Case Study: Launching Patagonia’s Updated Yulex® Wetsuits
Offering a much more sustainable alternative to planet-killing neoprene, our campaign for the latest iteration of the all-rubber Regulator wasn’t just another product launch
An avid surfer as well as an environmentalist, Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard had never been happy with the environmental impact of his neoprene wetsuit.
Neoprene is a notoriously unsustainable material that creates environmental issues at every stage of its production, use, and disposal. Predominantly made from petroleum, it has to undergo high-energy processing to be produced and, as it’s so difficult to recycle, you’ve no choice but to send it to landfill once you’re done with your wetsuit, where it’ll take hundreds of years to biodegrade.
In the early 2000s, Yvon began searching for an alternative and discovered Yulex, a business developing rubber-based materials made from sustainably-grown rubber. Working with Yulex, Patagonia transitioned all their wetsuits to Yulex bio-rubber by 2014. They even waived exclusive rights for the new neoprene alternative material so it could be offered to other brands in the industry.
In AW 2023, Patagonia was launching the latest iteration of its Regulator wetsuit. This wasn’t just another product launch campaign. Although the primary goal was simple – get the word out and drive sales of the new and improved suits – it was also an opportunity for the brand to build awareness of the Yulex material and why it’s needed, to draw attention to Patagonia’s unique wetsuit forge design and repair facility, and to highlight its activity in the waterwear space.
As Patagonia Europe’s paid media partner, we set out to build a full-funnel paid media campaign to make it happen.
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Digital Advertising Across Multiple Channels
We got to work on a three-phase campaign, moving audiences from the awareness phase to traffic and finally to conversion with a diverse mix of Youtube, Google Display, Google DemandGen, Pinterest, Snapchat, and Reddit ads.
The first phase was all about casting a wide net with a strong brand message. We drove awareness with video ads pushing Patagonia’s “Equipment for Water People” category and driving traffic to the surf hub on the site.
In phase two, we got more specific. The creative shifted to focus on the wetsuit’s redesign and new technical features and we used a mix of video, banners, and carousels to drive traffic to the Yulex® product landing page. In the final phase, we optimised to encourage sales, using ads highlighting the more technical aspects of the wetsuits, like new non-corrosive zippers and new lining.
Exceeding ROAS benchmarks
As with all campaigns, we continuously monitored the results and optimised the campaigns to achieve the best performance possible, adjusting targeting and budget allocation to reach and exceed key performance benchmarks.
The campaign brought in good numbers, with 63.2 million impressions and 9.3 million video views. We also achieved high-quality traffic and a strong conversion rate, as well as a ROAS that well exceeded our benchmark, particularly for this sport category.
