Every once in awhile a brand comes along that becomes so trendy, so popular, that it skyrockets, even beyond it’s intended target audience. Case in point: The North Face. So if The North Face has such popularity and trendiness among various groups of people, they are doing everything right, right?
Wrong. With increased popularity and trendiness came increased counterfeit production of The North Face look-a-likes. Originally, The North Face was a brand connected with high-performance mountain gear, climbing apparel, as well as biking, camping and skiing gear. Then, high-school and college-aged students began to grasp the trendiness of The North Face apparel when it began showing up in music videos, appearing in high-end retail stores and hitting the “main stream.”
Ok, so how does social media factor in to this crisis? Well, just for that purpose: crisis management. The North Face is a brand built around performance, enthusiasm and innovation. Nowhere in The North Face mission statement does it say “will settle for anything less than the best.” The North Face is an innovative brand. Their motto is: “Never stop exploring.” The owners have done just that and taken many brand-building risks and created many initiatives centered around “The North Face ideals.” This has included innovative in-store kiosks and an online magazine, Epic. These innovations are reaching The North Face’s active publics, but what about the aware publics who know they want to support the true North Face brand but don’t know how to go about doing so?
That is where social media comes in to play. From my own, personal standpoint, The North Face should play off of their online magazine, Epic, and start a blog. The information from both can supplement each other. The blog could be featured on the Epic website or even on the official North Face website. I also recommend connecting this blog with The North Face’s involvement in sporting events, such as The North Face Endurance Challenge Series.
Another great way for The North Face to connect with their target publics, as well as increase customer loyalty to the brand, would be to create a MySpace account. The account could feature what The North Face brand truly means and why it is so important to “never stop exploring.” The North Face website features some awesome inspirational videos of extreme skiers and snowboarders. Feature these on a MySpace page and the conversation about why The North Face is “so cool” pretty much starts itself. Come on North Face, live up to your motto and “never stop exploring.” There are really a lot of ways out there for The North Face to embrace social media, which I think should happen sooner rather than later; they just need to explore them.
Images from paragonsports.com
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I totally agree with your post and I have to say that I too have noticed over the years the amount of younger teens that wear North Face’s clothes. I am not part of the rock climbing or mountain biking crowd so I don’t know how popular the brand is among those it is actually designed for. However, I can say that being a teen in the state of Oregon has proved to me that the brand is indeed a popular one and that if you don’t own at least one North Face item you are just not cool. I myself own a couple North Face fleeces and I have to say of all the jackets and sweaters I own, they are definitely the most comfortable, warm and stylish. I will continue to support this company because even though I don’t climb mountains, I still like to be warm, and what better way to clothe yourself than with a warm and cozy North Face fleece.
I live in Oregon, and own North Face apparel, as well. North Face represents to me more than just simply a fashion brand – they represent a kind of classic Land Rover feel of being authentically rugged and dependable. Just like I love Nike for being the authentic brand for absolute sports innovation (with many advanced milestone designs such as Air, Zoom, Shox, Flywire, Sphere, etc.), I love North Face for representing the core values of exploration to all four corners of the earth. By the way, GO DUCKS!!
I am from Oregon as well. Born and raised here. The North Face brand is one that you can always count on. It is the highest quality of product that I have seen in the related area and it lasts! I currently only have one fleece and one backpack, but after over a year of abuse, they still look brand-new! go ducks!