Brand
Top 5 Patagonia Collaborations: The Influencers Working Together for a Better Future
Patagonia, the clothing brand, has long since been known for doing things its own way. This article talks about its unique influencer marketing strategy and 5 of its top influencer collaborations.
Patagonia, the famous outdoor clothing brand, is known for its non-traditional ways of creating brand awareness. They believe in purpose driven marketing that helps people genuinely connect with the brand. This has the added advantage of turning consumer perceptions positive.
But how, exactly, do their influencer marketing efforts differ from the rest? And who are the top 5 collaborators the brand has partnered with? Let’s find out!
About Patagonia
Patagonia is a sustainable outdoor clothing brand that uses recycled and ethically-sourced raw materials in their manufacturing to reduce their carbon footprint. They make gear for a variety of outdoor activities such as skiing, rock climbing, mountain biking, hiking, and so on.
The brand is committed to de-escalating the climate crisis and pledges 1% of its sales to the restoration of the environment. They have a program called Worn Wear where you can donate your old Patagonia clothes. They repair/ recycle it to give it a new lease on life and keep waste away from the landfills.
How Patagonia is Doing Influencer Marketing a Different Way
Patagonia doesn’t pay influencers to promote their products. Instead, they collaborate with people (usually athletes or people who partake in adventure sports often) who share the same climate-conscious values as them. These people are Patagonia’s brand ambassadors.
Their ambassadors are sorted into different groups based on what sport they play since Patagonia’s gear is also sorted separately according to sport. The brand, then, reshares the videos of their ambassadors being in their element while wearing Patagonia’s clothes!
This type of indirect marketing works wonders because it is purpose driven and is based on mutual values. Moreover, they get to fill their feed with unique content and value their collaborators in the process. Since each of the ambassadors are veterans in their respective fields, customers can trust their recommendations!
Now, let’s take a look at 5 of their top brand ambassadors!
Top 5 Patagonia Collaborations
One of Patagonia’s greatest strengths is that their brand ambassadors are not just influencers who promote products in exchange for money. Instead, they are loyal customers of Patagonia who believe in the company’s values of sustainability and embody the kind of lifestyle that the brand promotes.
#1 Tommy Caldwell (@tommycaldwell)
Sport: Rock climbing
Followers: 867k
Tommy is an American pro rock climber who holds the record of making the first free ascents on several rocks. These include the Dawn Wall on El Capitan at the Yosemite National Park, and the Linea di Eleganza at Fitz Roy in Patagonia among various others.
The extreme weather conditions due to climate change are making rock climbing more dangerous. Tommy hopes to increase awareness about this and include the rock climbing community in his efforts to bring about a change. On his Instagram, you will find posts about his rock climbing adventures as well as his efforts in saving the planet!
Sport: Alpine climber, Rock climber, Skier
Followers: 115k
Colin has been alpine climbing and skiing since he was 11 years old and today, he climbs nearly full time! He is known for his fast and sustained ascents of technical alpine climbing routes. He holds the record for making the first solo ascent of the Supercanaleta on Patagonia’s Fitz Roy in winter. And he did this during a 22-hour blitz!
Apart from this, he has also made several notable first ascents. His decades of experience make him a veteran and he uses his knowledge to recommend the best Patagonia products for climbing.
#3 Marie-France Roy (@mariefranceroy)
Sport: Snowboarding
Followers: 32.4k
Marie-France started following her older brothers around on a snowboard at the age of 11, and, in this, she found her passion. Today, she is a professional snowboarder who travels the world while doing something she loves. Marie-France is versatile and stylish on the snowboard and is known for pushing the limits on women’s backcountry freeride and freestyle.
Her passion for protecting the Earth led her to build an environment-friendly summer cob home in Vancouver using local, natural, and recycled materials! She has received several accolades, with one of the most notable being the 2015 Climate Activist Award from Protect Our Winters (POW) and TransWorld SNOWboarding magazine.
Her various ways of raising awareness include producing award-winning environmental films. Talk about being versatile!
#4 Belinda J Baggs (@belindabaggs)
Sport: Surfer, Paddleboarder
Followers: 32.4k
Belinda Baggs is a surfing icon who is best known for her utterly graceful longboard style. She was the very first female surfer featured on the cover of Surfers Journal and has won several championships including the Australian Professional Longboard Circuit Championship and third place in the Women’s World Longboard Championship, both in 2000.
Becoming a mother spurred Belinda to focus on the deteriorating health of the planet. In 2019, she founded Surfers for Climate, an Australian NGO, along with co-surfer Johnny Abegg. Their goal is to raise awareness about climate change within the surfers’ community and also reduce the impact of surfing on the planet. They also work together to support eco-friendly movements and oppose the petrochemical industry.
#5 Nicholas Wolken (@nicholaswolken)
Sport: Snow surfer
Followers: 14.7k
Nicholas Wolken grew up in Switzerland, across from a ski resort, which is where his passion for snowboarding began. In the past decade, he has emerged as one of the most influential snowboarders out there!
He is one of the founders of Korua Shapes, a brand that sells snowboards and splitboards that appreciate the simple act of a turn. The brand has also been influential in taking snowboarding global.
Nicholas is also an eco-psychologist with a strong connection to nature. He is involved in Protect Our Winters (POW) Switzerland, an NGO that works towards protecting the environment and its winters.
Each of the 5 ambassadors are actively involved in tackling climate change, a cause that Patagonia keeps stressing on time and again. So, perhaps, a better word to describe them would be Patagonia activists.
Not only does Patagonia contribute with these adventure sport-activists, it also reshares other consumer-made content, which is a very effective marketing strategy. Why? Because, not only are they selling their products, they are selling their products in tandem with shared values. And there is nothing that invites customer loyalty more than a brand that genuinely believes in – and works towards – the same causes as you.
