Huckberry’s 72-hour Australian adventure

Launched in 2010, American brand Huckberry describes itself as “the one stop men's shop for everyday adventure”, sitting between the traditional outdoor and fashion categories. Huckberry retails its own house brands, including Proof which features Merino wool as the key ingredient fibre, alongside the best third-party clothing and home goods.

Its key customers are USA-based, affluent and adventurous, younger males who love to shop online, and buy on quality not price. The Woolmark Company’s own research shows that this an ideal demographic to target with the aim to build awareness and purchase of Merino wool products.

Consumer marketing campaign

In October 2023, Huckberry launched a joint marketing campaign with AWI subsidiary The Woolmark Company that runs through to June. The initial stage of the campaign was the creation of a Woolmark-branded store ‘The Merino Shop’ on the Huckberry website huckberry.com to drive sales of Merino wool products. The Merino Shop also includes a link to a special webpage that details how to launder and care for Merino wool products.

The entrance to The Merino Shop on the Huckberry website.

Highlighted in The Merino Shop are garments from the bestselling ‘72-Hour Collection’ of Huckberry’s Proof brand. The 72-Hour Collection includes long and short sleeved T-shirts, Henley tops, polo shirts, hoodies, long pants and boxer briefs.

The Woolmark Company assisted Huckberry with sourcing for much of the collection using Woolmark-certified suppliers. Some of the wool-rich products in the collection have been quality tested to receive Woolmark Blend/Merino Perform certification.

72-hour Australian adventure video

Huckberry has garnered widespread media attention for its successful business model of providing an exceptional online experience for its customers, connecting content and commerce. The brand has mastered the art of great content marketing, engaging its audience through interesting and eye-catching storytelling.

Reflecting these strengths, the highlight of the joint marketing campaign was the production and airing of a 25-minute video of the Huckberry team visiting Tasmania to, firstly, learn about the origins of the Merino wool, and then spend 72 hours adventuring in the outdoors wearing Proof brand apparel. The video is a dedicated episode of the brand’s popular ‘Huckberry Presents - 72 Hours’ series of videos.

Hosted by Huckberry’s Chief Brand Officer Ben O’Meara and Senior Apparel Designer Sunny Chang, the episode opens with a farm tour of the ‘Kelvedon Estate’ family property with sixth-generation woolgrower Anna Cotton. Ben and Sunny learn about the wool fibre’s on-farm origins – from breeding and selecting Merino sheep, to grazing and pasture management, shearing, skirting and sorting wool.

Huckberry’s Chief Brand Officer Ben O’Meara and Senior Apparel Designer Sunny Chang at ‘Kelvedon Estate’ on Tasmania with woolgrower Anna Cotton.

“We met what could easily be the happiest flock of sheep on the planet before getting our hands on some freshly sheared wool… True to legend, it was just as smooth, strong and itch-free from the get-go.”
- Huckberry website

The episode then centres around Ben and Sunny as they hike, run, kayak and cycle their way through the Tasmanian wilderness wearing the brand’s Proof apparel. The apparel is put to the ultimate test by the forces of both Mother Nature and the adventurers pushing the limits. In particular, the duo wear the same Proof T-shirt for 72 hours straight to test and prove its performance benefits, including its natural temperature regulation and odour resistance.

“After 72 hours of non-stop wear through sun, wind, and sea spray, let’s just say it over-delivered at every turn.”
- Huckberry website

"There is no product – and more specifically fabric – I’ve worn more during my 10 years at Huckberry than our Proof 72-Hour Merino shirts,” said Ben O’Meara. “We’ve travelled around the world putting this Merino to the test, making sure when we tell our community it’s the best on the market – it performs.”

Keen to put Merino wool’s capabilities to the test, Ben and Sunny wore Huckberry’s Proof garments while hiking, running, cycling and kayaking around Tasmania.

The video episode was launched on 20 March and had been viewed more than 100,000 times in its first month on the brand’s YouTube channel.

Utilising its trademark content management skills, Huckberry leveraged the video and imagery from the trip across its website to engage its wide audience and drive sales of its Merino wool apparel. For example, content was used on hub pages for its Proof brand and also the 72 Hour Collection, plus in online journal articles covering behind-the-scenes stories and outfits inspired by the trip. Content from the trip was also used across its social media platforms and electronic direct mail.

“The joint marketing campaign has succeeded in its objective to increase target market awareness of the versatility and suitability of Merino wool in adventure and performance apparel,” said AWI Business Development (Sports & Performance) & Sustainability Manager, Americas, Monica Ebert.

“By creating highly engaging content and promoting Merino wool as an intelligent investment option for performance and adventure applications, The Woolmark Company is helping to drive growth in Merino wool purchases amongst a key target audience within the US market.”

The Woolmark Company will continue to provide support to Huckberry to help and inspire it to develop and expand its Merino wool offering.

More information:

www.huckberry.com/merino-wool

www.huckberry.com/store/shop/proof-72-hours-in-tasmania

This article appeared in the June 2024 edition of AWI’s Beyond the Bale magazine. Reproduction of the article is encouraged.