Outside magazine has partnered with The North Face and VR tech and production firm Jaunt to distribute “The North Face: Nepal,” an interactive immersive experience created by the outdoor apparel brand.
To give readers access to the VR film, which follows athlete Renan Ozturk on a journey through Nepal from the lowlands to the mountains, Outside is shipping Google Cardboard headset viewers, compatible with smartphones, to 75,000 subscribers with the December issue of the magazine.
Subscribers can then access the VR experience through Outside’s mobile channel. The magazine is hosting a YouTube 360 degree version of the video on Outside Online.
“The North Face: Nepal” will also be available to customers who visit The North Face flagship stores in London, New York and San Francisco. However, Outside is the exclusive media distribution partner for the experience. The publication is promoting the VR experience with print and online ad placements, as well as a custom content story on the making of the film.
The North Face-Outside program is just the latest in a series of publisher partnerships for Jaunt. Time Inc.’s InStyle magazine partnered with the company for a new VR feature called InStyle Virtual, which allows viewers to immerse themselves in photo shoots and celebrity events.
As noted, a number of other publishers have launched VR platforms in recent months. Earlier this month, the Associate Press revealed a new content collaboration with VR studio and media company RYOT, while The Wall Street Journal launched an in-app immersive video and VR programming channel in collaboration with video tech firm Vrideo.
The New York Times also recently unveiled plans for NYT VR, a new virtual reality app created in collaboration with Google and VR studio IM360.