CASE 10 / REI Co-op / 2015
#OptOutside
Make a business decision that proves the promise, then invite people into the behavior.
AI-assisted research and analysis for the SNS Creative Fieldbook
Sources reviewed 2026-11-05
Campaign credits belong to the original creators. They did not write or endorse this analysis.
Credits: REI with Venables Bell & Partners, Edelman, Starcom MediaVest Group and North Kingdom, as credited in The One Show archive.
Recognition: 2016 One Show Gold Pencil, Cross-Platform / Consumer Experiential Advertising / Guerilla.
Launch / edition: 2015. Award years: 2016.
The problem. The idea. The experience.
REI wanted to put its outdoor mission into action during a retail moment dominated by shopping promotions.
How the idea came to life
For Black Friday 2015, REI closed its 143 stores, paid employees to take the day off and invited the public to spend time outdoors.
How it reached people
The integrated campaign used PR, TV, print, outdoor, digital, influencer and social activity. An online hub helped people plan outdoor experiences.
Supporting sources: Primary award entry → Primary brand report, 15 March 2016 →
Read the data in context.
The numbers below describe different kinds of outcomes. Their date, scope and reporting source are part of the result.
- Reporting period
- Black Friday 2015
- Scope
- Support for #OptOutside, not verified attendance
- Evidence
- Brand-reported
REI’s March 2016 report states that more than 1.4 million people and 175 organizations supported #OptOutside, with state parks offering incentives or free entry.
The creative mechanism.
A costly signal + a category-relevant alternative to a shopping ritual
The decision existed outside the advertisement
Closing stores is observable. The message drew credibility from a real operating choice, not merely from saying that time outdoors matters.
The contrast was unusually clear
A retailer declining to trade on a prominent shopping day is easy to explain. The contradiction created a strong public story because it directly challenged the expected behavior of its category.
The alternative fit the business
The invitation was to enjoy the environment in which outdoor products are used. That connection made the choice coherent rather than a random protest against commerce.
Participation did not require a purchase
People could support the idea through their own outing or an organization’s event. Removing the immediate purchase requirement widened participation while keeping the brand’s purpose recognizable.
The intended behavior loop
- 01Hear that a retailer is closing
- 02Understand the outdoor invitation
- 03Choose an accessible outdoor activity
- 04Share the plan or experience
- 05Associate the brand with that community and value
Growth job: Visible commitment → participation → brand distinctiveness and community affiliation. This is an interpretation of the mechanism, not an audited attribution model.
A direction to take into the room.
Original editorial analysis and hypothetical proposed adaptation; not historical execution or proven results. This is a proposed adaptation, not historical campaign execution or a forecast.
Replace one routine promotion with an accessible, no-purchase skills session that demonstrates the business’s mission.
The tension
A mission statement is easy to publish; changing a routine business activity costs time and resources. Participation should give people real value without creating unsustainable obligations.
The opening hook
Proposed invitation: “Come learn one outdoor skill. No purchase required.”
Visual direction
Show the actual skill, qualified facilitator and accessible setting. Give capacity, requirements and alternatives visual prominence. Avoid imagery suggesting everyone has the same mobility, equipment or access to nature.
A three-beat story
- 01
Introduce a practical skill that would help a participant.
- 02
Show how the session teaches it safely and accessibly.
- 03
Explain how to join or use an alternative resource without a sales obligation.
Give the audience a useful next move
Book an available session or use its accessible learning alternative.
Build for the channel
- Event page: Explain the skill, facilitator, capacity, accessibility and safety requirements before booking.
- Social demonstration: Preview one useful element without implying the preview replaces instruction.
- Take-home guide: Help participants remember the skill and optionally choose further engagement.
The first idea to test
Does a useful mission-led session produce stronger participant value and permissioned return engagement than a standard promotion?
Measure and protect the idea
Primary: completed useful experiences and participant satisfaction. Secondary: permissioned return engagement and contribution over a defined period. Track the opportunity cost and avoid claiming all seasonal sales as impact. Test interpretation: Does a useful mission-led session produce stronger participant value and permissioned return engagement than a standard promotion? Source evidence limit: “Supported” does not prove that 1.4 million people physically went outdoors, visited a store later or became customers. REI also reported strong full-year 2015 sales and membership growth; those annual figures cannot be attributed to a campaign launched late in the year from this evidence. Store closure carries a real economic cost.
A dramatic sacrifice that threatens payroll, customer obligations or business viability is not automatically good strategy. Cost the commitment, protect employees and provide accessible alternatives to the featured activity. Stop or revise: Do not expand if operations suffer, participants feel pressured to buy or the business cannot afford to repeat the promise.
Turn the lesson into a test.
What you can borrow
Find a tension between your stated mission and a routine business behavior. Resolve a manageable part of that tension through operations, then communicate the decision and make participation practical.
What needs a rethink
A dramatic sacrifice that threatens payroll, customer obligations or business viability is not automatically good strategy. Cost the commitment, protect employees and provide accessible alternatives to the featured activity.
Illustrative adaptation, not a historical campaign fact
A small-team experiment
An outdoor service replaces one routine sales event with a small, accessible skills session led by qualified staff, with clear capacity limits and no requirement to buy.
Build the test
- Choose a real mission-related behavior the business can support.
- Set a cost ceiling and protect existing customer commitments.
- Design an accessible event or resource with appropriate safety measures.
- Compare participant quality, trust and later engagement with a standard promotional event.
Measure the right thing
Primary: completed useful experiences and participant satisfaction. Secondary: permissioned return engagement and contribution over a defined period. Track the opportunity cost and avoid claiming all seasonal sales as impact.
Know when to stop
Do not expand if operations suffer, participants feel pressured to buy or the business cannot afford to repeat the promise.
How this reading fits your brief
Start with the useful part.
Best for: Visible commitment → participation → brand distinctiveness and community affiliation
What to adapt: Find a tension between your stated mission and a routine business behavior. Resolve a manageable part of that tension through operations, then communicate the decision and make participation practical.
Prerequisites: Operational commitment; Employee protection; Accessible participation; Ability to absorb cost.
Smaller-team route: A limited mission-led event is a safer test than closing an entire business.
Budget: Not established by the cited public sources. No cost-fit claim is made.
Trade-offs and evidence: Read the limits below before choosing a test. There is no guaranteed reach, sales lift or ROAS.
Questions for your next brief
- Where does our normal behavior contradict our stated purpose?
- What modest operating decision would be more credible than a large claim?
- What can people do with us without buying first?
Sources & further reading.
Brand and award-entry results are attributed claims, not independent causal audits. Source links open the original third-party pages.
- The One Show: #OptOutside, 2016 Cross-Platform →Primary award entry · Supports: 2015 store closure, channel mix, partner credits and exact Gold Pencil.
- REI: 2015 Stewardship and Earnings Report announcement →Primary brand report, 15 March 2016 · Supports: Supporter/organization totals and distinction from full-year company performance.
Independent educational analysis of external campaigns. These are not SNS client projects, endorsements or claims of involvement. Campaign facts and reported outcomes are attributed to their sources. Explanations, adaptations and test plans are original analysis and hypotheses, not proven causal findings.