The challenge: 53 Degrees North needed to establish itself as the clothing and equipment retailer of choice for Ireland’s outdoor adventurers. It also wanted to foster a sense of community by bringing like-minded individuals together to share common interests and experiences.

The idea: The 53 Degrees North Adventure Festival with Columbia leveraged Ireland’s love of festival culture and the great outdoors by putting on a weekend-long event that offered a mix of traditional and niche outdoor activities.

The solution: We created a festival site where attendees could take part in hiking, mountain biking, kayaking, archery and axe throwing during the day, and return to hot food, cold beer and stories around the campfire at night. The site offered tons of amenities from food stalls to an entertainment tent and activities like bush-craft, slacklining and HIIT. Morning beach yoga was followed by food demos before people went on to hike, water-ski, bike or trail run.

Making it extraordinary: We had the Head of the Kendal Mountain festival in the UK present adventure films on an outdoor cinema. We also offered panel discussions with some of Ireland’s best-known adventure sports names like Eoin Keith, Dr. Andrew Murray, Nikki Bradley to name a few. These intimate sessions allowed attendees to get up close and personal with athletes at the peak of their game, hear their stories and ask them questions.

Read more

Read less