The European Outdoor Group (EOG) estimates #itsgreatoutthere – its first consumer facing campaign – reached more than seven million people; a number that could more than double once impressions made by supporting outdoor brands and retailers are tallied.
The totals comfortably exceed the campaign’s expectations.
Designed to raise awareness of, and participation in, outdoor activities among the general public, the campaign was coordinated by the EOG and built up to the first European Week of Sport in September, a public education campaign backed by the European Commission that promoted the benefits of an active lifestyle. Outdoor was one of four key focus topics.
The #itsgreatoutthere campaign was a three stage social media competition that concluded with a public vote. During its course, it encouraged members of the public to share comments, photos and videos on social media platforms, using a series of hashtags. EOG member companies supplied over €20,000 worth of outdoor product prizes for the competitions.
“Driving participation in outdoor activities is a key EOG priority and I am delighted that we had so much support for this campaign from our membership and the wider outdoor community,” said John Jansen, EOG president. “That really helped us to reach and engage with a huge audience in a positive way and I would like to thank everybody involved.”
Industry contibutes athletes, expertise and social media channels
As well as providing prizes, outdoor brands and retailers used their own social media networks to spread the word and create a buzz around #itsgreatoutthere. In addition, leading outdoor athletes played a key role in engaging with the public and the open nature of the campaign encouraged support from a wide variety of sources.
Led by a senior advisory group made up of companies including Sport 2000, The North Face, Marmot, Fjällräven, Merrel and Ortlieb, the campaign was delivered by EOG Marketing and Communications Manager Mathias Basedow.
“We did not have a major budget or preparation time, but we knew that the right approach from the start was to ‘walk the talk,'” said Basedow. “Everyone involved – including the freelance network around our lead agency, fastnormal, and partners from retailers and brands immediately understood the concept, which made it easy for them to share our vision. I am convinced that the genuine nature of the campaign was key to its success, and that this is just the beginning.”
The advisory group will meet again at this year’s European Outdoor Summit to plan the next steps in the EOG’s ongoing project to strengthen outdoor participation.
The European Outdoor Group was founded in 2003 by 19 of the world’s largest outdoor companies, all of which recognised the need for a cohesive, cross border approach to representation of the outdoor sector. In a world of increasing internationalization, legislation, environment, the media and trade are all now multinational issues. The combined strength of the EOG’s member brands (79 full members and 10 associate members), provides the group with an extremely powerful force to represent the European outdoor industry in a constructive and positive manner.
