The North Face is bridging the gap between online and offline marketing by celebrating the opening of its new flagship location in New York with dedicated social and mobile video content, targeting urban consumers who have a higher level of mobile usage.

The flagship store, which is opening on Fifth Avenue, will be the brand?s first in New York. The North Face is using a video and social campaign with content produced by a variety of big name athletes to cross-promote their real-world opening with digital marketing.

?This campaign comes at a time in our brand?s history when exploration ? of all kinds ? matters more than ever,? said Todd Spaletto, president of The North Face. ?As a society, we are questioning traditions, systems and institutions. 

"What was considered beyond the norm yesterday, even impossible, is commonplace today. We rally behind and celebrate those who have the courage to take on the unknown and define success in their own way.?

Pushing the limits
The outerwear brand is celebrating its history with a slew of content featuring athletes from throughout the brand?s long existence showcasing and celebrating The North Face?s growth from a single storefront in San Francisco to a global brand.

The campaign is titled Question Madness and showcases a variety of athletes alongside imagery of majestic mountains and other scenes of nature?s beauty, much of it shot by the featured athletes themselves while on an expedition.

The campaign?s name refers to The North Face?s philosophy of questioning boundaries and limits and always pushing them beyond what is expected.

The brand has enlisted Xavier De La Rue, Emily Harrington, Alex Honnold and Renan Ozturk to be featured in the main campaign. Additionally, digital shorts will periodically released on social media, featuring other athletes such as the aforementioned Mr. Ozturk and Alex Honnold as well as Angel Collinson.

The digital shorts will be directed by renowned skateboarder and filmmaker Stacy Peralta. The shorts, as well as the main campaign itself, will launch and be hosted on the brand?s Facebook page first, spreading to other social media channels later.

Continuing the theme of questioning and pushing past boundaries in the world, The North Face is encouraging users to share their own stories of pushing past boundaries both physical, cultural and emotional on social media with the promoted hashtag #QuestionMadness.

Urban exploration
The new flagship store represents a push for The North Face to expand beyond rural and suburban areas and into urban areas. The North Face cites a 2010 US Census that says 80 percent of Americans live in urban areas.

Urban areas also tend to have the highest concentration of digital and mobile users, meaning that a push into urban areas physically means an accompanying push into the world of mobile to keep up with the shopping habits of its consumers.

Urban residents, especially those who shop on Fifth Avenue, also tend to have a higher disposable income, meriting a high investment video campaign with A-list athletes and exotic locales.

The North Face is leveraging mobile video as well as the power of social media to bridge the gap between its physical retail locations and digital audience to target and accommodate urban consumers.