Let’s Camp

Client

REI

Project Date

Summer 2015

Category

Brand Design · Campaign Design · Concept Development

There are casual campers. And then there are the Camp Champions. They always have a plan to make the ordinary extraordinary, and take the camping experience to the next level. They look at a picnic table and see a breakfast bar or a grove of pines can hold a hammock garden. And don’t even get their friends started on their legendary s’mores. There’s a reason and a purpose behind everything they do. Each outing is a new opportunity to set the stage for a most legendary camp experience. And they bring it all summer long.

Problem

What is the outdoor enthusiast, specifically campers, excited about? And how do we engage new campers along with those who haven’t gone camping in a while?

REI wanted to create a retail season around summer camping, but in its first summer out, it didn’t move the needle in sales or customer engagement. It was later identified in interviews that REI’s customer’s first(1) didn’t understand what “Let’s Camp” meant and second(2) the visual storytelling didn’t resonate with their targeted audience.

Process

Through a series of mind-mapping exercises, key tactile patterns were discovered.

Campers camp! They keep only the bare essentials, and they keep them in reach.
Their environment is important. Camping by the lake is not the same as camping in the desert, as camping in the mountains is nothing like camping on a beach.
Slowing down and taking in the natural world around them is critical to rebooting themselves.
You earn your grit!

Solution

For the 2015 season, a new Identity was designed to connect directly with the audience that expressed an understanding of what it means to camp and be a part of that lifestyle. Next, personas were developed based on research and then validated through interviews leading into content for a phased campaign that lasted for 12 weeks.