The North Face

In 2016, The North Face while enjoying a long and impactful history as a leader in outerwear, and expedition culture, they found itself with a unique problem; with all its credibility as a technical brand they had no cultural impact. Up until this point, the only cultural significance that The North Face could hold its hat on to would be in the form of integration on a few rap videos in the 90s. UEG was tasked to reposition the brands overall presence in culture. From seedings to partnerships, to influencer engagements, our role as an agency saw The North Face have their one of their most impactful years to date.

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Influencer Seedings/Engagement

Through seedings we were able to make initial conversations around The North Face. Our seedings allowed us to monitor social media in order to identify organic brand love. This brand love was paid back by consistent product donations to support video releases, photoshoots, and tour support.

Initially, identifying and aligning The North Face’s values of exploration with millennial trendsetter Luka Sabbat, TNF was able to leverage Luka’s influence in streetwear and high fashion to collaborate with The North Face on everything from creative to experiential. These initial engagements laid the foundations for greater influencer relations.

Partnerships

With music being our most influential cultural medium, we looked to identify cultural tent pole moments that resonated with our influencer group. Through partnerships with Outside Lands and A3C Conference & Festival UEG was able to create unique brand experiences for The North Face while further engaging The North Face with a growing number of influencers in music.

S19 Launch

UEG conceptualized and executed The North Face's Spring 2019 initiative, 'Explore Mode,' aimed to celebrate music, fashion and the culinary and visual arts, while encouraging attendees to disconnect digitally and engage with their surroundings. In the span of 3 days, invited guests-totaling more than 500 consumers and 40 media members were encouraged to explore their surroundings. 'Explore Mode' has garnered over 150.4MM impressions across 54 pieces of coverage.

Results

From 2017 to 2019, by taking advantage of influencer engagement and an impactful comms strategy UEG was able to help reposition The North Face brand into mainstream culture. By the end of 2018, The North Face was widely considered a top brand in the ever growing, highly popular.