Geartrade Advertising Campaign
Prompt
Created as a 'media intervention' project, I was tasked with working within the norms of a media form to make a statement about the platform.
Vision and Approach
More often than not, outdoor gear is sold as a luxury product. My goal is to express how the gear people need to enjoy the outdoors comfortably can and should be financially accessible. I chose clothing advertising as my media form, and the company Geartrade as my area of approach.
Geartrade is an online marketplace dedicated to the exchange of second-hand outdoor equipment, ensuring quality control while avoiding a luxury price tag for consumers.
Final Graphics
My project took the form of an advertising campaign. Using my own photos and writing, I paired authentic outdoor experiences with subversive slogans highlighting the misconception that outdoor gear must be purchased as a luxury product.
Campaign Messaging
My messaging strategy involved using humor and misdirection to drive home the values of authenticity and relatability to my intended audience. A casual voice remains consistent across various copy iterations.
Image Selection
It was important to my mission to maintain the subjects as 'regular people doing things outside'. My images feature friends, family, and places I have personally visited and appreciate. I then edited photos in Photoshop to ensure text legibility against busy backgrounds.
Layout
I brought edited photos into Illustrator to format the typography. I selected a slab serif font and chose bright colors to contrast the images' otherwise natural palettes. I created A-4 and web-format layouts to demonstrate the versatility of my campaign across various platforms.
Looking Forward
With more time, I would expand this project to different media forms, such as video or social media. With campaign messaging and formatting established, I could follow a similar approach to create a large body of work with minimal effort.
Research and Development
Market Research:
In order to emulate the media form of outdoor gear advertising, I researched campaigns conducted by notable brands such as Patagonia and REI.
Patagonia understands that its customer base cares about sustainability and the earth, and it plays into that with campaigns that refuse to sacrifice authenticity for profit. They advertise themselves as ‘not like other brands,’ and they live up to that idea in their actions and mission statement.
One Patagonia advertising campaign that especially demonstrates this approach is their ‘don’t buy this jacket’ campaign. Their mission was to encourage customers to think about sustainability and to value quality over quantity in their gear. While this may seem counterproductive from a sales approach, it went a long way to build brand recognition and loyalty, two things that Patagonia's business model relies heavily on.
Campaign Mission:
Speak to the values that consumers in this market already have: sustainability and access to the activities that they enjoy.
Brand-Messaging Case Study: Patagonia
For this course, I also conducted a sustained research project on my chosen topic: outdoor gear branding. I chose to focus on Patagonia for my in-depth brand investigation. Hoping to learn from their brand strategy, I researched everything from their company history to their business model to the effectiveness of their sustainability efforts. I then compiled my research into a graphically driven report using Adobe InDesign. The color palette and blocky layout take inspiration from the magazines that initially inspired me.
Aesthetic Inspiration:
Visuals were inspired primarily by mountaineering and climbing magazines (Alpinist, K2, Summit, etc.)
Patagonia magazines specifically feature brightly colored typography overlaying images of ‘regular’ people and natural landscapes, providing a simple yet striking contrast that I intended to emulate.
