VIDEO
Californian co-lab
Surfline has built one of the world's largest surfing communities, delivering rich forecasts and HD camera feeds for surfing spots across the globe. N4 had the honour to deliver a special co-lab to their customer base, delivering something both unique to the industry and the Surfline business.
This campaign marked the first collaboration with artist and surfer Kevin Butler. Kevin is an LA artist who is known for his drawings of vintage cars and surfboards, whimsical patterns, and bespoke merch featuring his illustrations.
In partnership with Kevin, Surfline created a unique collection of merch that is eye-catching, playful, and bold. It was to be made available exclusively on the Surfline shop.
N4 helped push the boundaries of the campaign through design thinking. We didn’t want to leave any stone unturned and provided a scaled direction to bring the story to life and drive customers to purchase.
Details
Speaking to the subculture of California surfing
California surfing has a long and rich history, and Surfline is a big part of that.
Delivering this campaign was all about combining the unique style of Kevin’s work to the Surfline customer in a way that would drive connection and appeal. But to deliver this we had to appreciate the history of the surfing culture, the modern surfer, along with the artist's style. Producing something simple yet impactful.
N4 was tasked to challenge the Surfline team’s thinking and stretch the concepts to have impact across a number of different digital formats and platforms. From their core app, through to their desktop shop, and a number of other core channels.
Leading with knowledge and creativity
It pays to have a team who are passionate about surfing and understand the culture. Because this campaign needed to focus on attracting core surfers.
One of the purposes of limited, exclusive, story-driven collaborations is to give people who are inside the tribe something to represent their identity, culture, and lifestyle.
Therefore we needed to ensure the direction spoke to this tribe and deliver a level of cut through.
A end-to-end campaign output
The focus of the campaign was to ensure we produced effective components for each phase:
- Pre-Launch: Create awareness and build anticipation.
- During: Launch the collection to the community
- Post-Launch: Celebrate and remarket
words
“N4® hit all deadlines consistently and delivered a high-quality campaign.”
Johnny Marcon
VP of Operations, Surfline
, N4