Woodland looks out for extreme explorer

The outdoor wear and equipment brand launched the 'Adventurer Wanted' contest on Facebook to carry on continuous engagement with online followers.

Imagine an all-expenses paid month-long vacation exploring new, unheard of places, trying adventure sports - with a film crew on tow! That's what Woodland is offering with its latest contest.

In continuation of its outdoor adventure theme, Woodland kick-started the 'Adventurer Wanted' contest for its 'Extreme Explorer' job, which aims to not only entrench itself further as an outdoor adventure wear brand but also actively engage with its digital audience.

Woodland launched the campaign on its Facebook page on August 1, inviting people to send in videos about their adventure. The brand publicised the contest through Facebook ads, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram, along with in-store promotions. On Twitter, the brand created the hashtag #AdventurerWanted and asked people to tweet about defining extreme adventure and the qualities that made an 'Extreme Explorer' spread out over the weeks. The best answers won Woodland vouchers and T-shirts.

With the entries closing on September 14, the brand received close to 20,000 entries from across the country, comprising 30-60 second video/images that demonstrated why he/she was the best person for the job. Most of the entries were from people in the age group of 18-25 years. The brand then shortlisted three candidates, out of which one winner will be chosen based on the votes received. The winner will be announced soon.

With about 2.5 million fans on its Facebook page, Woodland has witnessed almost 3 million fan base post the contest.

In fact, the followers' involvement doesn't stop there. They will be allowed to vote between the three or four destinations (the brand didn't want to divulge the names), selected by a panel of adventurers, and challenging outdoor sports for the winner to undertake. Besides living expenses, the brand will also take care of the expenses of a film crew.

Speaking about the contest, Harkirat Singh, managing director, Woodland, says the contest is one of the several that the brand keeps doing for its huge online consumers. Singh says more and more youngsters are interested in doing something interesting and adventurous during their vacation. And, many capture this on video or photos and send it to friends. Taking sense of this, the brand decided to develop a competition that addressed the desire for adventure among the youth. Besides, in its continuous effort to engage with its large online consumer base, Woodland wanted to keep the interest alive through this contest.

"We received many videos of people climbing rocks but there were some very interesting ones too like this guy surfing around turtles or this other guy who swam along with dolphins. These videos had wildlife and adventure in them," Singh recalls. In fact, Singh was surprised by the volume of entries. "I was expecting about 8-10,000. I would have been happy with that. But I never expected this much and it is very encouraging. It shows that adventure is beginning to be a very serious category," he says, pointing out that the interest in adventure sports is growing in Southern India.

Woodland was set up in Quebec, Canada, in the late 1980s. The brand's portfolio comprises footwear, performance apparel and outdoor gear. It has presence in over 40 countries. The brand has also partnered with UNICEF, WWF and OXFAM for sustainable action against environment changes.