In our previous article, we analysed the marketing strategy of a really famous brand that is Uniqlo. Similarly, today in this article, we are going to do a detailed analysis of the marketing strategy of the North Face – Never Stop Exploring.
The purpose here is to answer the simple questions which are – What makes North Face successful? What are the North Face aims and objectives? What are its marketing strategies?
Marketing is something which every brand does and with the increase in digital marketing, brands tend to take advantage of digital marketing tools to try to keep themselves ahead of their competitors. After the global pandemic, there is a significant increase in the use of digital marketing by various companies. If you are looking to enhance your digital marketing skills, then you should check out IIDE’s Free MasterClass on Digital Marketing 101 by our CEO and Founder, Karan Shah.
In this blog, we will cover the various marketing strategies adopted by The North Face. But before we begin, let us start by learning about the company’s story, its target audience and its vision and mission.
About The North Face – Company’s Overview
The North Face is a subsidiary company of the VF Corporation. The logo of The North Face is driven from a rock or a mountain named Half Dome, in Yosemite National Park. It all began in 1968 when the founder and a young climber – Douglas Tompkins and his wife, Susie Tompkins started their first climbing equipment retail store in San Francisco.
The company slowly came up with backpacking for mountain climbers and then evolved into producing The North Face outerwear line: the first dry, breathable and truly all-condition gear. Today it commenced its manufacturing of bags, gear, trail jackets, mountain equipment and accessories, shoes, shorts, sportswear, outdoor clothing, footwear, related equipment etc. and many more for men, women and kids.
What distinguishes The North Face as a brand is that its clothing is inseparable from its aggressive environmental advocacy. It led the outdoor industry in using recycled nylon and polyester fabrics, and The North Face’s chilled-out vintage vibe is rooted in the idea that its clothes are built to last for years, not just seasons.
| CEO | Todd Spaletto |
|---|---|
| CMO | Bethany Catron Evans |
| Area Served | Worldwide |
| Industry | Fashion, Retail & Sporting Goods |
| Market Share/ Revenue | $3.26 Billion per year |
| Vision | Our Passion is beyond setting records and achieving fame. |
| Tagline | Never Stop Exploring |
Marketing Strategy of The North Face
Let’s learn about the marketing strategy of The North Face and how The North Face carries the marketing campaign etc
Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning
The North Face has its retail stores in most parts of the world including Europe and Asia but it’s considered to be more popular in areas which are subjected to cold weather such as Canada and North America. The North Face has an extensive range of clothing and accessories for men, women, and children.
The target of The North Face has always been people who are outdoor enthusiasts and people who have a very active lifestyle. So the right target for the company can be men and women who lie between the age of 14-45 and people who live in areas with cold weather and people who prefer the quality of the product.
The North Face positions itself by being a brand which provides its customers with quality products and also creates a positive impact on the environment with the help of its Clothes the Loop strategy.
Marketing Campaigns
The Reset Normal campaign was launched on 15th October 2020 after the global pandemic hit the world and illustrates how the power of exploration can help people adjust.
This new campaign of The North Face encourages people to bring a reset to their “normal” lives through the power of exploration, and even its brand ambassadors and various athlete partners will create videos to share how they plan to reset their normal in 2020 after the covid-19 crisis.
Another major campaign which was organised by The North Face was the women’s campaign focusing solely on women. The goal of this campaign was to encourage more female role models to empower the next generation.
In addition to this campaign, The North Face has partnered with Girl Scouts of the USA to create 12 new achievement badges for outdoor adventures. With the partnership, various opportunities opened up for girls in which they can do activities for which they will earn badges like mountaineering, climbing, backpacking, hiking and trail running.
This campaign was organised to celebrate the occasion of the return of spring. This campaign highlights the promotion of different sportswear that the North Face is famous for.
They introduced a photo contest aimed at the broader market that gives participants the chance to live the peak moments of their life and win prizes each day by sharing their best adventure photo on the website Longerdays.thenorthhavece.com or through the hashtag #LongerDays.
Social Media Marketing
The North Face has a very strong social media presence. The company can be found on various platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter etc. The number of followers is significantly high and below is a table to show the current number of followers on the major social media platforms:
|
Social Media Platform |
Number of Followers |
|
|
5.2 million |
|
|
6.4 million |
|
|
424.68 thousand |
|
|
516.4 thousand |
From the above table, we can see that the company is most followed on Facebook followed by Instagram, so the company can create strong and positive content to keep the followers engaged. The company usually shares its product launches and various promotional campaigns on its social media platforms.
SEO Strategies
As per the SEO ranking, it is considered that the companies who have the SEO or to be more specific organic keywords below 500 have a bad SEO strategy, if it is above 1000 then the company has a good SEO strategy and if it is 10000 then the company’s SEO is beyond amazing. As we can see, The North Face’s organic keywords are above 10000 which means the company has a good SEO.
Also, we can see that the organic traffic of the company is above 20000 which is considered outstanding. So we can conclude that the overall SEO strategies that the company is pursuing are suitable for them.
Influencer Marketing
The company has collaborated with various Athletes, Explorers, and YouTubers to promote its products. The purpose of influencer marketing is to engage those people who follow these Athletes, Explorers and YouTubers to create a positive image about the company and encourage them to buy their products to increase their sales.
E-commerce Strategies
The North Face has an excellent E-commerce strategy which is centred around their customer experiences by providing them with the best quality products and encouraging them to get more outdoors. North face sells its products through the website with the best offers and discounts.
Mobile Apps
The North Face has launched mobile apps for iPhones to engage more with outdoor enthusiasts. The North Face’s mission is to get more people outside to enjoy themselves and explore the world they are meant to.
Content Marketing Strategies
The North Face has a very strong presence on its social media platforms and they keep it updated with the news of their new product launches and other promotional content. It also conducts various marketing campaigns and contests to save consumers more engaged in their offline activities.
This ends with an elaborative marketing strategy of The North Face. Let us conclude our learning below from the marketing strategy of The North Face.
Conclusion – What’s unique about The North Face?
In this blog, we analysed the various marketing strategies which not only have a mesmerising effect on their consumers but also set a bar for their competitors. The company is completely informed regarding its target audience and how to capture their attention towards them.
The company always keeps their consumers engaged by introducing occasional marketing campaigns and also has a strong digital presence on its website and various social media platforms.
Digital marketing is crucial since it links a company with its clients when they are online and is effective across all sectors. It links businesses with ideal consumers through SEO and PPC on Google, social media marketing, and email marketing. If you would like to learn more and develop skills, check out IIDE’s 4-Month Digital Marketing Course to learn more.
Alternatively, you can enrol in one of our free online masterclasses led by IIDE’s CEO, Karan Shah, to gain insight into the field of digital marketing.
We hope this blog on the marketing strategy of The North Face has given you a good insight into the company’s marketing strategies.
If you like such in-depth analysis of companies just like the marketing strategy of The North Face check out our IIDE Knowledge portal for more fascinating case studies.
Thank you for taking the time to read the marketing strategy of The North Face, and do share your thoughts on this case study marketing strategy of The North Face in the comments section below.
This is super helpful and interesting! Well done!
Really usefull and highly informative
SEO strategies are a strength in SWOT analysis of North Face. What would be strengths in SWOT analysis of BMW?
“Deep dive into The North Face’s marketing strategy reveals captivating tactics, engaging campaigns, and a strong digital presence.”
Thank you for this detailed blog! I got to know so much about The North Face. As my college exams are ahead, I really needed some case studies, and this will help me a lot.