Latest / Brand Storytelling with Fexingo: Narrative, Mission, and Stories That Sell / How REI Took a Stand and Pissed Off Black Friday
Transcript
- Lucas: So it's late 2015. Black Friday is a week away. Every retailer in America is prepping their doorbusters, their 3 a.m. openings, their 'lowest prices of the year' emails. And REI — the outdoor gear co-op — sends a company-wide email that basically says: we are not doing any of that. Luna: They closed all their stores on Black Friday? I remember this. It was a huge deal. Lucas: Exactly. All 143 stores, all their distribution centers — shut down. And they told 12,000 employees: go outside. Do something you love. And then they told the world about it with a campaign called #OptOutside. Luna: It was such a bold move. But I think people forget just how much it cost them. Lucas: Right, the numbers are key here. REI estimated they lost about $10 to $12 million in sales on that single day. But what they got in return was staggering. The campaign generated over 1.4 billion media impressions — that's not a typo, billion with a B — and 2.6 million social media shares. They gained more than 100,000 new members in the following weeks. Luna: So the question is: did it pay off? Or was it a one-hit wonder? Lucas: That's exactly what we're going to dig into. Because a lot of people remember the stunt, but fewer people know the strategy behind it — and whether it actually moved the needle long-term. Luna: Let's start with the context. REI is a consumer cooperative — which is already a different business model from most retailers. How did that shape this decision? Lucas: Crucial point. REI is owned by its members, not by shareholders. That means they don't have the same quarterly pressure to maximize profit. Their mission statement literally says 'to inspire, educate and outfit for a lifetime of outdoor adventure.' So closing on Black Friday actually aligns with that mission more than staying open would. Luna: Which is a huge part of why it felt authentic. If Walmart or Target had done this, people would have laughed. Lucas: Exactly. And REI's leadership was very clear about that. They didn't frame it as a protest against consumerism — they framed it as an invitation. 'We love the outdoors, we think you do too, so let's go outside together.' That's a fundamentally different message from 'Black Friday is bad.' Luna: And the timing was smart. They announced it a full week before Black Friday, which gave the story time to build. It wasn't a last-minute surprise. Lucas: They actually timed the announcement for October 30th, nearly a month before Black Friday. That gave journalists time to write features, gave influencers time to plan their own outdoor posts, and gave the hashtag time to marinate. By the time Black Friday actually arrived, #OptOutside was already trending. Luna: So it wasn't just a stunt — it was a fully orchestrated content campaign. What were the other moving parts? Lucas: They had a dedicated landing page with resources, they partnered with state parks to offer free admission on Black Friday, they created shareable assets. And crucially, they didn't just ask people to go outside — they gave them a reason to share. The hashtag was simple, the call to action was clear, and the emotional payoff was immediate. You post a photo of your hike, you feel like you're part of something. Luna: And 2015 was also a moment when people were starting to question Black Friday madness. There were viral videos of fights in stores. So REI was tapping into a cultural shift. Lucas: Absolutely. They surfed a wave that was already building. And they did it with total conviction. They didn't hedge — they didn't say 'we'll be closed but here's a coupon for Cyber Monday.' They went all in. Luna: What about the long-term? Did they keep doing it? Lucas: They did. They made #OptOutside an annual tradition. Every Black Friday since 2015, REI has closed its doors. But here's where it gets interesting — the media buzz inevitably faded. In 2016 it was still big, but by 2018 it was kind of expected. The novelty wore off. Luna: But did it matter? By then, the brand had already baked the association into its identity. REI is now synonymous with 'the company that doesn't do Black Friday.' Lucas: Exactly. And they didn't just coast. They evolved the campaign. In 2019, they flipped the script and encouraged people to 'Opt to Act' — to volunteer for the outdoors. They kept the core idea fresh without abandoning it. Luna: That's a smart long-term play. So what can other brands learn from this? Not every company can close for a day and call it marketing. Lucas: Right. The lesson isn't 'find a holiday to boycott.' The lesson is that authenticity requires alignment. REI's decision was credible because their business model and their mission already supported it. If a brand like, say, a fast-fashion retailer tried to do something similar, it would feel like greenwashing. Luna: And you need to be willing to lose money. That's a hard sell for most companies. Lucas: It is. But the calculus is: what is the long-term customer value of a new member versus the short-term revenue from one shopping day? REI's average member spends more than $300 a year, and they have incredible retention rates. So if you gain 100,000 new members, that's potentially $30 million in annual recurring revenue. The $10 million loss starts to look like a smart investment. Luna: And they didn't just gain members — they reinforced loyalty among existing ones. I know people who are REI members for life partly because of that move. Lucas: That's the narrative multiplier. When your brand story is something people want to tell their friends about — 'hey, did you hear what REI did?' — you're getting free word of mouth marketing that money can't buy. And REI got that in spades. Luna: It's a great example of brand storytelling that isn't just a commercial. It's a story about values in action. Lucas: And I think that's the core takeaway. A lot of companies talk about purpose. They have mission statements on their website. But REI actually made a decision that cost them money in the short term to prove their purpose was real. And the market rewarded them for it. Luna: Before we wrap up, I want to say — if today's conversation sparked something you've actually used, or even just made you think about your own brand differently, we do have a way to support the show. It's buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. That's it. No pressure, no perks — just knowing this stuff is useful to people. Lucas: Yeah, I appreciate that. It's always good to hear from listeners. And like Luna said, if it was worth a coffee, the link is there. But honestly, the main thing is that you're here and paying attention. Luna: Exactly. So back to REI — one last thought. Do you think this campaign could work for a brand today, ten years later? Or has the landscape shifted too much? Lucas: I think the principles still hold, but the execution has to be fresh. The key is still alignment and conviction. But audiences are more skeptical now — they've seen too many performative brand stances. So you'd have to go even further to prove it's real. Maybe something like giving up a whole month of revenue, or permanently changing a business practice. The bar has raised. Luna: So the lesson from REI isn't just 'take a stand.' It's 'take a stand that hurts a little, and make sure your business is built to survive the pain.' Lucas: That's a perfect summary. And maybe that's the real story — not the one-day stunt, but the decade of consistent values that made the stunt credible in the first place. Luna: Well said. That's all for this episode of Brand Storytelling. We'll be back next time with another story behind the story.