How The North Face quickly solved its social media crisis with a helicopter?
Outdoor enthusiasts know that The North Face is a famous outdoor clothing brand. However, in December 2023 they faced a crisis PR on social media. In the end, it was not only skillfully resolved, but also called a model of marketing.
Jennifer Jensen is from Texas, USA, and came to New Zealand in December 2023 to celebrate her 30th birthday. Jensen was hiking on the South Island and heard it was going to rain, so she bought a waterproof jumper from the outdoor clothing brand North Face. As a result, on the hike, she realized that her new purchase was not waterproof at all.
“I’m very unhappy with North Face,” Jensen says in the video, “I’m here in a downpour, but I’m wearing this rain jacket and I’m soaking wet.”
“I hope you will redesign this raincoat, make it waterproof and courier it to me to the hills of Hooker Valley Lake in the South Island of New Zealand. I will wait for you there.” She said.
The video quickly went viral, getting more than 11.6 million views and thousands of comments. However, North Face did not comment.
Netizens teased, “North Face has withdrawn from the group chat.”
Unexpectedly, soon after, North Face itself posted a TikTok and made perfect marketing on the matter. The video was captioned, “We’ve been busy lately couriering new clothes to the mountains for Ms. Jensen. Thanks for her feedback!”
The North Face made no bones about it and immediately sent a helicopter to deliver a brand-new waterproof rashguard to the woman. At the same time, The North Face used social media to document the entire process of their clothing delivery and as a response to this incident.
In an instant, The North Face stirred up a lot of discussion and people were praising it for what it did. As a bystander, I was shocked and thrilled at the moment when the staff of The North Face appeared in a helicopter with brand-new clothes in their hands above the heads of the female customers who were hiking.
Netizen commented, “That’s good customer service.”
“A perfect example of marketing.”
“Great job turning a crisis into marketing!”
Imagine the moment when that female customer who was hiking looked up and saw the helicopter that suddenly appeared. I believe it was a surprise when the woman customer took the jumper in her hand.
Faced with customers’ complaints, The North Face did not explain too much, but fully understood the reality of customers’ needs, and quietly spoke with action, in the shortest possible time to respond to the needs of customers. A piece of clothing may not mean much to a company, but to this customer who was suffering from the rain on her hike, the emotional value that this piece of clothing brought to her was far beyond the sales price of a piece of clothing. This customer must not have expected to be so valued.
Today’s age is filled with all kinds of social media.
Through social media, everyone becomes relevant to the brand, and everyone’s words can have a huge impact on the brand. North Face’s approach shows a new way for contemporary companies to deal with crises and customer relations.
Its positive action in the face of customer skepticism not only conveys its customer-first business attitude but also strengthens the company’s brand image and earns it a good reputation.
It also made more consumers like me, who did not often pay attention to outdoor brands, instantly feel close to and goodwill towards the originally unfamiliar North Face.
