Consumers Test Gore-Tex in Stormy Weather

#4 Best Vehicle-Based Experiential Campaign

GORE-TEX AND WINDSTOPPER KNOW WHAT’S INSIDE TOUR

AGENCY: Marketing Werks

CLIENT: W.L. Gore and Associates

What better way to introduce people to the weather-fighting attributes of Gore outerwear than to dress them up in it, pound them with rain, lash them with high winds, and set them shaking to booming thunder claps.

That’s exactly what the company did when it embarked on its Know What’s Inside Tour, a traveling road show that gave visitors a chance to try out Gore-Tex and Windstopper fabrics in real-life weather conditions.

“This was a way we could sort of pull back the curtain and get consumers to touch, feel and experience our products,” Melissa Riggs, a consumer marketing associate for the company, says. “We said, come and check out our science experiment.”

Gore created an extreme weather chamber, modeled after labs the company uses to test its gear, inside a 30-by-20-foot vehicle.

Once inside, people dressed in Gore-Tex outerwear and “dialed up” their own stormy weather, controlling the severity of the wind, rain and intense cold. A flashing strobe light and claps of thunder added to the realism, making it look and feel like an actual storm.

When visitors emerged — dry — they could watch demonstrations to learn about the science and technology behind the making of Gore-Tex products. For example, people learned about the breathability of the fabric and its waterproof capabilities. Attendees also watched footage of the products worn in real-life situations and tests being conducted in Gore labs.

“The whole idea was to provide a different consumer experience,” says Leela Sullivan, senior director of client services for Marketing Werks, the agency that manages the program.

Gore received such a positive response during its first tour in 2006 that it renewed the event in 2007. It made stops at everything from balloon festivals and film premieres to snowboard championships and retail outlets.

As a result, the tour logged 43,032 miles and made stops at 39 events and 18 retail locations between October 2007 and June 2008. More than 833,000 people saw the chamber over 127 days. What’s more, 28,489 people either went into the weather chamber or interacted with the vehicle.

And the experience is still going strong. Now in its third year, the tour is again crisscrossing the nation through next spring.

“There are a lot of tours, but this is one that definitely sticks out in people’s minds,” Sullivan says.

While Gore says it can’t track sales leads from the event, retailers reported positive feedback from newly acquired customers.

“We really put Gore out there as we are,” Riggs says. “Yes, we are a bunch of scientists and engineers. The old cliché is we’re pretty dorky, but at the end of the day, we found people are really into it.”

IDEA TO STEAL: KEEP IT REAL

“As marketers, we run the risk of being hokey or trying to do something that isn’t genuine,” Melissa Riggs, a consumer marketing associate at Gore, says. “By putting the real ‘us’ out there, our tour worked. Today people are so savvy. They see right through stuff that is not genuine.”