides TV and print spots that are scheduled to begin appearing this year, the company says it hopes to tap into the young performer's social circles, including 23.2 million Twitter followers, a Facebook page with 35 million likes, and more than a billion video views on VEVO. Her cover of  “Let It Go” from the Frozen soundtrack has gotten more than 200,000 views.

Skechers’ attention to young trendsetters and influencers is core to its strategy, as is its ongoing efforts to woo the Geezer set. (In addition to retired NFL great Joe Montana, it also works with Joe Namath, Pete Rose and Tommy Lasorda.)

“Skechers is the fastest growing major brand,” says industry expert Matt Powell, with Princeton Retail Analysis. He says it has zipped by New Balance to become the fifth-largest brand, and fourth-largest sneaker company. So far this year, its share of the retail sport footwear market is 3.6%, up from 2.7% last year.

The company says the Lovato effort will keep that growth going. “We expect her campaign will at the very least match the success and reach that Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and Carrie Underwood previously brought to our brand,” says Michael Greenberg, Skechers’ president, in its release.

Separately, the company says it also signed Kelly Brook, the British model and actress, and that she will appear in global multiplatform marketing and social media campaigns through 2015. The Manhattan Beach, Calif.-based company says it’s the first celebrity the company has ever worked with who came to fame outside the U.S.

And while Skechers has done best in the fashion and comfort categories, Powell says its small share in technical running is growing. And those gains, including Meb Keflezighi’s win at the 2014 Boston Marathon wearing Skechers Performance racing shoes, “have given them tremendous credibility in their less technical product.”