Merrell ≠ Your Dad’s Hiking Shoe
Founded in 1981, Merrell is a legacy hiking brand synonymous with durability and comfort that has contributed significantly to footwear development and evolution. Now, Merrell exists to share the simple power of being outside with all walks of life. With their core customers aging, Merrell engaged Backbone to help build roots and cultural relevance in today’s emergent hiking communities.
To bring new, engaged audiences into Merrell’s ecosystem, Backbone tapped into its existing network of more than 500 influencers and content creators to build a custom influencer program driven by passion and purpose. As part of the holistic program, Backbone:
Launched the Trailblazer team of all-women hiking influencers for resource and inspiration to welcome women to the trails
Prioritized diversity in partnerships to reach new audiences and resonate authentically with each target audience.
Tapped into authentic influencer connections to fit in the feed and encourage engagement.
Optimized boosting efforts by selecting content based on organic performance and audience behavior and categorizing goals by awareness or conversion.
Amplified the influencer program with real-life experiences, including activation with hiking clubs in key markets that inspired women to hike at more than 15 events.
Enhanced retailer partnerships via dedicated messaging, driving consumers to REI, DSG, and Public Lands.
In the end, Merrell won with new audiences and achieved incredible results:
- 68 influencers produced more than 580 pieces of content across 18 campaigns
- Paid media amplification extended the reach and impact of top-performing content
- Increased impressions by 750% while spend only increased by 30%
- 40,000 link clicks to Merrell’s website
- Highly successful conversion campaigns drove 8.8X ROAS
