Recently, REI invited Vistar Media to join them on stage at RampUp - LiveRamp’s annual conference - to discuss a recent brand initiative. At the conference, Vistar had the opportunity to share insights from this cross-screen campaign alongside REI’s media agency, Spark Foundry, and LiveRamp, our joint data partner. One of the main themes at this year’s RampUp conference was experimenting with new technologies and using data to strengthen consumer relationships. REI accomplished both of these tasks with their #OptOutside initiative.

How REI Reached Loyal Consumer by Canceling Black Friday in Their Stores

For the third consecutive year, REI closed all their retail locations on Black Friday, paid their 12,000+ employees to spend time outside and encouraged people across the country to reconnect with the outdoors.

In order to reach loyal consumers and potential new customers, REI passed their first-party audience segment to LiveRamp for identity-safe anonymized targeting. The partnership between Vistar and LiveRamp helps marketers improve their targeting, measurement and personalization efforts by bridging the gap between the online and offline worlds. Vistar analyzed the anonymized data and activated digital out-of-home and mobile media where these consumers would most likely be throughout the course of their day.

During the presentation, members of the four teams walked through the visuals and messaging created for this initiative, the execution strategy, and strong results. Ultimately, REI experienced a significant lift across all major KPIs, including 14% lift in awareness. These results showcased REI’s ability to engage more consumers with their #OptOutside initiative, and even drive store visits despite being closed on a major retail shopping holiday. To learn more about the power of cross-screen digital out-of-home and mobile media, you can view the presentation below.