Campus Breaks With Dick’s
My Role
Strategist
Partner
Sofia Bernitt (strategist)
THE ASK
Dick’s Sporting Goods is launching an outdoor experiences program for college students. Write the brief that will inspire them to choose Dick’s as their way in to the outdoors.
THE PROBLEM
Faced with busy schedules and competing opportunities to socialize, college students can’t justify spending time and money to get outdoors.
THE SOLUTION
Make the outdoors a realistic, low-stress part of students’ everyday lives, while showcasing Dick’s is the go-to for every version of outdoors.
THE CLIENT & ASK
Dick’s Sporting Goods is a national retailer known for its wide range of activewear, equipment, and outdoor gear.
Their problem: Dick’s is known, not chosen.
Despite 80% of surveyed students being familiar users of Dick’s, none consider it their favorite brand.
Their ask: Get college students to attend Dick’s Campus Break events, creating a community that translates into long-term brand consideration and sales.
THE TARGET
Urban Adventurers.
Underclassmen who are new to Boston and big city life. As they’re building out their routine, they’re looking for activities that introduce them to new people and places in the city. They’re surrounded by numerous options to explore new hobbies, feeling the pressure to branch out. Back home they’d occassionaly spend time outdoors, but now they miss how accessible it used to be back at home in a suburban area.
THE CONSUMER PROBLEM
Faced with busy schedules and competing opportunities to socialize, Urban Adventurers can’t justify spending time and money to get outdoors. Instead, they settle for local, low-effort ways to adventure with their friends.
In college, planning a trip feels like extra homework.
THE INSIGHT
THE STRATEGY
To enjoy the outdoors, all you have to do is show up as you are.
Position DSG as the brand that does the planning for you, making the outdoors simple, local, and doable.
Shift Dick’s from being a retailer to a facilitator of outdoor resets, tailored to every version of “the outdoors”: runs, outdoor yoga, park runs, nearby hikes, and more.
