US consumers urged to ‘Get Outside in Merino’

Headquartered in the city of Boulder at the foothills of the Rocky Mountains in northern Colorado, Outside Inc is an American media company that reaches more than 50 million active lifestyle enthusiasts each month through its range of magazines and digital assets. Its 30+ media brands cover a diverse range of outdoor pursuits including hiking, climbing, snowsports, running and cycling.

The company was founded on one simple idea: “Get everyone Outside”. Each year, the company highlights this mission by running a Get Outside Tour during which the company gets to meet enthusiasts face to face at outdoor sports events, festivals and clinics held across the US. In 2023, the tour ran for seven months, from April to October, with 102 activations at nearly 50 events in more than 25 states.

With Merino wool the ideal fibre to wear during outdoor pursuits, AWI’s marketing arm The Woolmark Company last year partnered with Outside Inc during the Get Outside Tour to encourage people to choose Merino wool for their next outdoor adventure.

“The people attending these events are highly motivated enthusiasts that regularly buy outdoor gear, so are a perfect group to target with information about the natural benefits of wearing Merino wool apparel,” said AWI Business Development Manager Americas, Sports & Performance, Monica Ebert.

“The ultimate aim of the partnership with the Get Outside Tour was to help drive sales of Merino wool outdoor sports gear at a key time of year for purchases.”

The benefits of Merino wool that were promoted included its softness, odour resistance, breathability and thermoregulation, stain and wrinkle resistance, and it being a natural, renewable and biodegradable fibre.

“Marketing Merino wool’s inherent performance properties and eco-credentials are important to ensure a new generation of consumers are knowledgeable about the fibre's benefits,” Monica added.

A team of Outside ambassadors acted as an extension of The Woolmark Company’s own team, leading outdoor excursions and gear demonstrations featuring key Woolmark brand partners including Artilect, Unbound Merino, Ibex, and Smartwool. The four brand partners outfitted the ambassadors to demonstrate first-hand the benefits of Merino wool on the road to consumers. The brand partners also supplied products to be displayed at the Get Outside Tour festival tent, as well as providing discount codes and giveaways.

Outdoor ambassadors Lyle Frenkel and Alina Drufovka have been promoting the natural benefits of Merino wool apparel to outdoor enthusiasts at events across the US.

The Get Outside Tour team engaged directly with more than 230,000 consumers ‘in real life’ at the events to promote the benefits of Merino wool. The Tour was supported with print and digital marketing – and the Woolmark logo was featured on the Tour van. In total, the Tour received 28 million impressions (the number of times the event marketing was seen).

In addition to organic social media features on Outside’s channels, The Woolmark Company partnered on a dedicated custom content program with one of the Outside ambassadors to further highlight the benefits of Merino wool performance wear. The ambassador created two reels and supporting stories on Instagram that featured products from brand partners and the benefits of Merino wool. The two reels received 2.2 million impressions.

One of two reels on Instagram featuring Outside ambassador Alina Drufovka, highlighting the benefits of Merino wool, which received 2.2 million impressions.

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