• by Sarah Mahoney  @mahoney_sarah, April 3, 2018

The North Face, which wants to inspire the next generation of female explorers, is introducing a new campaign to “Move Mountains.” The effort highlights the achievements of women adventurers and is part of a new partnership with the Girl Scouts of the USA as well as actress America (“Superstore”) Ferrera.

The women-focused campaign, which it says is the first such global effort in its 50-year history, includes a platform for sharing stories of women in exploration, and a $250,000 grant to fund female outdoors programs, as well as internal initiatives. And for Scouts, the brand is creating 12 new badges, including mountaineering and climbing, backpacking, hiking and trail running.

Acknowledging that many brands are already out there with “You go, girl” efforts, “our approach is a little different,” says Tom Herbst, global vice president of marketing at The North Face. “You see other brands with messages of ‘fem-powerment,’ telling women that they are bright enough and strong enough to break through and fight the system,” he says. “We feel women know that. We want to create the conditions that can make that happen.”

Like rival REI, which devoted all of 2017 to its women customers with its “Force of Nature” campaign, the North Face is thinking bigger than just advertising. “Move Mountains” comes with “a commitment to equal representation of women in all advertising, social media and content moving forward,” the company says. Internally, it is increasing investment in women’s product design, as well as employee development through a partnership with Paradigm for Parity Coalition. And for consumers, it is launching two stores devoted to women’s products.

Stories in the campaign focus on women pushing boundaries, including The North Face athletes, alpinist Hilaree Nelson, and climbing stars Ashima Shiraishi and Margo Hayes. Also spotlighted are activist and ultrarunner Fernanda Maciel, NASA scientist Tierra Guinn Fletcher, musician Madame Gandhi, as well as Ferrera, who was a Girl Scout. (Sid Lee is the ad agency on the campaign.)

The North Face, based in Alameda, Calif., is owned by apparel giant VF Corp., and in its most recent quarterly results, the North Face sales are up 4% worldwide, but flat in the U.S. Herbst says that business continues to be affected by intense competition in the blurring lines of outdoor wear, athleisure and streetwear.

To that end, the company says it’s expanding offerings, of bottoms, as well as high-end sports bras, territory currently dominated by the likes of Lululemon, Nike and Adidas.

But Herbst, the dad of two Girl Scouts, emphasizes that “Move Mountains” was led by values, not any particular business strategy. “Given the conversation happening with the culture today about women, we felt like it was our obligation and responsibility, as the leader in the outdoor industry, to do everything we can to provide role models for the next generation of explorers,” he says. “We have the opportunity to affect the lives of so many girls.”