Helly Hansen: Virtual Product Launches

The Challenge

Twice a year, technical sailing and outdoor clothing brand, Helly Hansen launches an exciting new collection of gear, packed full of innovative technology to help athletes and consumers alike to stay and feel alive around the world. This usually sees us visiting the media, meeting key influencers and sharing the latest and greatest pieces for the season ahead. Sadly, the global pandemic stopped us seeing our contacts, so we had to think of a new way to present the new collections, explain the technology and share expert insights to help with storytelling and securing valuable media exposure.

“I liked the mix of content with a bit of background to the brand, before the product launch and the presentation from Kristoffer was excellent. Most of all I think it made really excellent use of time and resources over say travelling to a venue to view the range and I really hope it is repeated. Overall, it was easy to log into, really interesting and just the right length.”

Jan Birkmyre, Bike Envy

The Solution

Working with the fabulous HH team, we developed a series of virtual events for the different collections – Ski, Outdoor and Urban – as well as a separate event to launch the revolutionary new technology for responsible waterproof-breathable clothing, LIFA Infinity Pro™, which has been developed in-house by the brand. Hosted via Vimeo, we invited key industry journalists, influencers and national contacts to learn more about the new technologies, see the new product up close and via a catwalk with models, and to hear direct from Helly Hansen’s Category Managing Directors talking about the main features, benefits and development of the kit. These sessions were regionalised around the world, and followed by a live Q&A session for the media to ask their burning questions and share their immediate feedback on the kit with the team.

To set the scene and get media interested in attending, we created and sent exclusive goodie boxes to our contacts, giving them insight into the new season’s collection and a flavour of what they would see in the forthcoming virtual events. Focusing on the huge environmental benefits and advances in tech development from HH, we sourced recyclable, eco-friendly and sustainable packaging and labels for our media, and filled them with a fabulous new jacket made from first-to-market technology, a cosy base layer, beanie and some Norwegian goodies, as well as the seasonal brand collateral to digest ahead of the event (and refer to afterwards).

The Results

We secured extensive media attendance across the three events, including media from influential national newspapers and supplements, specialist sector journalists and lifestyle influencers. They all received their beautiful goodies and attended the virtual events from the comfort of their own home, and watch it back at their leisure.

We followed up with the media afterwards for feedback, comments and future planning – which was all super positive, as well as providing valuable opportunities for media coverage, additional requests for kit to review and profile raising for Helly Hansen.

If you’d like a no-obligation discussion about your communication needs, please get in touch with us on hello@adpr.co.uk.