Gear Up For Outdoors is an all encompassing brand, catering to the outdoor enthusiast with both an online and bricks & mortar store. Featuring quality name brands such as The North Face, Canada Goose, Marmot and many more, Gear Up has established itself as one of the larger outdoor retailers in Northwestern Ontario.
While Gear Up is a well-recognized brand in Thunder Bay, it needed a strong marketing strategy to continue its growth on a regional level.
Branding
Gear Up had a recognizable brand identity, but it lacked consistency through all marketing channels. We amplified their brand with rich, visual imagery to reflect their product line and resonate with customers across social, web, print and television.
The brand identity is simple and effective, using clean fonts and colours consistent with the logo for a completed look. Only high-quality, visually appealing images are used to create a powerful social presence and positive perception from both new and repeat customers.
The tone of our messaging is exciting, motivational and informative to connect with the avid outdoorsman, weekend camper, hunter and nature lover.
All website headers are continually updated to reflect seasonal changes, along with promotional material to match any sponsored social campaigns.
Social Media Strategy
Our goal is to promote an exciting brand narrative to grow Gear Up’s social following and drive substantial traffic to their website and store front. Through organic and sponsored content we have developed a dynamic social presence on both Facebook and Instagram that has translated into increased sales across the board. All ads target those interested in outdoor activities within NWO.
Summer is traditionally a slower month for retail. With this in mind, we developed a short video series to bring the little moments of outdoor summer adventuring to life. The idea behind the video campaign was to promote Gear Up’s summer products in an approachable and unique way to increase foot traffic and online sales.
Email Marketing
In addition to Gear Up’s social media management, we send out two emails per month to highlight featured products, upcoming sales, news, community involvement and anything else we feel will interest subscribers. Each email has a consistent look, with branded colours, eye-catching imagery and key messaging to drive website traffic and increase brand awareness.
SEO/SEM
Our Google Adwords strategy is split between search and display campaigns to push traffic to the Gear Up website and drive conversions. Their previous keywords were too broad, leading to a high bounce rate and low quality traffic reaching the site. A Canada-wide search campaign was created, targeting product related search terms, such as “Travel Backpack”, “Hiking Backpack”, “North Face Vault”, “Osprey Pack”, and more to attract audiences interested in the specific brands and products sold on the site.
To further drive quality traffic, we’ve created a nation-wide intent campaign by targeting audiences who visit similar sites to Gear Up. This campaign has allowed us to reach an ideal audience that is more likely to interact with our ads since they are further down the sales funnel to begin with.
Display ads are created for every season to promote key products. The creative is consistent with Gear Up’s branding, using captivating images and a strong call to action with the goal of increasing CTR.
Our traditional marketing strategy includes print ads for The Walleye magazine. Being the only arts and culture magazine in Thunder Bay, The Walleye captivates a vast audience, dedicated to reading about the many unique stories the city has to offer. Many of the city locals are avid outdoorsmen and adventure seekers, making The Walleye a perfect magazine for Gear Up to highlight their brand.
All Gear Up ads are positioned in key editorial sections of the magazine, every month, for maximum exposure. Each print ad is rich with colour and imagery, complimenting any ongoing digital campaigns.
