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This article features an innovation deep dive, detailing what the innovation is, how it relates to two underlying trends, what other brands have recently launched similar initiatives and three key takeaways for you to run with.
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How can you provide outdoors-as-a-service?
To coincide with Mental Health Awareness Month in May 2023, L.L.Bean paused its social media content, replacing promotional images with resources, tips and tools that encouraged people to go outside. The US-based outdoor retailer also partnered with social fitness app Strava, inviting users to log their outdoor time in the app as part of the L.L.Bean Feel-Good Challenge with the goal of spending a combined 500,000 hours outside during the month. Over 90,000 people participated, raising USD 50,000 for the nonprofit Mental Health America.
SYNCHRONOS
The mental health benefits of spending time outdoors are well documented, but nature immersion could be more important than previously acknowledged: per one study, activity conducted outdoors produces more benefits to the brain than the same exercise conducted indoors. This Mental Health Awareness Month, there’s been an uptick in brands encouraging people to get outside, with Hipcamp and REI partnering with Outdoor Journal Tour to sponsor weekly guided hikes. Could you create a campaign that rewards people for spending time outdoors? Exercise optional 😉
VILLAGE SQUARED
L.L.Bean and co. aren’t just encouraging people to get outside. They're encouraging people to get outside with others. That’s an important distinction to make in a time when concerns about loneliness are mounting. First, the Surgeon General Vivek Murthy declared loneliness the latest public health epidemic, then Google Trends reported that searches for 'how to make friends', 'where to make friends' and 'where to meet people' had reached an all-time high. Dig a little deeper, and it's clear that many are looking for places to build new relationships. Can your brand bring people together and develop social spaces where communities can (re)connect?
Campsited, the Ireland-based online marketplace for nature holidays, launched its ‘Open Air Work From Anywhere’ program in March 2023. The scheme has been created for employers looking to provide their employees with the opportunity to work remotely from one of Campsited’s leafy destinations across Europe – with more properties in the US and South Africa expected. Employees of participating companies can choose from various 12-week escapes across Europe, with strong wifi and all necessary amenities guaranteed.
The Hike Society by Columbia, an outdoor movement created to unite hikers, provides mental first aid training to hiking communities across the UK in an effort to address the rising mental health crisis and encourage early intervention. Over 20 community leaders are receiving the training to learn how to create safe spaces, facilitate conversations, and encourage more people to access the mental health benefits of the outdoors. The training preceded the Hike Society’s Annual General Hike, a hiking event that connected over 500 hikers over one weekend in April 2023. Participation in the hikes is free.
In an effort to promote the Western Australian town of Esperance, in March 2023 Australia’s Golden Outback (AGO) sent two high-profile influencers on a once-in-a-lifetime trip. The only condition? They weren’t allowed to post a single thing on social media for the duration of their vacation. Rather than showcase the destination’s renowned scenery, the ‘Unfluencers’ campaign sought to highlight the benefits of temporarily disconnecting from the virtual world with the influencers subsequently sharing content about the positive impact it had on their wellbeing.
Some are looking for authentic experiences that bring them closer to local cultures; others want to escape ever-present screens and reconnect with nature. One thread that connects these motivations? Immersion! In nature, in the journey, in themselves...in the moment. Can you create experiences that help people cast off their worries and feel awestruck – if only for a short time?
Budweiser aims to deepen human connection by encouraging people to meet face-to-face whilst simultaneously supporting local businesses. Think about how your brand can combine elements of both SYNCHRONOS and VILLAGE SQUARED – connection, joy, and mindfulness – with other important values to delight and surprise consumers.
Who said luxury and nature don’t mix? After vacations were put on hold in recent years, consumers are making up for lost time (so-called ‘revenge travel’) and the vast majority are looking to reconnect with nature, avoiding mass tourism and the environmental consequences that come with it. From Porsche’s camping tent to Dior’s gardening kit, can you help your consumers get back to nature without relinquishing high-quality craftsmanship?
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