Agency Spotlight – Eccentric Engine: High Sierra's #TakeBackMondays Integrates Brand Ethos in an Offline-Online Integrated Campaign

This is a part of our Agency Spotlight Feature where we bring forth agencies who are doing kick-ass work with their clients and helping them achieve their business goals. For this month, we’d like to showcase Eccentric Engine.

If you are an adventure brand, how would you use social media? You will talk about adventure, adrenaline rush, post pictures of people having great fun while bungee jumping and such. What next?

High Sierra seems to be trying to take it to another level with their #TakeBackMondays where they are challenging people to take a Monday off for a day full of adventure.

Asking working professionals on social media to take a break - that too on a Monday - is an outrageous challenge; and that is what works in their favor! The campaign is interesting in more ways than one and I feel it will succeed in achieving the desired objective for the brand.

Brand Connect

As a brand that manufactures adventure gear, the campaign fits them perfectly. But what works well for the campaign is how the brand has positioned itself.

High Sierra has carefully placed the concept of adventure on top and there is no in-your-face presence of the brand in the entire picture. It reminds me very much of Red Bull powered activities where the brand takes a backseat and lets the concept speak for itself.

More often than not, we see brands who prefer to go all out, placing their products and name everywhere in the campaign. This dilutes the effectiveness of the campaign and dissuades people.

High Sierra has avoided that path and wants people to associate themselves with the campaign rather than push them to buy their products.

Online-Offline Integration

Integrating your online presence with offline always works wonders as it brings people closer to the brand. The experience provided by the brand in the offline space has a far more effective impact than a mere Rs 500 BookMyShow voucher.

And what better way to provide an awesome experience than taking people out for a day full of adventure?

High Sierra has already delighted a couple of people in Delhi and Mumbai and the campaign will see more such experiences as it progresses in the coming days.

Using Videos

The best thing about this campaign is the great use of videos by High Sierra. By telling their story through two interesting videos (one of Delhi, another of Mumbai), I am sure the brand has managed to strike a chord with their audience.

And let’s accept it, videos are the most effective form of communication today - well above text and images.

The microsite for #TakeBackMondays has a video integrated beautifully within it and plays seamlessly for the audience. The campaign also has several other videos that reinforce the positioning of the campaign and make it all the more interesting.

Great use of Facebook & Twitter

To spread the word about the campaign, Facebook and Twitter are being leveraged rather effectively. By having regular conversations around the hashtag #takebackmondays, they have managed to keep the buzz alive around the campaign.

They have even roped in Twitter influencers to tap into their network and market the entire campaign.

On Facebook, the brand is sharing the videos and has managed to grab a fair amount of engagement but it can be improved. The campaign has grabbed the attention of people and has made them yearn to be a part of it.

End Notes

All in all, the campaign looks like a winner to me. With a great mix of integration, coupled with an aspirational offering in line with the brand positioning, the campaign has struck the right chords.

What remains to be seen is how they are able to sustain the tempo till 23rd June, the last day of the campaign. Running a long-term campaign is always a challenge and High Sierra needs to stay engaging throughout.