Case Study: Social Media Consultancy for Patagonia’s Stores
We helped the teams at the outdoor brand’s European stores develop a more localised organic social strategy
For the past year, we’ve been working with Patagonia Europe to consult on the brand’s stores’ social media strategy, acting as a ‘Social Media Helpdesk’ for the teams at Bristol, Manchester, Dublin, and Stockholm.
Each store manages its own social media account, but many lack the confidence, expertise or simply don’t have the time to run organic channels effectively. The consensus of the team at HQ was that we needed to help the store teams post content more regularly, but also that the accounts needed to provide a unique point of view through a local focus on events and goings-on in store all the while staying true to global brand guidelines and tone of voice.
With plenty of experience managing organic social strategies for outdoor and lifestyle brands like Stanley Europe, and a longstanding position as Patagonia Europe’s digital marketing agency, we were perfectly set up to provide guidance, translating the broader brand strategy from the European HQ into actionable insights for the stores’ teams.
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Building a Community Around the Stores
We’ve worked on the launches for many of Patagonia Europe’s stores – including Bristol, Manchester, and Innsbrook – and have a solid feel for what makes a Patagonia store special.
Patagonia really get that their stores need to provide something more than their stockists and competitors. Customers may buy Patagonia products from other retailers, but at a Patagonia store, as well as providing a much deeper product knowledge, the team offer a sense of community rooted in the local outdoors. Primarily, this community is built by organising and running events with local NGOs and partners, like talks, film screenings and panel discussions.
How does Patagonia use Social Media?
Patagonia have always liked to do things a little differently. On their social channels, they don’t want to follow trends, use trending audio, or overdo it with filters and stickers. They don’t even really like to shout out about new products.
These slightly restrictive guidelines mean that a Patagonia account is instantly recognisable, whether it’s a brand or store account.
Building relationships with the stores
Our first order of business when the Helpdesk was launched was to establish regular points of communication with the marketing point people (MPP) in each store. We set up recurring monthly meetings and, outside of these, we communicated regularly via Teams.
We also set the stores up with access to our internal project management tool, to enable them to easily organise and plan content each month, and to collaborate with us when they need additional support.
At the end of each month, we delivered clear KPI reports. Nothing too data-heavy, just what worked, what didn’t, and what’s worth posting next.
Since the launch of the Social Media Helpdesk, we’ve established a strong rapport with the MPPs in each store, and have seen a dramatic improvement in posting cadence, variety of content, and adherence to brand guidelines from all four stores we’re supporting. The effort they have put into their accounts since we began our partnership has paid off big time – they’ve all seen an uptick in follower growth and engagement.
Patagonia Stockholm Social Media
Back in 2023, Patagonia HQ asked us to support them with the opening of the Stockholm store, including kicking off the Patagonia Stockholm Instagram account. This involved teasing and launching the store in the city, as well as executing the first handful posts. We provided some data-driven insights to Patagonia Europe after this initial phase to help out the internal team once it was their turn.
As the newest account in the region, they had the smallest audience. The team didn’t have the experience to ‘get’ Patagonia in the same way that other stores do; Dublin, for example, has had the same store manager for over 25 years.
Following our Social Media Helpdesk workshops, the account went from posting “once every few weeks, if we remember” to posting twice a week. Their engagement’s up, their audience is growing, and they’re punching way above their follower count; their monthly interactions are rivalling stores with nearly 5x the audience and their monthly net follower growth is almost equal to longer-standing stores with more established accounts.
We’ve seen the confidence from the store team grow over our time working with them, as well as their output improving.
Anton, the Marketing Point Person for Stockholm, had some pretty nice things to say:
In my role as the marketing point person at the Patagonia store in Stockholm, I’ve found it incredibly valuable to collaborate with nativve. Working with Alexandra and Emma has been a great experience — they’re easy to work with, transparent, and clear in their communication. I always feel supported and know I can reach out whenever I need help.
“We have regular monthly check-ins, and I receive a detailed monthly review of how our marketing is performing. Before this collaboration, I didn’t have the same level of structure or support, and since we started working together, it has made a big difference in how I plan and execute our store marketing and events. They’re truly a fantastic team!”
Retail Social Media Management for Outdoor Brands
Our solid, behind-the-scenes support helps Patagonia stores show up online in a way that actually feels like Patagonia. By developing on-brand content consistently, the account’s follower base and engagement are growing and the team don’t feel like they want to throw their phones in a fjord.
Check out our other work for Patagonia.
See how we helped Patagonia launch their Amsterdam store.
Our digital campaign for Patagonia’s 50th anniversary.
