Driving a +54% Increase in Web Traffic with a Reward Program Rebrand

Key Takeaways

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In April 2021, The North Face rebranded the “VIPeak” program and launched “XPLR Pass”, a new reward program with fresh branding and customer engagement opportunities. The XPLR landing page generated 100K visits and 51K app downloads from April to August 2021 with the following tactics:

• Reward Program — Building Different Points of Contact: The North Face built both a landing page on their website and an iOS app for the reward program where members can access and learn more about the features on both platforms.
  

• Reward Program — Creating a Value-Based Program:  The main way to redeem points with the XPLR Pass is by purchasing products however 50% of the additional ways to earn points focus on getting outside and promoting sustainable actions like bringing your own bag for in-store shopping and using the trade-in renewable clothing program.
  

• Promotion — Generating Cross-Channel Visibility: The XPLR Pass has been promoted organically across Instagram and Email campaigns. The campaign also saw a $26K search spend and a $174K additional advertising spend across Instagram, Display and Facebook. The main messaging across the content addresses member discounts, XPRL Pass education, exclusive drops, early access to products and member ability to give feedback on unreleased designs. 

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In April 2021, The North Face rebranded the “VIPeak” program and launched “XPLR Pass”, a new reward program with fresh branding and customer engagement opportunities.

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The XPLR landing page generated 20K monthly visits from April to August 2021, a +54% increase over VIPeak’s monthly website traffic from April to August 2020. XPLR Pass saw a total of 100K site visits to it’s landing page since launch in April 2021.

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XPLR Pass: Member Perks

The XPLR Pass landing page highlights the perks of being a member through six main points including the main ways to earn rewards and their benefits.

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XPLR Pass: Additional Ways to Earn Points

The North Face built six additional ways members can earn points. 50% of the methods focus on growing the platform (referring a friend, downloading the app) while the remaining 50% encourage members to align with their values (reusable bags and the renewed collection).

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The North Face App

The easiest way XPLR members can keep up with rewards is by downloading The North Face iOS app which is only available in the United States.

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From April to August 2021, The North Face iOS app saw a total of 51K downloads and an average of 10.1K monthly downloads.

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Promoting XPLR: The Homepage

The North Face homepage, which received an average of 14M visits in the USA from April to August 2021, features the new XPLR program and offers a 10% discount for new members.

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Promoting XPLR: Organic Social

Since launch in April 2021, The North Face has made two posts about the XPLR program one day apart on April 19th and 20th, 2021.

The content of the posts focused on educating followers about the benefit and purpose of the XPLR program. 
The launch post spoke directly to their audience base using verbiage like “for the roamers” whereas the follow up post focused on their renewable trade-in program.

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Promoting XPLR: Email

From April to August 2021, The North Face sent out 19 emails featuring the XPLR program.

• On April 19th, 2021, The North Face sent an email out to 282K subscribers to announce the new XPLR Pass program.
• On May 30th, 2021, The North Face sent an email out to 661K subscribers to share early access to the Pride collection, indicating approximately 661K active XPLR Pass members.

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From April to August 2021, The North Face sent four main types of emails about the XPRL Pass to members including:

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1. Discounts. Introductory and exclusive discounts are offered to XPRL Pass members as well as subscribers who haven’t opted-in for the program as an additional incentive.

2. Rewards Information. The North Face sends out informational emails about how the XPRL Pass works and what the different elements involved entail. 

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3. Exclusives & Early Access. The North Face will launch products that only members can access to buy ahead of time before the general North Face customer.

4. Member Questions. In an effort to gain customer feedback and engagement, surveys are often sent out asking members for their opinions on designs, colours and styles for future drops.

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Promoting XPLR: Search Ads

From April to August 2021, The North Face spent $26K directing traffic to the XPLR Pass landing page. 53% of the budget was allocated to a desktop spend. 

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Search ads to the XPLR Pass landing page focus on discounts and rewards that can be redeemed.

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Promoting XPLR: Advertising

From April to August 2021, The North Face spent $174K on the XPRL Pass campaign across Instagram ($116K), Display ($44K) and Facebook ($14K) ad networks.

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While each platform used similar imagery and branding, Instagram ads focused more on brand awareness while Display & Facebook focused on lower funnel objectives such as increasing sign ups. 

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The North Face ran five Instagram ads focused on a more subtle messaging with information about the reward program written in the caption as opposed to being the forefront of the creative. Video ads were incorporated into the ad creative unlike Display and Facebook.

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From April to August 2021, five Display ad creatives used a single image with more overt XPLR Pass branding and a focus on the 10% discount that new members can obtain.

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Facebook ads saw the lowest spend but the highest number of ad creatives at 12 variations across April to August 2021. Graphics were used to convey the benefits of the program.