The Brief

Relaunch the Kathmandu brand and drive reappraisal among 18-35s. In 2021, the ‘outdoor adventure economy’ had exploded to $170b globally.

The problem wasn’t the product. Consumers knew Kathmandu made high-quality gear. It was largely undifferentiated from its closest competitor (MacPac) and young adults, the category’s biggest growth drivers, saw it as a brand for parents. 

Given the average Kathmandu customer was 50+, they were probably right. 

We needed to relaunch the brand to drive growth and create separation from the competition.

The Thinking

The outdoor category had become a cliched dichotomy. Brands were either about conquering the mountain (masculine and technical) or saving the mountain (activist and casual). But our research highlighted that people were looking for something else—they wanted an inclusive place where they could just be themselves and feel happy. So we turned to science. 

Studies show that when we spend time outdoors, our stress goes down, we feel happier and we become more creative. This led us to a new brand platform that completely broke all category norms. 

The Idea

We’re Out There.

An out there celebration of the

outdoors and the positive effects it

has on our brains and behaviour. 

The Execution

We’re Out There refreshed everything about Kathmandu from the brand identity to

how staff are trained, but it all started with

an infectiously positive TV campaign.

Instead of rugged white men with stubbly faces hanging off cliff faces, we launched a 60 second spot that dropped all the category conventions into a cave and unclipped the carabiner.

It was a joyous ode to the majesty of leaves,

a celebration of cosmic dolphins and jumping

off big rocks with no pants on.

 It was pure puffer-jacket clad happiness.

The spot showed the outdoors in a way that we’re not used to seeing, and it showed Kathmandu isn’t just for dads walking dogs.

(60’ Film here 

30’ Film here

15’ Film here)

The Results

The campaign is just the start of this new brand platform - but already we have seen impressive results.

92% positive/neutral sentiment on PR and 97% on social. 

45 total pieces of PR coverage, with an average impact score of 80.8 and a potential reach of 10.6 million.

This has an equivalent advertising value of AU $307,095

772k impressions on owned social channels via Facebook and Instagram. 

with significantly higher ecommerce 7.5% increase in average online order value in NZ compared to 2019.