REI: Cycle State of Mind

REI (Recreation Equipment, Inc.) is an US outdoors equipment retailer from Seattle, USA. REI places a heavy emphasis on fostering community and instilling a love of wild spaces.

The Challenge

Through the Cycle State of Mind, REI challenged Strava users to complete 7 hours of cycling over the course of two weeks in May 2021 to earn a unique digital badge, along with a chance to win one of four $500 REI gift cards. As a US-based retailer, REI chose to target the challenge at American cyclists and multisport athletes of all genders.

Why Strava?

REI felt that Strava was aligned with their brand and values in many ways. In particular, the Strava community was a huge draw, given the engagement levels and the ability for brands to connect with Strava’s community at all times. REI is also community-driven and is always looking to foster adventure with different outdoor activities, so Strava was a natural fit for a partnership.

How Did They Promote the Challenge Outside of Strava?

In order to drive greater participation in the Strava challenge, REI promoted the Cycle State of Mind across multiple social media and marketing channels. They sent out emails to customers subscribed to their various email lists and also marked the Strava challenge as an event on their website. Additionally, an influencer with whom they had worked with in the past reposted the REI’s Instagram post highlighting the challenge on their personal profile, leading to additional impressions. 

Impact

The highly successful Cycle State of Mind challenge saw 116,065 Strava athletes joining it, with 85,938 athletes successfully completing the challenge. Additionally, REI was able to fulfill its initial goal of increasing club joins. REI’s Strava club membership ballooned, increasing by 5,558 new members to a total membership of 15,663 athletes.

Future Learnings

REI gained a lot of insight from this challenge that they felt could be transferred to future Strava challenges. In the future, they would like to explore providing different rewards & incentives, targeting different athlete types (especially multisport athletes), and trying different challenge types. While they are relatively new to the Strava platform, they plan on further experimenting with and leveraging Strava challenges to achieve key marketing objectives.