While a social media presence has change into paramount for most brands, outdoor retailer L.L. Bean for the month of May has vowed to avoid posting on Facebook and elsewhere. The effort recognizes Mental Health Awareness Month and challenges consumers to do the identical and redirect their focus toward nature.
On May 1, L.L. Bean announced across its brand channels that it might be taking a pause, abandoning outdoor suggestions and a picture that reads “Off the Grid.” The brand has vowed to return at first of June. This is the second consecutive yr the corporate has undertaken the unplugged initiative, with its latest efforts — or lack thereof — mockingly drumming up some engagement. Post impressions on Instagram topped 8.5 million month-to-date midway through May, a 95% increase in comparison with the yr prior, in keeping with data shared by the corporate.
“We took a probability by pursuing this initiative, as our brand — like many — relies on our social media presence to interact with customers,” said Amanda Hannah, head of external communications and brand engagement for L.L. Bean, in emailed comments to Marketing Dive. “Eliminating those activities for a day, much less a month, will be dangerous.”
Additional results affirm that the message is spreading, with a median post reach that, midway through May, has already outperformed that over the identical period in 2022, Hannah said. A note in regards to the effort on LinkedIn from Shawn Gorman, chairman at L.L. Bean, has received over 3 million impressions.
For the primary time this yr, the strategy is tied to a partnership with social fitness app Strava for the inaugural L.L. Bean Feel-Good Challenge, an initiative encouraging consumers to log personal time spent outside throughout the month of May with a goal of reaching 500,000 combined hours. Upon reaching the goal, L.L. Bean said it might donate $25,000 to Mental Health America, a nonprofit it formed an expansive, two-year partnership with last yr, to complement an extra $25,000 donation made ahead of the challenge.
Within 10 days, participants surpassed the five hundred,000-hour goal and are actually on course to top 1 million hours by the top of May. The early success of the retailer’s efforts has been crucial to cementing future plans, Hannah said.
“The response from customers, employees, community members and the broader business community has been overwhelmingly positive, and has reinforced our commitment to make this a recurring and growing effort,” Hannah said.
An emphasis on pulling away from social comes as platforms are routinely denounced as spurring heightened symptoms of tension and depression amongst users, especially as many individuals find themselves “doomscrolling,” or absorbing a seemingly infinite barrage of negative content. On the flip side, the outside is understood to scale back symptoms of stress and anxiety while concurrently boosting creativity and self-esteem, per research cited within the press release from L.L. Bean.
Inspiration for the initiative stemmed from a partnership between L.L. Bean and the University of California Irvine associate professor of psychological science Dr. Paul Piff to further explore nature’s effect on mental health. The partnership uncovered that point spent outdoors can boost resilience, amongst other advantages. Such efforts could help construct the retailer’s status as a value-driven brand, which it has often sought to speak through its marketing.
“As a purpose-led company, now we have spent the past 111 years helping people get outside, with the understanding that spending time outdoors is sweet for our overall wellbeing — including our mental wellbeing,” Hannah said.
As values increasingly play a task in consumer loyalty to brands, a deal with mental health could ring a bell, particularly amongst Gen Z. Over two-thirds (71%) of the young demographic report that they prefer it when brands make mental health a side of their marketing and messaging, in keeping with data from YPulse.
L.L. Bean partly attributed its 14% revenue growth in 2021 to increased consumer interest in the outside, an element driven by the pandemic. The privately owned company is maintaining the momentum, reporting recently that, despite revenue falling 1% YoY to $1.8 billion in 2022, the yr still marked its second-best of all time.
As the ultimate weeks of Mental Health Awareness Month come to a detailed, the L.L. Bean team is raring for the beginning of June to learn more about what outdoor activities are keeping consumers busy, Hannah said. The exec also hopes that the success of the strategy encourages other marketers to think about participating in something similar.
“[The] topic of mental wellbeing is relevant for any customer of any brand,” Hannah said. “I’d encourage other corporations to enter the conversation in a way that feels true to their values and community.”
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