Background

The Background In 2021, Kathmandu faced a huge challenge: the category it had helped create was leaving it behind. Outdoor clothing had crossed into the fashion mainstream. The ‘outdoor adventure economy’ had exploded to be worth over $170b globally. But Kathmandu’s sales were declining. The problem wasn’t the product. Consumers knew Kathmandu made high-quality, functional gear. The problem was the brand. Kathmandu was almost entirely undifferentiated from its closest competitors—particularly MacPac. And, to put it bluntly, was not necessarily the coolest. The category’s biggest growth drivers were 18-35 year olds, but the average Kathmandu customer was north of 50. Next to more fashionable, youthful brands like North Face, Nike and Uniqlo, Kathmandu lacked brand appeal. The Brief Relaunch the Kathmandu brand and make it relevant to a younger audience.

Describe the creative idea (40% of vote)

The Thinking The outdoor category had become a cliched dichotomy. Brands were either making the outdoors seem like a place of technical extremism for tough guys OR a worthy pursuit for environmentalists and zenned-out hippies. Research highlighted that people were looking for something else, craving a place where they could be themselves and feel happy and alive. And science showed the outdoors does just that. The Concept Studies have shown that exposure to nature has a measurable physiological effect on people and a transformative effect on their behaviour. When we spend time outdoors, our stress goes down, our empathy goes up, we feel happier and we become more creative. This scientific truth led us to a new brand platform: We’re Out There and informed every decision in a joy-filled brand identity overhaul. Out with the conservative, expected and staid. In with a vibrant new world of bold, nature-inspired, colour-filled joy.

Describe the execution (40% of vote)

Kathmandu’s brand relaunch broke all the outdoor category norms by filling its comms and products with bold, nature-inspired joy. Colour - We expanded our colour palette to better reflected the diversity of the great outdoors. Drawing inspiration from fire, earth, air and water to create a kaleidoscopic palette injecting life into a category defined by muted colours. Type - We introduced Larken, a distinctive, expressive serif font that was originally inspired by nature and balanced confidence and youthful quirk. Logo- We flooded our logo with vivid natural cues and adjusted its proportions for greater impact. The now enlarged ‘peaks’ acted as a window to the outdoors, showcasing stunning photographic textures, colours and illustrations. Photography and Styling - We replaced slice-of-life photography with energetic fashion-forward imagery capturing the joy of being outdoors. Icons - We created embroidered ‘back-pack travel badges’ that reinforce key messages and injected even more colour and playfulness.

List the results (20% of vote)

PR coverage reached 10.6 million people, equaling an advertising value of AU $307,095 E-comm conversions jumped 8% in AUS and 10% in NZ y.o.y Online order value grew by 7.5% y.o.y The campaign generated 772k impressions on owned social channels via Facebook and Instagram.