YETI is known for its iconic coolers. The YETI GoBox line of uninsulated gear cases struggled with low awareness; customers assumed it was just another cooler. The GoBox product page on YETI.com was full of negative reviews written by customers who bought it to use as a cooler. We realized that even YETI fans didn't know what this product was or why they needed it. Our brief was to relaunch the GoBox line and the cargo category for YETI, raising awareness and educating customers on the use case of the product. With the Cargo category struggling, the launch budget was capped at 5k USD. We needed an innovative way to amplify the GoBox story and revive YETI's struggling cargo category.

Every year, thousands of people who live near State and National Parks post on the Craigslist Lost & Found social network for one reason - to report their lost outdoor gear. And most every post goes unanswered. So to breathe new life into this forgotten social sphere, we recruited some of the most recognized outdoor influencers and ambassadors to do what no one else was: respond to posts on Craigslist’s Lost & Found. Every single gear loser was met with a personalized message from an ambassador, along with replaced gear and a Gobox, so they’d never lose it again. Their video responses went viral and soon, hundreds of other outdoor enthusiasts were posting on Craigslist in hopes of receiving a YETI GoBox, so they too could keep their gear from getting lost.

To show the world our indestructible outdoor gear case, we decided to target the people who needed it most: those who had already experienced the pain of losing essential gear in the Wild. While most brands are posting to newer, busier social networks, we knew that Craiglist communities near national parks and outdoor hubs were where gear losers were turning to try and reunite with their items. In true Craigslist fashion, we personally responded to each post, offering to return the user's item and keep it safe forever in a GoBox. We then tapped our roster of outdoor Ambassadors, including Hall of Fame Angler Kevin VanDam and veteran climber Conrad Anker to personally curate and deliver replacement gear, getting our gear losers back into the Wild.

During the month leading up to the GoBox release, every single Craigslost Lost & Found post that was pinned near a State and National Park was met with a response. Dozens of recipients took the time to post a video on their social channels, personally thanking YETI while showing off their new GoBox and its features for the world to see. These videos created major buzz and had people flocking to Craigslist to see if they could win a GoBox. The campaign began simply with interactions confined to Craigslist’s social network, but soon organically poured into other social media outlets. Zero media was spent. Word caught on and soon the story was picked up by major media outlets.

Our GoBoxes sold out day one of the relaunch and became one of YETI’s top performing products in 2023, consistently beating all sales forecasts. More importantly, we were able to get people back in the Wild, this time with their essential gear safely secured in a YETI GoBox, making sure their time in the great outdoors could continue uninterrupted. We earned over 80 million media impressions, including articles in Forbes, AdAge, Adweek, Gear Patrol and Gear Junkie. Our humble activation led to 289% YOY increase in GoBox sales.