REI #ForceOfNature

I recently judged The One Show Awards which is a prestigious awards program the best work from  a wide range of agency types. The criteria is marketing creativity...that produces business results for brands.

I’m in.

Aside from the judging itself, we were asked to pick some of our personal choices as well...and I picked a program from the retailer REI...#ForceOfNature.

#ForceOfNature was a 2017 followup to the now infamous #OptOutside promotion where REI closed all of its stores on Black Friday so that its employees could spend time outdoors. For a brand that's all about the outdoors, it was an authentic gesture. Consumers followed suit as well, spurring what many would call a movement.

#ForceOfNature takes that program one step further and highlights the fact that being outdoors is a level playing field, a place where we are all equal. I get that. I embrace that. As a result of that, #ForceOfNature encourages women to put aside that which has kept them back and to go for it. I takes barriers and makes them boosters.

It’s all about women finding freedom outdoors. I love the sentiment and the campaign...

I can't say if it was a winner or not, because honestly I don't know. But it was one of my choices.

What's your experience? JIM