Sophie Bambuck joined The North Face as CMO in September 2022, after a stint as the first CMO of Everlane. Previously, she spent more than 12 years at Nike, most recently as vp of global brand marketing for Nike Sportswear. Although parent company VF Corp has recently seen a small dip in revenue, The North Face is growing, with quarterly revenues up by 7% year-over-year, according to its most recent earnings.
Steering a 200-person global marketing team isn’t easy, but Bambuck has managed to set clear goals. “The two big focuses right now are prioritization and a better balance between people stories and product,” said Bambuck. “The North Face has an embarrassment of riches — there are so many amazing stories, products, innovations and athletes. My focus now is on selecting which athlete ambassadors and product stories matter.”
One of the brand’s key marketing initiatives is its Athlete Development Program, launched in March 2022 to fight inequality in sports sponsorships. The inaugural cohort of POC, LGBTQIA+ and differently-abled athletes was announced in February this year. “The outdoor industry is kind of like the art world: You have to break the barriers to get in, you have to network,” said Bambuck. “I’m making it a mission to keep pushing the program and seeing that everybody has visibility to it.” Each athlete has signed a two-year contract with The North Face that includes gear, funding for expeditions and development, tailored training programs and mentoring from The North Face athletes.
The marketing team has also been amplifying The North Face’s new innovations — like its Himalayan climbing suit for women, redesigned in May 2023 — and promoting its circularity initiatives through OOH advertising and exhibitions.
“People think the question is, ‘How do you make sustainability sexy?’” said Bambuck. “The real question is, ‘How do you make people care?’” The North Face’s research indicates that circularity is more understandable than sustainability. “We’re seeing that the more explicit points you make to the consumer, the more you increase their interest and, ultimately, their lifetime loyalty,” she said.
Sportswear brands have the benefits of great lifetime customer loyalty. Bambuck aims to increasingly leverage that by showcasing year-round products — not just snow wear — in The North Face’s product-focused marketing. “For that LTV to come into play, we need to educate and provide access to [timely] services and experiences throughout the other six months of the year,” she said.
Along with hyper-niche communities of expert sportspeople, Bambuck and her team are effectively targeting younger consumers. “We’re starting to make strides in social places like TikTok for our younger customers, and we’re increasing our investments in that space,’” she said. The brand, which has 526,000 TikTok followers, is focusing its content on educational videos and collaborative artist and athlete stories, while engaging with TikTok trends. “We know that’s where they’re getting their education.”
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