REI proves the MERC maxim that brands need to stand for something

One of the many remarkable things about working at MERCURYcsc is having access to the work that our in-house research and insights department does on behalf of our clients. Their work gives the strategy and creative teams a baseline to understand the customer’s perspective and motivations, which ultimately informs our creative work.

Sometimes the hidden nuggets from this research are even more interesting than the top-line results.

For example…

In the latest edition of The Pulse, we dug into brand activism. More specifically, we wanted to know if brand advocacy campaigns successfully drove awareness and action around reauthorization of the Land and Water Conservation Fund.

The short answer is that they didn’t. The reasons why are complex and fascinating on their own. You can read the executive summary and download the full report here.

But to me, the nugget that jumped out was a question we asked about which brands in Travel and Outdoor do consumers trust most when it comes to environmental activism.

The results, based on feedback from 300 pre-qualified Experiential Seekers, placed REI as No. 1, above Patagonia. Weird, right? Given Patagonia’s long-standing activist positioning, we thought that they would have been top of mind. In fact, at the onset, we considered this a throw-away question but wanted to see who else showed up on the list.

So what's up?

Our educated guess is that our survey was launched seven days after REI announced their #OptOutside Black Friday campaign.

The campaign and ensuing press and social media buzz successfully imprinted REI as a brand that stands for something. The impact of the campaign specific to our survey question was probably amplified given that Patagonia’s annual anti-consumerism campaign was noticeably absent from Black Friday (a day Patagonia could/should own).

The media coverage and visibility of the #OptOutside campaign fundamentally elevated REI’s reputation as a brand that stands for something. This was true even though the cause is only tangentially related to the topic (land and water conservation) that we were surveying people about.

There is a ripple effect associated with any activist-style campaign. To the consumer, REI stands for something that she believes in, and therefore must also stand for other things she believes in. There is a message and positioning echo that reaches proximate and related causes.

This result demonstrates that as long as the cause is not too narrowly focused, the investment in one cause has positive reputation and positioning returns across the entire category. You don’t need to advocate for every cause in your brand ethos, just the most appropriate and most effective.

The caveat is that the issue a company advocates for or against has to align consistently with its ideals and ethos — you don’t get a break from having to be 100% on brand just because you’re doing it for a good cause. Another way of looking at it is that you can’t just pick a cause of the month and expect people to trust you on it.

It’s not easy or inexpensive implementing an advocacy campaign. Brands put themselves out there not knowing if anyone will follow. In REI’s case, choosing to close their doors on the busiest shopping day of the year was a risk. But I’m here to tell you that according to our recent report, the risk is worth it, and it will pay off in dividends.