The North Face launched a new Denver local marketing site dubbed, “PlanetExplore.” The website is billed as a new online community that connects people to the outdoors in meaningful ways by serving as a hub for local outdoor activities and events. Denver is the second region where TNF has taken this hyper-local marketing approach by launching a PlanetExplore website for the region, with California's San Francisco Bay Area being the first. Following Denver, PlanetExplore will next launch in New York City.
As part of the Denver site, The North Face has partnered with Big City Mountaineers, the Colorado Mountain Bike Association and other local Denver organizations.
“Denver is an ideal location for PlanetExplore,” said Steve Rendle, president of VF Outdoor Americas. “Since we have two very successful stores in Denver and Boulder and a significant number of strong, local specialty retailers who sell our products, we know all too well that this state is very conducive to getting people outdoors ”
In explaining their motivations for launching this new website, TNF cited a study by The Outdoor Foundation, which states that 90% of adult participants in outdoor recreation were introduced to outdoor activities between the ages of 5 and 18. PlanetExplore will focus on youth outdoor recreation by generating awareness and access to outdoor activities and providing information on events and the ability to connect with others in outdoor pursuits.
“It's important that children learn to connect with nature and the outdoors at an early age as a growing body of evidence indicates that children who participate in unstructured outdoor activities are healthier, happier, and better learners, and these assets can carry into adulthood,” says Richard Louv, chairman of the Children & Nature Network and the author of seven books, including his most recent Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder.
“I'm confident that PlanetExplore will become a catalyst for children and their families to get outdoors and get moving for all the right reasons,” Louv continued.
The North Face has also partnered with national organizations such as National Audubon Society, Children & Nature Network, Sierra Club, Conservation Next and American Hiking Society.
“PlanetExplore is a virtual community board for outdoor exploration which will help create more opportunities for Denver children and adults to connect to outdoor activities in the area,” continues Rendle. “Our goal is that PlanetExplore will help develop the next generation of outdoor enthusiasts and conservationists, and few places are better to help start this movement than Colorado.”
