Award : Outdoor Research wins ISPO award for Fall 2012 marketing campaign

Seattle, Wash – For Outdoor Research, the mission is all about building gear that allows everyday adventurers to find themselves in unexpected, remote places. That’s also the theme of the company’s Fall advertising campaign, ‘Go Where Others Don’t,” an ad campaign that, at the upcoming European ISPO trade show in February, will be given a new marketing award that honors the best current-season outdoor and ski industry advertising campaigns.

Outdoor Research was honored as one of four manufacturers in the Ads & Posters category of the new ISPO AWARD Marketing. The award was judged by an 11-person panel of international marketing experts who chose the best campaigns from numerous entries.

“The Outdoor Research ad campaign shows us clear product presentation with brilliant photo style. The voucher “add-on” is a great idea that invites consumers to engage with the product and to travel to the most remote spot on earth: Go where others don‘t.“ said Armando Corti, one of the jurors, and general manager of Red Bull Creative.

OR’s fall marketing campaign plays off its fan base: people unafraid to strike out and explore the world’s most rugged, remote places. The ads offer up a series of unique experiences, in the kinds of far-flung, wild places for which Outdoor Research gear is built, via redeemable ‘coupons.’ Using the tagline “Go Where Others Don’t,” the campaign combines form and function to humorous effect, offering incentives like reindeer stew or a homemade vodka shot.

The print and digital campaign, created by agency TDA_Boulder, highlights Outdoor Research’s style, functional product features and brand personality. Ads mash up beautifully shot, high-tech apparel with the lowbrow aesthetic of a coupon come-on as the copy explains why one needs to wear OR’s performance products to redeem wild global dares. For instance, the coupon in the ad showcasing the award-winning Axiom Jacket is “Good for 1 Yogurt Brew from the Shack Between the Military Barracks and the Goat Farm” in Terskol, Russia.

“This award is particularly gratifying, given that we’re still building brand awareness in the European market,” said Charlie Lozner, OR’s director of marketing. “So to have an all-star jury like this single out our work at the brand level helps confirm that the way we’re telling our story is resonating.”

Other ad executions feature equally exotic destinations and rare rewards: The Vanguard Jacket coupon can be clipped for a bowl of reindeer stew from the Magic Mountain Lodge in Lyngseidet, Norway. The voucher accompanying the Incandescent Hoody, a glistening-green down-filled jacket that the brand bills as its “ultra-warm insurance policy against the elements,” is “good for 1 shot of homemade vodka at the Vernadsky Research Base,” which apparently doubles as the world’s southernmost bar in Antarctica.

While the copy is cheeky, Outdoor Research will actually honor any of the seven coupons from rugged, remote locations should thrill-seekers be inspired to redeem one: To cash in an ad coupon, an adventurer simply needs to post a photo of himself/herself enjoying the exotic reward on Outdoor Research’s Facebook page and the brand will make good on the offer. The print and digital campaign will continue in Spring 2013 with new seasonal products and far-flung locations.

About Outdoor Research
Outdoor Research® is Designed by Adventure®. We provide Innovation and Inspiration for the Relentless Adventurer. Based in Seattle – with in-house manufacturing and prototyping capabilities at our company headquarters – Outdoor Research was founded in 1981 after a failed piece of gear on an Alaskan climbing expedition inspired ideas for a better design. Ever since that first product, the X-Gaiter, put Outdoor Research on the map, we have been dedicated to building better outdoor apparel, gloves, hats and an array of other outdoor accessories informed by real-world testing. We develop innovative, functional, bomb-proof products that are beautiful in their simplicity. Design abides by the maxim ‘make it better, not just new or different,’ and our gear is backed by our Infinite Guarantee®. We listen, value and empower each other and our fellow adventurers – we invite input from our customers, athlete ambassadors and the International Federation of Mountain Guides Associations Test Team. We’re independent, letting us strive to provide the best value to our customers, not shareholders. We are committed to our core sports: alpinism, rock and ice climbing, hiking, backpacking, paddling, trail running, and backcountry and sidecountry skiing. We’re growing, as a company and as individuals. And we’re having fun along the way.

Dave Simpson / Verde PR & Consulting / dave@verdepr.com / (970) 259-3555 x2