986 nominated routes, 1404 engaged climbers, 10,000 PLN for improved mountain safety—that’s how it went in the Crown of Polish Climbs. We prepared a promotional campaign of Simond safety equipment for Decathlon Poland. We got a strong foot hold with climbers, influencers, specialist media, and even the Polish Alpinists Association!
The brand reaches right back to the beginnings of mountaineering, when an ice axe manufactured in the Simond brothers’ factory was struck into the summit of Mount Everest. The eponymous brand became a part of Decathlon in 2008, offering a range of climbing clothing and equipment that has been testing in all conditions.
We were asked to prepare the creative concept and plan a promotional campaign for Simond equipment. The aim was to let climbing enthusiasts know that they can find high quality equipment in the Decathlon range.
Our target group consisted of people who regularly hit the routes. It is a quite specific market segment, as climbers areextremely knowledgeable about their category and the offersof various brands. It’s a tight community which is difficult to break into.
We decided to do something that came out of left field but would also bring value to the climbing community. Similar to the existing Crown of Polish Mountains, we decided to create a Crown of Polish Climbs. We involved our target community by asked them to nominate the routes. We didn’t speak directly about the equipment we were promoting; instead, we focused on building associations and trying to have a positive influence upon mountain safety.
Representatives of the Polish Alpinists Association, ‘Nasza Skały’ Mountaineering Initiative and renowned climbing school Kilamanjaro took part in our campaign. On the basis of the propositions made by the community, we created the definitive list of the 10 most important climbing routes in Poland.
Decathlon was able to give back to the community by contributing 5 PLN for every nomination towards the maintenance and replacement of anchor points in the Polishmountains. It was an interesting idea and that had a higher purpose. It resonated with climbers and generated a great deal of interest.
We wanted to reach the widest possible range of people interested in climbing. In order to meet this goal, we have established contact with top climbing influencers who have posted info about the campaign in their social media channels.
Over 1,400 people made their nominations in just 14 days. That amounted to 7020 PLN that Decathlon should donate to the maintenance of climbing routes, but the company wasso inspired by the engagement of the community that they generously rounded the sum up to an impressive 10,000 PLN!
Participants didn’t just have an influence on mountain safety when voting for their favourite routes, they also got a nice reward. We created the Crown of Polish Climbs guide, enriched with our own illustrations, and sent it to their email addresses.
The Crown of Polish Climbs guide was also printed on paperand made available in Decathlon stores throughout the country. It was both a collection of the most important climbsin Poland and a showcase for Simond climbing gear.
Activities within The Crown of Polish Climbs campaign contributed to a significant increase in sales of Simond by Decathlon products – by as much as over 45% in the third quarter of 2019. (compared to the corresponding period of 2018).
Campaign was appreciated by the jury of the 2019 Kreatura competition.