As an alternative to a traditional advertising agency, we take on brand transformation with the goal of improving marketing impact through robust strategy. Two Things about working together: Advisory Formats Executional Advisory Two Things can oversee execution of the work if needed from guidance to establishing long-term plan. Includes: Production Oversight Strategy +Creative Consistency Budget Management Strategy Implementation Measurement + Research Methodology Analysis and Recommendations Future Proofing Identifying long-term partners Training and Handoff to client team Strategic Advisory Two things can engage as a strategic advisor to the board and/or leadership team on long-term strategy evolution. Includes: Performance Benchmarking Analysis and Recommendations Guidance on Org Design and/or AgencyRoster Customized options available Custom Retainer Strategy + Creative Partnership 6–12 Months ↗ Creative Strategy Development Deliverable: Brand Audit, Research + Insights Presentation, Creative Territory Presentation 1 + 2 (if needed), Design Challenge Briefs ↗ Concept Development Deliverable: Two Rounds of Creative Development, Brand and Product Marketing Concepts combined, Concepts fleshed out to match production considerations ↗ Comms Strategy and Pre-Production Deliverable: GTM Rollout Calendar, Production Recommendations and Budgets, Recommended Channel Prioritization and Measurement Recommendations Core Team: Strategy Lead, Design Lead, Brand Manager/Producer. Creative Concept Teams (selected based on brief). Studio Design Team: Graphic Design, Part-time Researcher. Creative and Strategy oversight by Leadership Team. Strategy Sprint Foundational Creative Strategy 4 Weeks ↗ Opportunity Mapping Deliverable: Brand Audit, Product/Category/Cultural Research ↗ Insights + Creative Territories Deliverable: Presentation with findings and recommendations ↗ Creative Territory Refinement Deliverable: Revisions to Creative Territories based on feedback, Design Challenge Briefs to guide work, Recommended path forward Core Team: Brand Strategist, Design Lead and Creative Director with support from Producer and Studio Design Team. Creative and Strategy oversight by Leadership Team. Comprehensive Project Creative Strategy, Concepts + Rollout 12–14 Weeks ↗ Creative Strategy Development Deliverable: Brand Audit, Research + Insights Presentation, Creative Territory Presentation 1 + 2 (if needed), Design Challenge Briefs ↗ Concept Development Deliverable: Two Rounds of Creative Development, Brand and Product Marketing Concepts combined, Concepts fleshed out to match production considerations ↗ Comms Strategy and Pre-Production Deliverable: GTM Rollout Calendar, Production Recommendations and Budgets, Recommended Channel Prioritization and Measurement Recommendations Core Team: Strategy Lead, Design Lead, Brand Manager/Producer. Creative Concept Teams (selected based on brief). Studio Design Team: Graphic Design, Part-time Researcher. Creative and Strategy oversight by Leadership Team. Many of our clients have some form of an internal creative department, innovation team and/or agencies - from strategic partners to executional vendors. We are well versed in assessing capabilities of the existing roster and augmenting them to execute on the appropriate strategy, but we will never limit our recommendations to what is possible with current capabilities. Some of our clients don't have any executional resources on their team. In these situations we'll set the strategy and begin a process of overseeing execution while iteratively bringing in the right mix of internal staff and external partners to ensure that you have a reliable team to match the strategy over time. We are Player-Coaches. We are in the transformation business, not the maintenance business. We take pride in helping our clients take giant leaps forward, not incremental optimizations. Our work ends when our clients have a clear understanding of the strategic opportunity, the lived experience from having gone through a cycle or two with our guidance, and the confidence among all critical stakeholders to continue to improve outcomes through iteration and new creative expertise. We make ourselves obsolete. Ways we can work together: Foundational Creative Strategy Strategy Sprint 4 Weeks Opportunity Mapping Deliverable: Brand Audit, Product/Category/Cultural Research Core Team: Brand Strategist, Design Lead and Creative Director with support from Producer and Studio Design Team. Creative and Strategy oversight by Leadership Team. I. Insights + Creative Territories Deliverable: Presentation with findings and recommendations Creative Territory Refinement Deliverable: Revisions to Creative Territories based on feedback, Design Challenge Briefs to guide work, Recommended path forward II. III. Creative Strategy, Concepts + Rollout Comprehensive Project 12–14 Weeks Creative Strategy Development Deliverable: Brand Audit, Research + Insights Presentation, Creative Territory Presentation 1 + 2 (if needed), Design Challenge Briefs Core Team: Strategy Lead, Design Lead, Brand Manager/Producer. Creative Concept Teams (selected based on brief). Studio Design Team: Graphic Design, Part-time Researcher. Creative and Strategy oversight by Leadership Team. Concept Development Deliverable: Two Rounds of Creative Development, Brand and Product Marketing Concepts combined, Concepts fleshed out to match production considerations Comms Strategy and Pre-Production Deliverable: GTM Rollout Calendar, Production Recommendations and Budgets, Recommended Channel Prioritization and Measurement Recommendations III. II. I. Strategy + Creative Partnership Custom Retainer 6–12 Months Opportunity Mapping Core Team: Brand Strategist, Design Lead and Creative Director with support from Producer and Studio Design Team. Creative and Strategy oversight by Leadership Team. Insights + Creative Territories Creative Territory Refinement III. II. I. Timelines can be customized to clients needs and additional workload can be absorbed by dedicated team assigned to client’s business. Monthly Work-Plan Alignment with senior stakeholders to calibrate work to client's business. Custom Retainer option for more complex assignments. Two Things will generally follow its process working systematically through: Executional Advisory Strategy Sprint 4+ Month Commitment Two Things can oversee execution of the work if needed from guidance to establishing long-term plan. Includes: Production Oversight Strategy +Creative Consistency Budget Management Strategy Implementation Measurement + Research Methodology Analysis and Recommendations Future Proofing Identifying long-term partners Training and Handoff to client team Strategic Advisory Two things can engage as a strategic advisor to the board and/or leadership team on long-term strategy evolution. Includes: Performance Benchmarking Analysis and Recommendations Guidance on Org Design and/or AgencyRoster Customized options available Month-to-Month or Quarterly Two things can engage as a strategic advisor to the board and/or leadership team on long-term strategy evolution. Includes: Performance Benchmarking Analysis and Recommendations Guidance on Org Design and/or AgencyRoster Customized options available Two Things can oversee execution of the work if needed from guidance to establishing long-term plan. Includes: Production Oversight Strategy +Creative Consistency Budget Management Strategy Implementation Measurement + Research Methodology Analysis and Recommendations Future Proofing Identifying long-term partners Training and Handoff to client team 4+ Month Commitment Executional Advisory Advisory Formats Monthly or Quarterly Strategic Advisory Dedicated Team: Strategy Lead, Design Lead, Brand Manager/Producer. Creative Concept Teams (assigned based on brief). Studio Design Team: Graphic Design, Part-time Researcher. Creative and Strategy oversight by Leadership team. I. III. II. Comms Strategy and Pre-Production Concept Development Creative Strategy Development Custom Retainer option for more complex assignments. Two Things will generally follow its process working systematically through: Timelines can be customized to clients needs and additional workload can be absorbed by dedicated team assigned to client’s business. Monthly Work-Plan Alignment with senior stakeholders to calibrate work to client's business. 6–12 Months Strategy + Creative Partnership Custom Retainer Core Team: Strategy Lead, Design Lead, Brand Manager/Producer. Creative Concept Teams (selected based on brief). Studio Design Team: Graphic Design, Part-time Researcher. Creative and Strategy oversight by Leadership Team. I. Comms Strategy and Pre-Production Deliverable: GTM Rollout Calendar, Production Recommendations and Budgets, Recommended Channel Prioritization and Measurement Recommendations III. Concept Development Deliverable: Two Rounds of Creative Development, Brand and Product Marketing Concepts combined, Concepts fleshed out to match production considerations II. Creative Strategy Development Deliverable: Brand Audit, Research + Insights Presentation, Creative Territory Presentation 1 + 2 (if needed), Design Challenge Briefs 12–14 Weeks Creative Strategy, Concept + Rollout Comprehensive Project Core Team: Brand Strategist, Design Lead and Creative Director with support from Producer and Studio Design Team. Creative and Strategy oversight by Leadership Team. Creative Territory Refinement Deliverable: Revisions to Creative Territories based on feedback, Design Challenge Briefs to guide work, Recommended path forward III. Insights + Creative Territories Deliverable: Presentation with findings and recommendations II. Opportunity Mapping Deliverable: Brand Audit, Product/Category/Cultural Research I. 4 Weeks Foundational Creative Strategy Strategy Sprint start a conversation → our point of view →

Two Things | Novella | Every sneaker tells a story and each story is inspired by a unique artisan Most of the energy in the market today comes from big, iconic sneaker brands doing limited edition drops and generic collaborations with other established brands or artists. It’s an approach badly in need of a refresh. Client // Novella Assignment // Research & Insights, Brand Strategy, Global Advertising Campaign, Photography, Film, Global Messaging and Campaign Toolkit Designing a footwear company from the ground up. Sneakers are a 100 billion dollar market worldwide. In recent years, there has been a tidal wave of Instagram DTC starts trying to tap into this burgeoning market. For most, the story has been exactly the same: high craftsmanship at a lower price. Beautiful but boring. This started to bug us and drove us to find another way. We realized that the formula for these launches was basically all SNEAKER, no BACKSTORY. Which got us wondering, what would happen if we flipped this model? What if we turned a shoe brand into a storyteller? From this, Novella was born. Novella was born in the depths of the pandemic. Amidst the darkness, we tried to find light. Not just through the creation of our shoes. But through the stories of these uncommon artisans. And all the joy and inspiration they were putting out into the world. At a time when we needed it most. In recent years, there has been a tidal wave of Instagram DTC starts trying to tap into this burgeoning market. For most, the story has been exactly the same: high craftsmanship at a lower price. Beautiful but boring. Today, we exist to tell their stories. Each drop, we’ll take a blank canvass and transform it into a beautiful human story. About a barber or poet or comedian or chef. Extraordinary creators who inspire joy through craft. Every detail of the shoe (accents, colors, materials) will be carefully considered to tell their story. See more at novella2020.com

Two Things | The North Face | Discover Your Trail | Found authenticity and discovery on and off the trail. Explore the Next Generation of Trail. We call this audience, The Next Generation of Trail. They are an amalgamation of avid trail runners and hikers. Some run in pairs, others hike twenty deep. Some crush mountain trails, others stroll city parks. What unites them is their love for the trail. We set out to uncover, why. The North Face is legend in the outdoor adventure space. But the approach they pioneered—sponsoring the exploits of extreme outdoor athletes—is no longer as ownable or relevant as it once was. Client // The North Face: Discover Your Trail Assignment // Research & Insights, Brand Strategy, Global Advertising Campaign, Photography, Film, Global Messaging and Campaign Toolkit Authenticity and discovery on and off the trail. What they need today, is a new chapter in their story. One that is true to their adventurous spirit. But can speak to a broader, wider, more diverse audience. One of the first things the Next Gen taught us became the premise of our campaign; the idea there is a trail for everyone. And that whether you're a newbie or a trail junkie, a nature lover or a thrill seeker, if you get out there and keep trying you'll eventually discover your trail. Next Gen's love of trail differed greatly from motifs past. There was very little talk of testing limits or overcoming adversity. Instead, it was more about the trail making them feel whole and human. Or in other words, like a kid again. Out there in it, with their friends, enjoying the moment rather than fretting about the past or the future. With the work, we wanted to tell real stories about real athletes. But, in the process, broaden the definition of what it means to be an outdoor athlete. So we focused our narrative lens on trail lovers that advertisers typically ignore: hike clubs, people of color, underrepresented communities, and people with different body types. These true stories of Next Gen trail lovers is only the beginning. In the months to come, we'll be exploring activations that actually help people discover their trail. In the meantime, thanks for listening and see you out there.

Generating smart ideas is *not* the hardest part of developing effective work. How it will be made determines the outcome. The Terrain is Unsettled and Varied By Paulo Ribeiro Generating smart ideas is *not* the hardest part of developing effective work. BREAKTHROUGH IDEAS AREN'T THE HARD PART Less than 20 years ago the line between the responsibilities of an outside agency and a client’s marketing organization were crystal clear. Client-side marketing handled marketing strategy, brief development, high-level budget allocation and often measurement. Their products were sold through very established channels (dealerships for cars, wholesale and to a lesser extent owned retail for apparel and shoes, Sports speciality and wholesale retail for equipment etc…). Even as e-commerce was starting to become the force it is today, channels were generally added one at a time. What a client paid agencies to do vs. what was executed in house was very consistent. Agencies handled all brand strategy, all varieties of creative development from identity to Super Bowl Spots, Event production, and agencies handled PR strategy and media planning and buying. Anything that fell under the umbrella of creative strategy, ideation or production was handled by an agency. And now? All of those agency formats continue to exist in some iteration, and there has been an explosion of additional specializations in e-Commerce, measurement, social, performance marketing, UX and IxD and on and on. While at the same time clients have brought many of the same disciplines in house to some degree. But there is no consistency to how and why. Internal creative capabilities on the client side are driven by the nuances of their individual industry, the inclinations of their leadership or sometimes for random legacy reasons. And then the vast majority also employ agencies to finish, up-level or supplement the work that they do in house. The Terrain is varied, uneven, and often difficult to map out. This has serious implications for how to make effective work. Generating smart ideas, as difficult as that is, is not the hardest part of developing effective work. The hardest part today is understanding the landscape of how that work might be made - outside, inside or shared - and developing customized work and Go To Market plans with that in mind upfront. Too often this upfront step is skipped which wastes everyone’s time (and client’s money). To be clear there is a huge difference between being an order taker and asking the client what solution they would like and giving them what they asked for and taking the time to really understand the landscape and come back with an innovative solution. The former isn’t strategic and is a watchout for any client who wants to do effective work. The first job today should be canvassing the playing field of capabilities, needs and expectations and mapping that overtly to the team setup on both the in-house client side and the outside partners. The moment is going to happen one way or another. Make that moment happen earlier and there is a greater chance for success overall. Wait to figure out what the playing field is, and one side of the equation is going to look irresponsible. I’ll let you guess which one. It starts with a messy playing field… Agencies are used to sharing creds and case studies. And clients, with the seniority to hire, are generally well-trained marketers but the truth of the matter is that they are slammed with an ever growing list of responsibilities. They don’t usually have the time to dig into whether or not the exact setup of an agency is a good key for the lock that is their specific needs. So they look at finished work, think to themselves “I want something like that’ and hope that their team’s can sort it out on the same timeline that the ideas are generated and produced. …Unclear responsibilities hurt the work quality… With creatives and strategists on the agency side and client side and a shared desire for everyone to ‘partner’ the line between idea generator and editor of ideas moves around. The client team’s bounce between being creatives and clients sometimes in the same meeting which is unfair to them and everyone involved. Both teams can lose motivation, while the work becomes a slog for all involved. Too bad. With clarity on process upfront: 1+1=3+, without it...well 1-1=0. …and ends with all that money spent on strategy and ideas being wasted. How often have you been in a meeting where good ideas from pages 20 through 87 of a presentation are completely ignored? Assuming the agency is solid and isn’t throwing shit at the wall to see what sticks, this is usually because the client’s are thinking: “That’s ambitious. We don’t have time to figure out how to make that thing with everything else we have on our plates. So we’ll compliment their clever thinking and just hope they don’t follow up.” The client is paying the agency to painstakingly develop new work but rarely do the teams talk about process in creative meetings because it's ‘not creative’, we’ll handle that in ‘production’. Marketing capabilities vary tremendously across client organizations. There is absolutely no consistency between what is in-house vs. outsourced in large companies. Developing breakthrough ideas is the easy part. Tailoring ideas to the unique shape of a client’s organization is where the real work is done. back to insights → The problem is that without that discussion upfront the vast majority of that work will ‘make a great meeting’ and never see the light of day. How creative is that?

Your brand history is not your brand strategy, or your next marketing campaign. To be be effective brands need to evolve not remain stuck in the past. See how. Your Brand History is Not Your Brand Strategy By Paulo Ribeiro Why your brand’s past is not what your customers today care about. We work with many brands that have an illustrious history. The founder stories are often magical and brands do well to celebrate them. But too often there is an assumption that brand strategy IS the brand story. Let me share a thing that happens over and over again. We recently took a call from a former client who had moved on to another brand in the same category. They had a rich history abroad and were making significant investments in growing the brand in the US. Owned retail, product line extensions and a significant e-commerce push were all part of the brand. Brand awareness was well over 75% in their region and close to 95% in their home country (!). But awareness was well below 25% in the US. When we asked what their strategy was to position the brand in the US, they shared their origin story. That's it. To be fair it is a rich story, set in the 60’s and a continent away. No doubt it is a valuable brand asset but the brand’s history is not even close to a strategy to connect with today’s US consumers. Factions inside the company had decided that since brand awareness was the problem here that all that was needed to move the needle was just to tell Americans about the brand's history. They would produce some films about that history, buy the media and Americans would open their wallets. Um, where do I even start with this? The thing is that this kind of misunderstanding is contagious because it gives license to avoid the hard work of coming up with something new and powerful. It buys time, while wasting money. Who is going to blame an employee for celebrating the company’s history? A brand’s history is just a backdrop to a strategy that might cut through the noise and connect with people. What about the audience definition? What about their needs? How will the brand differentiate from the competition in terms of the CATEGORY context, the CONSUMER context and the CULTURAL context??!? If people made decisions on where to spend their money based on a brand’s origin story then Wikipedia wouldn’t be a non-profit. I was lucky to be responsible for Nike’s brand strategy for some years at Wieden + Kennedy. That gig demanded that you understand the history and figure out a new expression if you expected to keep your job. Every brief, every category, every year. Know where you came from and figure out something new. Before Serena Williams there was Prefontaine . He was the spirit of Just Do It. The wild child runner who was the face of a brand that was growing fast in running (but not much else). Nike wanted to expand to other categories. What the hell did Pre mean in basketball? Nothing. The movie AIR , which in addition to having Ben Affleck do the worst Phil Knight impersonation imaginable, tells the business story of signing MJ. This deal unlocked an opportunity for the brand that goes way beyond basketball - as big as that business was and now is. This shift proved that the power of the Nike brand wasn’t just embodied in a person, it was an idea. The idea? That the potential for achievement exists in all of us and it can manifest in so many damn ways. Pre - > MJ and then when Nike made it a mission to rip soccer from Adidas control -> in the Brazilian National Team and their Ginga style of play. They applied this strategy as they looked to dominate each category Tiger Woods in Golf , Roger and Serena in Tennis that is until she became Nike’s most powerful ambassador for all of sport . And then this strategy hit a wall with Skateboarding (see skaters don’t always follow superstars because, you know, counter-culture ) . Then the brand took a grassroots approach partnering with local skate shops and eventually quietly funding parks and tours. Holy shit, the spirit of JDI can live in concrete?!?!. Below is a JDI (Just Do It brand campaign) creative brief circa 2009 that is a great example of taking an existing brand and shifting its voice while staying true. There are myriad ways of doing this. This is just one example. [The Just Do It creative brief from 2009 which kicked off a search for a more inclusive brand voice.] This is the playbook. To define a brand in a multi-dimensional way so that the creative expression can change to connect with new humans in ways that they care about. This notion is so obvious, but it is an approach that is often ignored. The business landscape has become complicated, but simple truths remain. If you want to connect with people you have to meet them where they are. Yes it takes a bit more effort to do it right but we have a playbook to set that strategy in a way that will move the needle today. A year from now wouldn’t you rather look back knowing that you took the time to do it right? It's only money that you are throwing away when you skip the strategy. Only money, and time, and opportunity to connect beyond your current universe… A brand’s history is just a backdrop to a strategy that might cut through the noise and connect with people. This is the playbook. To define a brand in a multi-dimensional way so that the creative expression can change to connect with new humans in ways that they care about. back to insights → [The Just Do It creative brief from 2009 which kicked off a search for a more inclusive brand voice.]

Brand transformation case studies from our best work as a strategic agency. Clients include many top companies in the active and outdoors lifestyle space. Arc'teryx: Coming Soon Timberland: Coming Soon The North Face: Discover Your Trail Novella Visit Sun Valley: Stay Sunny The North Face: Vectiv Plenty

Two Things | Visit Sun Valley | Stay Sunny | From destination brand awareness to a 360° marketing campaign. Discover how we shaped tourism and engagement. We started with a simple call-to-action (STAY SUNNY) that reflected the optimistic spirit of the Valley. But we also needed a voice that, like the locals, felt honest and to the point. Conceptually, we thought of it as a secret society that anyone could be a part of (assuming they were kind and respectful). Sun Valley, Idaho is one of the most beautiful places on the planet. For years it has existed in relative obscurity. But the approach they pioneered—sponsoring the exploits of extreme outdoor athletes—is no longer as own-able or relevant as it once was. This all changed with the pandemic. Almost overnight, Sun Valley became the place to be. Tourists flooded the valley in droves. And the locals tasked with satisfying the needs of these visitors became, in a word, overwhelmed. Client // Visit Sun Valley Assignment // Brand Strategy, Board Advisory, Campaign Design, Experiential Design, Brand Identity and Messaging, Non-Traditional Media, Measurement Strategy and Metrics Evolving a Destination Brand from Awareness to 360° Marketing. The biggest problem this onslaught of tourism brought to town was, to put it bluntly, assholery: disrespect towards staff, disregard for locals, aggressive driving, littering, and jumping lines. What was needed, we decided, was a campaign that reminded visitors how things are done in the Valley. To date, virtually every piece of communication has been delivered through non-traditional media, i.e., chalked sidewalks, construction site plywood, murals, bumper stickers, viewfinders. The medium truly has been the message. The money saved from not doing a traditional media buy has freed us up to do more local collabs and to execute all production locally. Every execution supports the local community in some way. Each creative piece was informed by what we call a pain point, i.e., specific time or place where tourists were being insufferable. We wrote lines (or messages) encouraging them to stop. But took care not to castigate them. That just felt mean. Humor, we learned, was the most effective way of connecting with others (whether they're locals or not). Around town our voice shifted depending on where you were and what offense (if any) was being committed. So, for example, as people entered town, we welcomed them with a wave and a smile. Alternatively, when people were being jerks on the bike trail, we gave them the business.

Two Things | Brookfield | The Wishing Forest | Developed a strategy to transform a B2B business into a B2C consumer experience. Experience our modern solution. Our challenge was to help transform a typically B2B business into a B2C consumer experience, attracting quality visitors from a variety of demographic cohorts: adults, young families, teenagers. Success was measured by a variety of metrics using the interactive elements as the playing field, including but not limited to: time spent at each activation, repeat visits, and dollars spent across activations. Regardless of holiday traditions, there are universal emotions that come with the season: Magic, Connection, Tradition, and Peace. Strategically, we took these and shepherded them into a simple, user experience brief: make moments of magic. Brookfield Properties, a behemoth of asset management, real estate, and infrastructure, primarily focused on B2B relationships and clientele in their shopping malls. The problem? Malls don’t exist to just serve the businesses and food courts, but rather the busy and excited shoppers stepping through their doors. And, malls at holidays? Overrun with decor and crowds only there to see Santa. A non-denominational, inclusive, and modern solution was needed. Client // Brookfield Properties Assignment // Innovation Strategy, Experiential Design, Digital Production, Retail Experience Design, Measurement Strategy A strategy to engage all ages during the busiest season. What they need today, is a new chapter in their story. One that is true to their adventurous spirit. But can speak to a broader, wider, more diverse audience. The interactive experience piloted in Holiday 2019 in two premium locations—Sono Collection outside NYC and Natick Mall in MA. Of the six installations proposed, four were used for the pilot with plans for national scaling in subsequent years. While the COVID-19 pandemic ultimately slowed the rollout, the rollout began again in 2022 across the US. Both the pilot and future installations included unique “groves” full of AR experiences, animatronic games, and interactive soundscapes. Though the experience and installations looked analog and nostalgic at first first glance, their embedded tech created organic moments of joy, laughter, and play. Highlights included the “Wishing Tree” for visitors to place wishes inside pinecone ornaments and have them whisked away to a huge LED chandelier; the “Holiday Bells Grove,” a 24 foot central bell where movement unlocks a symphony; and the “Whispering Wishes Grove” where dreams and hopes are whispered to the forest and transformed into sound and light. The interactive experience piloted in Holiday 2019 in two premium locations—Sono Collection outside NYC and Natick Mall in MA. Of the six installations proposed, four were used for the pilot with plans for national scaling in subsequent years. While the COVID-19 pandemic ultimately slowed the rollout, the rollout began again in 2022 across the US. Both the pilot and future installations included unique “groves” full of AR experiences, animatronic games, and interactive soundscapes. Though the experience and installations looked analog and nostalgic at first first glance, their embedded tech created organic moments of joy, laughter, and play. More than aesthetics, the Wishing Forest transformed how Brookfield could shift their lens toward their consumers rather than wholesale businesses, and arm their vast marketing team with the tools to drive quality, long-lasting engagement and impressions.

Two Things | The North Face | Vectiv | Cracked the go-to-market strategy for their first premium footwear platform. Discover how we elevated it into a brand. In September 2021, TNF called with an interesting proposal: they had their first ever premium footwear platform for trail, but needed to crack their go to market. With only four months until launch, they needed a creative strategy and a non-traditional campaign that shied away from paid media. They had the executional firepower with their rosters of partners, but needed the creative solution to work on both a global and local scale. For years, The North Face has led the charge of peak athleticism in the outdoors. Client // The North Face: Vectiv Assignment // Brand Strategy, Brand Identity, Global Advertising Campaign, Digital Experience Design, Global Messaging and Campaign Toolkit, Photography + Motion Design Leveraging the power of community to elevate a product launch to a brand statement. After spending our discovery and research phase with the technology, VECTIV, we found that this platform was and is the real deal. Elite athletes regularly beat FKTs (fastest known times) on a variety of trails using prototypes; the curved sole of the shoe literally rocked the wearer forward to the point where in our research we often exclaimed, “I can’t walk straight in these!” Now that we had our wayfinding, the next hurdle was execution. With the COVID-19 pandemic still raging around the globe, how could we drive trial and buzz when all trail races, events, and outdoor gatherings were canceled? Enter Further Together. As a direct reflection to the campaign, our internal work flow emphasizes collaboration and building tools for TNF to use across all of their channels and countries. The collaborative concepts resulted in strong brand messaging, positioning toolkits, photography guidelines, motion graphics, and videography for TNF’s global marketing teams to leverage again and again. We knew we had the proof for the power and integrity behind the product; but how could we turn a product into a brand campaign under TNF’s umbrella? Our strategy turned from a traditional product marketing campaign to a product marketing campaign designed to look like a brand campaign. For the story, we returned to the technology innate to VECTIVE: “Energy Multiplier.” The momentum, forward movement, and emotional mindset of the consumers all pointed toward our eventual territory and rallying cry: “Power Further.” Rather than focusing on the innovation story alone, we grounded the campaign in this emotional drum beat bringing the look and feel to life in photography and videography of pushing boundaries, thumping up the trail, the explosive, exponential energy. This campaign could never be about the solo athlete or the individual trail runner—during COVID-19 we yearned for and needed community more than ever. Partnering with Strava we launched the challenge, “Power Further, Together” to the running community, asking over half a million runners worldwide to join TNF in pushing their boundaries to reach extraordinary heights. The campaign generated over 523,000 signups with an 80% active participation rate for a global result of 37MM miles. And that was just month one.

When outdoor brands follow a Silicon Valley playbook, magic happens. See how active lifestyle brands like Patagonia, Yeti, and arc'teryx succeeded. What Active Lifestyle Brands Can Learn from Silicon Valley By Paulo Ribeiro What does startup land have to teach brands way over in the active lifestyle space? Not everything. Not even most things, but there are a few really powerful ideas that if applied correctly can help a sleepy brand wake the hell up. FINDING PRODUCT-MARKET FIT In THIS classic post Marc Andreessen explains this fundamental concept and why it is so powerful for startups and particularly software companies. I’ve spent almost half of my career working in Silicon Valley and the other half working in very different business cultures (NY and PDX). But, there is much more to learn from one another than you might think at first… Generally Silicon Valley marketers don't understand brand strategy. Here comes the hate mail. As a pool they have depth in growth marketing, performance marketing, product marketing. All of the technical specialties are table-stakes, but they don’t really understand brand strategy as a group. Related: Marketing is often confused with Advertising as this post highlights. [Buried in the comments Seth sets the brand position straight] There is an amazing contrast of technical sophistication in SV with a lack of understanding of the creative arts. But, I digress. That isn’t the topic of this post. Most of the active lifestyle brands we’ve worked with found product-market fit decades ago. They don’t talk about it that way. But finding product market fit was a challenge that preceded the current crop of employees. Borrowing this notion can provide an incredibly helpful strategic framework for evolving their customer base and entering new markets. So many marketing briefs start from the assumption that the tactics are fixed, and maybe even the audience is fixed, so the only thing we can play with is the message. Which is crazy of course. But sadly it is the norm. Just because the core business operates one way doesn’t mean that each product line needs to go to market the same way. This is where the framework of Product-Market fit is super useful. Think of the market you are targeting as a ‘use case’ that can be defined by an audience and a behavior. And think of your product as the way you choose to serve that use case. By thinking about these as two variables the strategic playing field opens up significantly. But you have to tackle each of those assignments with clarity. Know which is which and play with each. Each of these two variables create opportunities to change the target audience definitions, the channels and tactics the creative briefs that generate new ideas. All it requires is borrowing a bit of wisdom from Silicon Valley. I said a ‘bit of wisdom’ they have blind spots too. 😉 CUSTOMERS VS. TARGETS These are two totally different things. We need to stop confusing them. As a marketer you should have a clear understanding of who your buying customers are. This might vary by business unit, product line and channel. There are so many tools at your disposal to paint a picture of who is buying your product via each channel whether direct or through retail partnerships, whether IRL or URL. The audience(s) that your marketing targets should also be clearly defined even if a significant portion of your spend is programmatic or performance in nature. If your customer and your target are thought of as the same thing internally, then good job! You’ve captured the Total Addressable Market and you aren’t needed any longer. Thank you for your service. I’m kidding of course but it's shocking how often this basic distinction is confused. The relationship between these two profiles are huge levers for marketing. Are they the same types of people? Are they vastly different? What is the relationship between the customers you have and the audience you wish to serve? What is the profile of someone who experiments and drives trial? What is the behavior of a loyal customer? If you don’t know then start your work with questions like these. Define hypotheses and test them. You’ll find that almost everything stems from starting to paint this picture. It's totally and completely cliche up and down the San Francisco Peninsula to talk about how many failed ventures entrepreneurs have been a part of. Why? Because of the widely held belief that you need to go big and if you fail then you LEARNED. It's so widespread that it has become a boring introduction up and down the SF peninsula. Baked inside of that overused backhanded compliment however, is a way of operating that many in the outdoor industry ignore thinking everything has been established. The weird thing is that this is not at all how many of their founders operated. Dave Lane and Jeremy Guard knew nothing about waterproofing jackets when they started Rock Solid Manufacturing in 1989. They just knew there was a better way to make a harness. Nor did they know the 140-million year old fossil that inspired their name change and logo (Arc’teryx) would become one of the most recognizable icons in outdoor gear—synonymous with quality and caliber. Yvonne Chouinard didn’t know much about business, in fact, he just wanted to find a way to keep adventuring . After setting up a blacksmith shop in 1957, Chouinard’s hand-made pitons quickly caught on like wildfire in the climbing communities. But in early 1989, the company—Chouinard Equipment—filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and the assets of the company were purchased by former employees…eventually forming Black Diamond Equipment . And Chouinard? Well, he kept climbing…so much so that after a trip to Scotland in 1970, he realized there was an appetite for high-quality clothing for climbers. And then one inspirational trip down to Argentina with the future The North Face founder and best friend Doug Thompkins, Patagonia was born. Roy and Ryan Seiders didn’t know their coolers would upend the market, they first wanted to build cool fishing rods and custom, aluminum fishing boats so they could keep doing what they loved outdoors. Instead, they found themselves frustrated with the cooler options available and sought to build the best, most rugged, protective cooler out there. Hello, Yeti . THIS Is a good example of embracing experimentation and failure today. We know for a fact that Nike has applied lessons learned from experiments like this to their subscription strategies. CELEBRATING FAILURE Flirting with failure is core to many active lifestyle brands’ origin. It should be core to their marketing strategies as well. TAKING RISKS Which is of course related to celebrating failure. Co-labs have become the default method of driving news for brands in this space. And no doubt there have been some really fantastic and unexpected ones Nike X Tiffany’s is a great example. But this is classic borrowed interest strategy. Which is not dissimilar from casting celebrities that come with their own followings in advertising. It works, but it's short lived. It drives quick hype and then it's over. REI put climbing walls in their stores over 20 years ago . Nike pushed virtual shoe drops starting in 2016. After the pandemic shutdowns we have an opportunity to reinvent how brands meet customers. Who will take the next leap to stand out from the herd? [Buried in the comments Seth sets the brand position straight] If your customer and your target are thought of as the same thing internally, then good job! You’ve captured the Total Addressable Market and you aren’t needed any longer. Flirting with failure is core to many active lifestyle brands’ origin. It should be core to their marketing strategies as well. back to insights → [Buried in the comments Seth sets the brand position straight]

Two Things | Plenty | Positioned a vertical farm brand around lettuce by focusing on culture, consumers, and the company. Learn how we built a brand. Plenty, a technology driven company, approached us for the launch of their first consumer brand, one powered by AI-driven vertical farms that produce fresh, nutrient dense produce in urban areas. While conventional fruits and vegetables are grown to last long transportation times from the farm to the distribution center to the grocer to the table; Plenty takes the opposite approach with an emphasis on technology and a short transportation footprint. While convention dictates that toughness, durability for long journeys, and pesticides are needed, Plenty’s products are engineered for taste and nutrition first. The challenge was the first product coming off the line was…lettuce. How does one position a new brand and better yet convince consumers that any lettuce was delicious and nutritious? What could AI, vertical farming, and music festivals all have in common? Lettuce dive in and show you (romaine calm, it’s only a pun). But the approach they pioneered—sponsoring the exploits of extreme outdoor athletes—is no longer as own-able or relevant as it once was. Client // Plenty Assignment // Brand Strategy, Mobile App Design and Development, Event and Campaign Development, UX Design, Chat Interface, Product Marketing Building a brand from the ground up - roots and all. What they need today, is a new chapter in their story. One that is true to their adventurous spirit. But can speak to a broader, wider, more diverse audience. Strategically, we focused on the cultural, consumer, and company landscapes to inform our positioning. Beyond the strategy, the brand needed a core identity, web design, and hook to grab an audience. Through our research, we uncovered that trial through taste could be the unconventional tipping point for Plenty instead of a traditional advertising and PR launch. Our creative brief yielded a go-to-market plan based on driving trials in unexpected locations - think music festivals, art fairs, and other outdoor gatherings. The customer journey was defined from trial to loyalty and hyper localized on a city-by-city roll out (with a model for future scale). A frictionless chat interface via SMS allowed those who sampled the greens at events to flow through the DTC pipeline, begin a subscription, and develop a deeper relationship with the brand. Moving quickly, pivoting often, and staying nimble, our collaboration with the Plenty team used quick sprints to ideate and validate in markets in real time, yielding lasting results for the company.

Two Things | Mevo | Evolved from a single product offering into a multi-product brand. See how we used consumer insights to carve out market space. It was clear that there was an appetite for this product, with increasing hunger as new creators arrived on the scene. Mevo approached us to evolve their single product offering into a multi-product, highly realized brand—in 4 months. This included positioning, branding, naming their new product, developing the website, and completing the launch rollout. Beyond the sheer speed of the scope, a new challenge quickly emerged: how do you shift Mevo from a single product offering to a brand with a myriad of offerings, services, software, and—of course—products? Mevo, one of the pioneers and first creators in the livestreaming video space, launched their first product, the Mevo Plus in 2017 and quickly took over the market. High-quality, compact, and relatively affordable, Mevo allowed creators, organizations, and conferences to reach broader audiences. While it seems straightforward, good/better was not enough to define product positioning or distinguish the product in the growing creator market. Instead, through research and insights we dug into the consumer behaviors to carve out adequate space for both product offerings of Mevo: Plus and Start. Identifying new cohorts through our research stages, we turned our positioning to a broader set of audiences that would potentially tap into the emerging category of video streaming. Coupled with this, we developed an identity system for Mevo and their brand. The new product, Mevo Start, rolled out with a minimal, integrated, and friendly identity backed by a complete website overhaul, product intro videos, and extensive social content. We laid the groundwork for a compelling market offering and then, COVID-19 hit. Client // Mevo Assignment // Brand Strategy, Brand Identity, Messaging Framework, Product Launch, Advertising From a product into a brand umbrella with many products. What they need today, is a new chapter in their story. One that is true to their adventurous spirit. But can speak to a broader, wider, more diverse audience. As shelter-in-place orders swept the globe, video streaming needs rapidly increased as did an urgent need for connecting groups, gatherings, families, offices, houses of worship, and creators. It was a rare opportunity to witness a moment where the core vision of the product (connecting others) met the needs of today. Additionally, Mevo donated 100+ camera bundles to NYC public schools and other organizations at the onset of the pandemic to help teachers and organizers continue their work despite challenging circumstances.