How the courageous campaign of the Canadian clothing brand Arc'teryx spotted in a warning story

The Bold Fireworks campaign of Canadian Outdoor Apparel Arc'teryx on the foothills of the Himalayas last Friday was intended to promote his dedication to nature. Within a few days, the fiery social media refunded about the risk that it was one of the world's most vulnerable ecosystems and led to a government research.

The bad public response and reports from the Bergteken brand and reports of remaining rubble over the mountain slopes that followed has further fueled the indignation and offered a warning story in brand marketing.

The organizers claimed that precautions were taken in the run -up to the “Rising Dragon” event, such as the use of biodegradable, environmentally friendly materials and moving animals in the neighborhood with salt stones and cleaning up residues after the event.

Nevertheless, critics warned that the campaign can cause permanent damage to the fragile Himalayas ecosystem, damage the glaciers and soil stability and disrupt the hibernation of wild animals. They also accused Arc'teryx of hypocrisy for acting against his environmentally conscious image and called for boycots.

“The entire fireworks stunt is against the goal of going hiking: nature, silence, rest, simplicity – no matter whether the material is environmentally friendly or not,” said Amber Wu, a marketing advisor for international brands in China.

Calvin Yeap, a Shanghai -based marketing professional for consumer brands, said: “Nobody could say that this stunt can be justified in any way for a brand that makes the money and reputation on nature.”

“The violation of trust [among consumers] is often more harmful than the incident itself and not easily forgotten, “Wu added, and noted that the core lovers, a core segment of consumers for Arc'teryx, can move to rivals such as Patagonia, which is seen as more consistent and authentic in his environmental obligations.

The Tibetan plateau and his mountains are sacred to Tibetan Buddists and are tightly controlled since China was annexed by China in the 1950s. Shigatse, the second largest city in Tibet, has a population of around 800,000, with Tibetans making around 90%.

In recent years, the region has become a popular tourist destination for travelers from other parts of China, cause environmental damage and overcommercialization.

The controversy has become in an emergency course in Public Relations, because professionals lifted their eyebrows about what the idea was by the company and the local authorities.

Many pointed to the disconnection between the worldwide and local team about brand strategy and messages.

In a statement on Sunday, Arc'teryx said that the event was 'in direct opposition to our dedication to outdoor spaces', while trying to distance themselves from the cooperating artist, Cai Guoqiang, and their local team in China. “We direct this directly with the local artist involved, our team in China, and will change the way we work to ensure that this no longer happens,” said it.

In a separate position in Chinese, however, Arc'teryx said that the art project was intended to increase the consciousness of local cultures at great heights, but the implementation “wandered and sometimes against that goal,” said CNBC's translation.

“It seemed that the global team was not fully aware of this project [while] The local team seemed to have had surgery without a deep, deep -rooted insight into the most important environmental earth of the brand, “said Wu, adding that the China team may have given priority to local trends above the broader brand vision of the company.

In the meantime, the Chinese -born visual artist Cai, who was born in 2008 with similar shows for the Beijing Olympic Games, apologized for his artwork and said that he and his studio “accept all criticism of humble” and that there was “a lot of supervision on our side”.

Public Relations specialist Ivy Yang pointed out that CAI apologized about the Chinese social media platforms of his studio, but not on his personal Instagram page in English.

“Cai's value for Arc'Teryx is his Blue-Chip credibility” with high-profile collaborations with big global brands … Arc'teryx helped him to realize a dream about a risky project, “Yang said, adding that” the same prestige that once helped to win core lovers can quickly run when the story. “

Although much of the fault and the artist fell, some claim that the local authorities also failed in his role as gatekeeper.

“What surprises me most is that the local authority has approved one of this nature, [which] leads me to question the details of the approval process “for events with potential environmental impact, said Echo Gong, an independent retail consultant established in Shanghai.” The supervisors [ought] To be one of the guards for the environment. “

An official at the Provincial Environment Agency told the local media on Saturday that the Arc'teryx event was received prior to approval and was compliant because the materials used were environmentally friendly.

Shortly after the return, however, the municipal government of Shigatse said on Sunday that they sent officials to the site to investigate whether environmental rules and regulations had been violated.

Despite the excuses, controversy continues to swarm as more video images appear, with fragments of copper, plastic packaging and unbranded gunpowder spread over the Himalaya slopes after the fireworks stunt, which activates a new wave of public criticism.

The Chinese state broadcaster CCTV broadcast a video on Monday with the Tibetan villagers climbing the mountain to clean up the rubble.

“You can't become more arrogant than this: you have ruined their habitat and they have to clean it up and live with the lasting consequences?” said Yaling Jiang, founder of consumer consultancy Aperturechina.

“The fireworks incident with Arc'teryx and Cai is not only a case of poor PR or infringement of the environment, but an important and valuable memory – especially for those who consider consumers for granted and do not adapt to these social and cultural changes in China,” Jiang noted.