Patagonia & Instagram

Patagonia is very unique in the way that it uses its Instagram platform not only to promote its products, but to also spread awareness about social and political issues. Patagonia is well known for their environmental conservation efforts. Following with this mindset, the company promotes a brand culture in which they would rather repair old Patagonia attire than sell a customer new products.

Having established itself as an environmental company, it is clear to see why they take such great stands against anti-conservation efforts, such as the Line 5 Pipeline and the Trans-Pecos Pipeline. In order to promote their agenda, they post pictures with bold, white letters across the image very clearly describing what their message is. It is in this clear, defined language that followers and viewers are able to fully understand what they are promoting. In the comment section of the image, they post additional information about the cause and tell the viewer that more information is found in Patagonia’s Instagram bio.

In addition to standing up for certain causes, Patagonia ensures that they are also active in promoting their political agenda. Numerous Instagram posts feature the same black-and-white images with bold, white letters across the image telling their followers to go vote. In one specific post, they tell California to “vote yes on the plastic bag ban.” When the presidential election results were finalized, they began to post more quotes with the same black-and-white background. These quotes emphasized the importance of preserving the environment for generations to come. There is no doubt that Patagonia was disappointed in America’s choice of a president, as it has become evident that Trump will decrease environmental regulation spending.

Not many companies openly confess their political affiliation. However, Patagonia’s follower-base does not seem to mind that it is such an opinionated company. Patagonia has over 2.2 million followers, and counting. The company does an exceptional job of balancing visually appealing lifestyle images with social and political content. Patagonia is one of the few companies that can pull off such a feat. 

Camelbak & Instagram

With many familiar with Camelbak’s unique water packs and bite values, there is no question as to why they have close to 45K followers on Instagram. Unlike many consumer product brand’s Instagram pages, Camelbak focuses on providing consumers with the content that best appeals to them. Based on their general posts, it is clear to see who their target audience is - young, active adults who are ready for the next great adventure.

One of the most noteworthy things about Camelbak’s Instagram platform is that they do not blatantly promote their products to their followers. Instead, Camelbak’s Instagram posts consist of breathtaking images from around the world, images from their consumers finishing races, and the occasional repost from their fan-base. By interacting with their consumers and reposting their images, they are actively engaging and creating a wonderful consumer-to-business relationship.

One of their most active Instagram campaigns involves “Pack Hacks” in which they repost images from their followers who use their products in unique and interesting ways.  One of the most recent “Pack Hacks” consists of a dog Halloween costume made up of black cut-out wings attached to a black Cambelbak water pack. Another featured a water pack containing a beer can and ice with the caption suggesting why they produce the packs with such large openings.

Overall, Camelbak has done an absolutely incredible job of promoting their products in a non-intrusive way on their Instagram platform. By providing consumers with content that interests them, they are promoting positive interaction between the brand and the customers. Many consumer product brands could stand to take a lesson from Camelbak.