World-Renowned Brand Columbia Sportswear Middle East Invites Influencers To Become Outfluencers

Dec. 16, 2021

World-renowned outdoor apparel and footwear brand Columbia Sportswear Middle East have launched "Live from the Outdoors" a social media campaign created by Serviceplan Middle East designed to encourage the Saudi population to discover the pleasures of the great outdoors.

Historically in the Middle East and KSA region Columbia Sportswear Middle East, like other outdoor clothing brands, has been perceived as a winter brand, however this new campaign demonstrates that Columbia has the right products for every season.

"Live from the Outdoors" features films that show the hidden gems of Saudi Arabia that can be found outdoors, whilst showing that Columbia apparel and footwear can be worn outside in any season. Serviceplan Middle East collaborated with famous Saudi influencers who usually film their content at home, in a studio or an indoor location, and turned them into ‘Outfluencers’ by inviting them to shoot content outdoors and showcase some of the beautifully scenic areas of Saudi Arabia.

The campaign launches with 2 Influencer content films shot outdoors in Saudi and behind the scenes films documenting their journeys, and will roll out with more content coming on the same platform, which will touch upon different channels and relevant topics.

For the winter season that launched this month, Serviceplan Middle East invited gamer Wabdan  and fitness trainer Rahaf, to discover the outdoors with Columbia Sportswear Middle East. They swapped their usual indoor filming setups for something more adventurous and challenging.

Wabdan recorded a gameplay directly from the stunning Luha Pool, while Rahaf shot her fitness routine straight from the Oasis of Lake Prodan – all done over 2 days in Saudi Arabia with director Rajeev Thottippully, showing Saudi locals the beautiful spots that are hiding in plain sight. For the summer season that will be launched early next year, Columbia will collaborate with two more influencers, taking them to different outdoor locations in Saudi Arabia.

 Saudi Arabia is on a quest to be found. It is inviting its own people to explore the hidden gems of the country and discover it in a whole new way. The average age of the Saudi population is very young - just 35 – resulting in high Internet and smartphone usage, with an estimated average time of more than 3 hours spent on Social media.

And many of the Saudi content creators are no exception either. So Columbia Sportswear Middle East teamed up with Serviceplan Middle East on a mission to turn Influencers into Outfluencers by inviting them to deliver the message with content recorded in beautiful outdoor locations found in Saudi Arabia with ‘Live from the Outdoors’, because these content creators and influencers have the ability to influence the young generation.

Ricardo Amaral, Marketing Manager, Columbia Sportswear Middle East explains:

"At a time where Columbia Sportswear ME was looking for "some fresh air" and a revised approach of its previous Columbia Adventure Series campaign, Serviceplan ME team came up with "Live from the Outdoors" – a platform that aims to show people enjoying and discovering the outdoors, while performing activities that are normally done indoors. A massive thank you to the SPME team for bringing this campaign to life from its ideation to production!"

 

Andre Couto, Creative Director, Serviceplan Middle East adds: 

"Columbia Sportswear Middle East is an aspirational brand that enables individuals to enjoy the outdoors for longer. So, to invite the Saudi youth to discover their country and start exploring the hidden gems of the Kingdom, we decided to bring the Saudi outdoors closer to their social media screens with their favourite influencers.  The campaign puts an interesting spin on indoor influencer videos by taking them outdoors, and, at the same time, invites Saudi’s youth to get out of their phones and start exploring the country. Shooting in Saudi Arabia and discovering these incredible locations was a surreal experience. The scenic landscapes were a great fit for our campaign and the synergy between Columbia, the outdoor and the influencers was perfect."