Merino a runaway winner in Korea

Winners of the TFN100 wearing their Optim jackets

The North Face is the top sports and outdoors brand in Korea, with annual sales of A$950 million in 2022, a 41% increase from the previous year. It is operated by Youngone Corporation, a leading global manufacturer of sports and outdoor clothing.

In May, The Woolmark Company sponsored the annual TNF100 ultramarathon, held in the Gangwon province of Korea, in which more than 2,000 runners took part. The event comprises three races of 100km, 50km and 10km.

The primary objective for sponsoring the event was to showcase a specially designed Optim jacket to customers whilst also highlighting the suitability of Australian Merino wool for sportswear.

Two of the many social media images posted by influencer-runners at the TFN100 event.

The Optim jacket is made from a high-performance 100 per cent Australian Merino wool fabric that is resistant to water and wind, while retaining all Merino wool’s fine properties such as breathability. It is an immensely dense fabric due to the combination of its unique weave and fine 16.5-micron yarn.

This particular Optim jacket, made in collaboration with The North Face, was presented as prizes to the top 20 runners in the TFN100.

“By collaborating with the largest sports and outdoors brand in Korea in this campaign, we were able to promote the natural benefits of Merino wool in sportswear – including breathability, thermoregulation and odour resistance – to a wide audience of consumers who take a keen interest in the performance benefits of the products they purchase.”
Samuel Cockedey, AWI Regional Manager Japan & Korea

A booth co-run at the event by The Woolmark Company and The North Face used displays, banners and video to promote the benefits of Merino wool in sportswear. More than 800 competitors visited the booth, where they could purchase The North Face’s Merino wool products.

However, the main promotional benefits of The Woolmark Company’s involvement in the event were the result of influencer marketing and a media buy.

The Woolmark Company engaged influencers to conduct social media marketing of Merino wool and the Optim jacket at the event. This included a fashion-forward celebrity who showcased her stylish curated outfits with the Optim jacket, plus a host of high-profile running influencers, who had participated in the event, wearing the Optim jacket. The Woolmark Company also collaborated with influential magazines in Korea, GQ Korea and W Magazine, to create content about Merino wool and the Optim jacket at the event.

There were more than 10 million digital impressions (the number of opportunities people had to view the campaign) from these activities, which is more than 10 times the campaign’s target.

Furthermore, the media exposure of releases distributed by The North Face, reported on 97 online news sites, achieved a total reach (the total number of people who saw the content) of more than 70 million.

“We greatly appreciated The Woolmark Company’s effective promotion of the TNF100 marathon through influencer marketing and media buying efforts. Thanks to its marketing activities, we obtained tremendous promotional effects for this marathon event,” said Manager of Marketing at The North Face Korea, Mr TaeHyuk Heo.

This article appeared in the September 2023 edition of AWI’s Beyond the Bale magazine. Reproduction of the article is encouraged.