CAMPAIGN STRATEGY | ART DIRECTION | COPYWRITING
Finisterre
Born in 2003 from the needs of hardy British surfers, Finisterre designs functional and sustainable product for those that share a love of the sea.
Finisterre wanted to run a Pride campaign that went beyond corporate ‘Rainbow washing.’ Recognising the Surf industry’s issues with toxic masculinity and the challenges faced by the LGBTQIA+ community, they aimed to celebrate the individuals breaking barriers and highlight how inclusivity benefits everyone.
Our Approach
After an introduction through Queer Surf Club (QSC), Distil collaborated with Finisterre and QSC to develop a campaign concept that challenged industry norms and championed diversity. The campaign was designed to make an impact across multiple touchpoints, including web, video, in-store signage and windows, community activations, social assets, and email broadcasts.
The Outcome
From simple idea to a wholesale marketplace, the end result was not just a brand and website, but a new business whose values place them firmly behind the independent retailers and creatives and ready to make their lives better.
Services provided: Research | Creative Workshops | Campaign Ideation | Creative Strategy & Direction | Community Engagement | Art Direction | Copywriting
A Simple Hook
Distil initiated several workshops with the Finisterre, conducted community research and consulted with key figures of the queer surf community before finally landing on ‘Only Love In The Lineup’ as the overarching campaign line which was accompanied by a brand statement of intent.
Engaging A Community
Queer Surf Club (QSC) is a global community of LGBTQIA+ surfers (and their allies) on a mission to make surfing more inclusive. We worked closely with Finisterre and QSC to ensure that the best possible representation was achieved in all campaign activations.
We created and facilitated a number of collaboration opportunities, making sure QSC participants were remunerated, and that careful communication between all parties maintained. This ensured the creative was genuine and built foundations for a long-standing collaborative relationship between the brand and the community group.
Authentic Story Telling
The campaign’s success hinged upon finding authentic ways to connect and support the LGBTQIA+ community within surf and blue spaces. This included launching a community census, creating an internal FAQ for Finisterre staff and an article on Queer allyship as well as curated creative writing from Queer Surf Club (QSC) members, and long-form editorials featuring the stories of QSC members.
All of these outputs were shared via a dedicated area of the Finisterre site and through various takeovers of their Sunday Broadcast email.
Pride T-Shirt Competition
Early on in the campaign, we launched a T-shirt competition with Finisterre to raise funds for QSC. The team and QSC community members were excited, however upon launch a number of pivots had to be made.
The Finisterre community responded negatively to the terms of the t-shirt competition. Finisterre and Distil worked with QSC to consult with the illustrator community and change direction, which received much positive feedback from both the illustrators and industry commentators.
The careful moderation and articulation of intent in the campaign creative was fully collaborative, and its genuine approach was equally well received by the LGBTQIA+ community. The final outcome was a commissioned piece by an LGBTQIA+ illustrator that is now available to buy online.
