Explorer Team

The Explorer Team is The North Face's flagship EMEA Influencer Marketing Programme. Founded by This Here in 2018, it continues under our stewardship to this day.

The Brief

The North Face's heritage is rooted in people who seek out adventure and exploration without a moment's pause for self-promotion. How could the brand navigate the emerging influencer ecosystem, whilst staying true to their values?

This Here were briefed to tailor an influencer strategy that appealed to the everyday explorer - a programme that would complement their long-standing Athlete Team that appealed to a more obsessive consumer. 

In response, we created The Explorer Team, a family of outdoor creators in key markets across EMEA, who share collection stories, collaborate with the brand on key seasonal moments, and take part in brand events. Our ambition was that the team would be constantly breaking boundaries in their disciplines and be seeking out new horizons, all whilst creating inspiring storytelling that encouraged their audience to get outdoors.

Over time the programme became a core component of the brand's marketing arsenal, and so the brief has evolved to encompass everything from brand building, social engagement, and sales-driving objectives; we are constantly flexing the strategy to meet the current needs of the business and evolutions in the social and influencer world.

The Project

The North Face’s heritage in both Performance and Performance Inspired outdoor clothing had sometimes polarised its creative output into two different narratives. Our approach united the brand’s philosophy to give The North Face one true North for all talent work.

The Explorer Team are long-term multi-year collaborators, and are complemented by a number of creators who are recruited for specific collections or brand moments. It is this duality that allows the project the flexibility to meet the brand's goals.

All collaborators are united by a spirit of exploration, whether they're a musician, trail-runner, artist, or weekend warrior. No matter the source of their adrenaline - from the the dramatic slopes of the Alps, winding trails of Gran Canaria, to the intensity of directing a photoshoot, or stepping onstage for a live performance.

The team are always active; representing The North Face on every product drop and brand campaign, creating unique content, setting challenges, and using the opportunity to make their next summit, whatever that may be.

The Impact

Year-on-year all charts have consistently point up, with each cohort leading to a greater number of annual impressions, engagements, earned media value, and raw number of posts and assets created.

The North Face's European social channels increasingly lean on influencer generated content to fuel their feeds, with over 250 posts per annum re-appearing, and our analysis shows Explorer Team content posted on TNF channels gains 21% more engagements than their average.

The programme has continued to cement itself as an indispensable tool for the EMEA marketing team, including wholesale retail partners and regional marketing managers.