We could have hired celebrity moms to push product. Instead, we searched for something unexpected. Putting Sharpie Extreme to the test. If the claim was that it was fade-resistant in the most extreme weather conditions, we needed to prove it.

We partnered with Masha Gordon, a mother-of-two who was gunning to break the world record for Explorers Grand Slam – climbing the highest peak on every continent and skiing to both Poles. Masha was our perfect storm; a daring mom, fresh face for media, and about to climb Mt. Denali, where extreme weather conditions would allow us to showcase product performance.

We had her children write inspirational messages on her gear in Sharpie Extreme so regardless of the conditions she would face, their messages would never fade. When she felt as though she was ready to give up, it was her children’s messages written in Sharpie Extreme that kept her going.

Masha’s entire journey was captured on film. Footage of her children writing on her gear before she left, her trek through Denali’s Death Valley, evenings in her tent waiting for dangerous white-outs to subside, and of course, when she reached the summit. Consumers were right in the action and able to see the extreme conditions she faced in real time across both Masha and Sharpie’s various social channels. She became the face of Sharpie’s social channels and inspiration for other online influencers.

We had approximately 30 days between the beginning and end of Masha’s journey to create two short-form videos that told her story. We fed the videos and exclusive interviews to national lifestyle and outdoor adventure media. Masha conveyed, that while she relied on a lot of gear for survival, it was ultimately the fade-resistant messages written by her children in Sharpie Extreme that carried her up the mountain.

Tier 1: Over the course of the entire campaign:

Sharpie Extreme was covered nearly 1,500 times by media outlets across the county.

The team secured 230+ million impressions in key lifestyle and outdoor adventure publications.

92% of all media coverage included functional product messaging.

Tier 2: Generated more than 129K unique video views, an all-time high

Results in 3X as many views as the brand usually receives on average.

Tier 3: Sales increased by 12.3% during the campaign period in 2016 (April through December) when compared with the previous year.

This campaign proves the power of strategic storytelling. We transformed an everyday marker into inspirational motivation that propelled our spokesperson to summit the highest peak in North America, Denali, on her way to completing the world record for the Explorers Grand Slam. An endurance challenge completed by less than 50 people worldwide. A story that landed Sharpie Extreme into top-tier lifestyle and outdoor adventure media for the first time.

Our strategy went beyond a daring product demonstration. It was placing the product in extreme conditions in a way that was natural, meaningful, AND would result in captivating digital content and news.

Rather than just telling media and consumers about the product’s ability to withstand extreme weather conditions, like harsh UV rays, rain and snow, we showed it in the boldest way possible. The Denali summit is 20,310ft above sea level, the closest point to the sun in North America, reaches temperatures of -40*F, and has unpredictable rain and snow.

And while it would have been easy to elevate Masha to a “superhuman” level, we focused on her being a mother and wife. So despite her daring climbs, she was still relatable to Sharpie’s target.

We tapped Masha’s greatest source of inspiration, her children, to write the messages on her gear, adding another emotional and relatable layer to the story.

Situation: Sharpie. An iconic brand and product found in 90% of American’s homes. A product that Business Insider named perfectly designed. So flawlessly created that there was no need for modifications. Yet Sharpie thought otherwise. Daring to go beyond perfection, the brand launched a new product, Sharpie Extreme, a marker designed to be fade-resistant and super-permanent when exposed to extreme weather conditions. The brand that defines the permanent marker category, was ready to boldly claim that status-quo permanence was not enough, and deliver on a promise that words written in Sharpie leave an indelible mark no matter what.

Brief: Generate consumer engagement and media coverage that challenges consumer perception about what it really means to write in Sharpie, taking the idea of extreme permanence to the next level.

Objective: Position Sharpie Extreme markers as boldly permanent and remarkably resilient, with the ability to resist fading on any surface or conditions.