The Challenge
Gaard One is a family-owned, crowd-funded startup with two goals: create the next generation of innovative outdoor equipment built for adventure and play a part in protecting the land that inspires these adventures.
Fresh off of a successful IndieGoGo launch in the summer of 2018 and great response to the technical aspects of their gear, Gaard One was hoping to continue to spread the word about their efficient, interchangeable products while bringing their land preservation mission to the forefront.
Our team worked with Gaard One to create a multi-touchpoint experience that highlighted how their innovative products and philanthropic mission go hand-in-hand.
The Approach
Client Deep Dive
During our initial interview, we heard a lot about the kind of community that Gaard One wants to create around their “Spend One, Gaard One” mission, which preserves one square foot of land for every dollar spent on Gaard One products. They made it clear that though they provide value through innovative outdoor gear, they want to be a mission first company and their hope is that their customers will feel as much a part of that as they do.
After an initial deep dive reviewing similar 1:1 organizations, other outdoor gear companies, and Gaard One’s own website, customer-facing communication, and promotional assets, our team decided to focused on developing a cohesive brand identity that would speak to the technical soundness of Gaard One’s gear, while highlighting how that gear helps customers be a part of land preservation efforts bigger than themselves. This overarching brand identity would help us craft meaningful touchpoints throughout a potential customer’s journey and ensure that this combination of product quality and mission was seen and felt in every interaction with Gaard One.
Multipoint Strategy
“To get you there, to get you home, to bring you back”
Our recommended brand identity phrase was structured to speak to users in two ways.
First, to give them added confidence that Gaard One products can meet their technical gear needs, enhance their experience in the outdoors, and be there for them if they hit bumps or emergencies along the way.
Second, that just by purchasing from Gaard One, they are part of protecting the land around them and that simple act now could mean benefits reaped years and years down the line
With this new brand identity as a base, we prototyped a number of potential touchpoints focused on giving users a more tangible experience with the mission of Gaard One. These touchpoints included an immersive VR experience, for use at trade shows, to provide a compelling connection to the land being saved; a physical land deed that comes with every product, detailing information about the land saved which also connects to an app where users can view the land they’ve saved, explore the Gaard One mission, and connect to land preservation education opportunities; and a tour and field trip guide to help Gaard One connect with other like-minded organizations to sponsor recreational adventures for individuals, schools, and families.
Next Steps
After presenting our initial touchpoint strategy to Gaard One, I had the opportunity to outline an implementation roadmap, which further details how they can move forward with our proposed recommendations and how they can measure their own success along the way.
