Now Trending: Adventure Lifestyle Brands
How can you get away from it all, while still being connected?
Tech has taken over. Preparing for a hike (like I did this past weekend), you’re more likely to see someone glued to their phone than studying a map of a trail. In a world where we rely on smartphones, wearable tech, and the ubiquitous presence of Wi-Fi, an interesting brand trend has begun to take hold.
Lifestyle brands that urge millennials to stray from the well-worn path (while still being connected) have become huge. Outdoor brands like Poler Stuff, Herschel Supply, and Best Made Co. are creating a micro-culture of 20 and 30 something’s who want to align themselves with a more adventurous and healthy lifestyle, lived outdoors, with all the right gear.
Taking consumers offline (sort of), and outdoors, Poler Stuff, based in the uber-trendy Portland, Oregon, has taken advantage of an emerging niche in millennial culture, and has utilized Instagram as a way to bring their brand into the larger arena of a lifestyle movement. The most interesting thing that Poler has accomplished as a brand is not their wearable knapsack, but the community they have created within the larger community of social media.
Not only are the photos that Poler posts on Instagram averaging 6k likes apiece, but customers and brand enthusiasts are stepping up in droves to promote their love of the brand. Poler’s hashtag #campvibes has over 56k photos on Instagram alone. Their #adventuremobile hashtag is rapidly approaching 100k. With their well-curated social network, Poler has found a way to keep their target audience engaged—whether at home, on the beach, or at the edge of a mountain (literally).
As the ever-evolving overreach of Social Media extends, brands need to stay on their toes: anticipating emerging trends, and learning to best use these platforms in ways that are genuine to their target audience’s lives. Poler is a great example to marketers of knowing your demographics and creating a space where customers can communicate with one another, by way of the brand itself. It’s the type of interaction that’s powerful, meaningful and creates a win-win for both customers and brand.