Rip Curl found that surfers cared more for upskilling and competition than any of the data points Search GPS watches collected. With masses of data gathered through watches around the world, they wanted to find a creative way to integrate these data streams into a singular rewarding experience for their loyal community.

As a result, Rip Curl organized the Virtual Pro, a global surf competition that leveraged the countless data points and streamlined them into a global leaderboard, seeing surfers compete from anywhere and everywhere with no more effort than what they were already doing.

Despite being the fastest growing sport in the world, the unfortunate culture of ‘surfing localism’ is seeing communities becoming increasingly elitist, making them harder for amateurs to break into.

Even for a brand founded by surfers like Rip Curl, it’s hard to connect with a counterculture that’s driven to break down these ‘community walls’. Those very nuances are what shaped the mechanics of The Virtual Pro:

1. Turning ‘locals only’ into an ‘open community’: territorial at the best of times, surfers stick to the breaks they know best. So while the competition was global, you only needed to surf locally to challenge the rest of the world.

2. No kooks: surfing is hard to break into as a beginner (aka. ‘kook’). But Virtual Pro was open to anyone with a Search GPS watch, no matter their experience.

3. Share the surf: The Virtual Pro didn’t share people’s treasured secret spots, but did share the stats surfers care about. Rip Curl ensured all the data was easily compiled and enabled to be shared to the surfing community in a way that allowed them to keep their privacy.

4. Comp jitters: When knowing they’re competing, amateurs are the first to drop out. So with a competition done completely in arrears, it’s no pressure and all glory.

Rip Curl’s Search GPS watch has been around for over a decade. But with other brands constantly rolling out new technology to help surfers track their stats, “Search” owners were leaving the brand behind for gnarlier competitors. Rip Curl saw the plethora of data they’ve collected as an opportunity to reward loyal surfers who have stuck around, while giving everyone else a reason to come back and potentially even switch to the brand.

With the same data users had consented for collection; The Virtual Pro was born. The world’s first digital global surf comp - that you didn’t know you were a part of. The campaign united local surfers globally, gained widespread talk-ability and earned media attention while proving that when it comes to wearable surf tech, Rip Curl is still ahead of the game.

The ‘Rip Curl: Virtual Pro’, is the first global surf comp that uses data to allow individuals to compete like the pros.

The Virtual Pro was powered through the watch itself and we took the retroactive data that surfers didn’t used to care about and surprised loyalists with an announcement, a leaderboard and their scores - letting them know for the first time they were in competition.

The Virtual Pro ignited a frenzy that saw competitors return to the waves with their watch to boost their score, ignite friendly rivalries with global adversaries; and was such a success it is now a fixture on the competition calendar.

Despite being a popular subculture with millions of participants, surfing is predominantly a solo sport. Sure, you’ve got a few others out on the waves with you, but when you hit a barrel, or make a turn you’re completely alone. Unlike other sports, you’re not going up against anyone. The individual nature of the sport is what makes it hard to track your personal performance.

But Rip Curl’s Search GPS tracks surf data like nothing else on the planet. Every data point the watch collects is your own personal indication into your ability as a surfer.

The idea of the Virtual Pro was born from this insight. The tech not only enabled surfers to compete digitally through their watch, The Virtual Pro also allowed them to assess their ability and compare it with a global surfing community all without ever leaving their local break.

Everyone who was already tracking their data with a Search-GPS watch was entered in the Virtual Pro.

Over a 10-day window (the span of a traditional surf comp) we analyzed and tracked users’ surfing data, including distance paddled, wave speed and wavelength. Using that data, we created a unique scoring algorithm that rated surfers and placed them on a global leaderboard.

Each surfer was surprised with bespoke data animation which visualized their best surf - letting them know for the first time they were competing. Those videos then became social posts creating a digital battlefield where entrants compared their surfs and scores. Rip Curl’s athletes promoted the comp through their channels as competitors, allowing amateurs to compete with them too.

The winner was announced live on Sunrise (an Australian breakfast TV news show), winning an all-inclusive trip to Fiji with 4 of their mates and a stable of Rip Curl pros.

The Virtual Pro gave Rip Curl’s Search GPS watch an entirely new dimension, both increasing value for existing owners while giving surfers without one a big reason to purchase; cementing Rip Curl at the forefront of surfing culture and ingenuity.

From a tiny $50k media spend, the campaign received over 2-million in earned media and reached over 14-million people globally, including segments in national and international press (like Australia’s SunriseTV as well regular segments in internationally renowned surf mag ‘STAB’).

After the competition, Rip Curl saw a 38% rise in active users of the Search GPS device regularly and 16% increase in search GPS Watch sales.

Not only did Rip Curl brand love spike higher than it’s been in the past 10 years, The Virtual Pro has now become an annual fixture on the WSL (World Surfing League) global surfing calendar, alongside the iconic Pipeline and Bells Beach competitions.