Craigslost Campaign Helps Reunite Yeti Customers With Lost Gear

Yeti’s newest marketing campaign looks to community marketing to help customers with one of their biggest problems while exploring the outdoors…losing gear. The company, best known for its coolers and drinkware, has been working behind the scenes to respond to various posts on Craigslist’s Lost and Found page to help reunite people around the country with gear they have lost while on outdoor adventures. The creative campaign is called Craigslost and involves Yeti’s well-known ambassadors and a new product line of LoadOut GoBoxes.

Lost gear prevents people from outdoor adventures

The idea was formulated when the company noticed how much gear was being posted on CraigsList each year from outdoor enthusiasts who had lost something while on an outdoor adventure. Over 14,000 outdoor gear items are lost in national parks each year, and Yeti plans to help reduce the number of lost items by creating GoBoxes that keep outdoor gear organized.

“Inspiration for the Craigslost campaign came from the founders Roy and Ryan, who literally would stay out all day in the wild fishing on the coast,” said Paulie Dery, CMO of Yeti, in an interview about the new marketing efforts. “What stops people from being outdoors is when they lose their stuff, and we hate it when people cannot stay out in the wild.” The durable boxes keep items safely stored and organized. “We truly want to get more people outdoors, and the LoadOut GoBox Gear Cases help people to return to the wild,” stated Dery.

One of the “lost and found” items belonged to a military veteran, Tony, who had his expensive, hard-earned ice-climbing gear stolen. Yeti Ambassador and world-renowned mountaineer Conrad Anker chose a set of premium Nomic ice axes to send to Tony in a Yeti GoBox so he can return to his wild glacial adventures.

Yeti ambassador program

Ambassadors are a massive part of the Yeti brand ethos and contribute significantly to product development, testing, and marketing. The program at Yeti is a two-year process for those that want to become a company ambassador. The company believes that the chosen ambassadors represent their respective communities well. “Yeti Ambassadors want their community to succeed, and they want people to enjoy the wild,” said Dery.

Ambassador communities encompass many activities, from fishing to barbecuing to climbing and roping and many in between. “Ambassadors are not here to change minds; they are here to open them,” claimed Dery. They are not contracted or paid for their work as ambassadors for the Yeti.

Community marketing resonates with Yeti’s customers

From the product creation process through the distribution of the products to the consumers, Yeti focuses on a cross-functional collaboration between its ambassadors, marketing teams, operations, and the customer. “Product is the heart, and brand is the soul,” said Dery. “ROI is measured by how much customers love the brand.”

Many of the ambassadors understand the market conditions even before the customer does. The Ambassadors’ in-depth knowledge across the many disciplines helps Yeti track shifts in consumer shopping preferences. “The ambassadors that are a part of the Yeti family are very educated about the community they are in and are on the ground seeing and hearing things about that market,” said Dery.

When the company discovered the number of products lost on outdoor adventures, Yeti wanted to take a unique approach to help address the issue by utilizing its robust ambassador program. “The best of human nature is humans in nature,” said Dery, “Our goal is to reunite people with their lost gear and provide them a tool, like the Yeti GoBox, to help them stay in the wild.”