Trail Tested
College Marketing Co. has provided brand activation and product sampling support for Merrell outdoor footwear, built around hiking events, trail activations, and direct engagement with outdoor enthusiasts. The Trail Tested campaign has centered on the Denver, Colorado market, a natural fit for a brand built around trail and hiking performance. Across the partnership, College Marketing Co. has supported more than 25 events and over 50 trail activations for Merrell, putting product directly in front of the outdoor community through hands on demonstrations and sampling. Those efforts have driven more than 10,000 product trials and over 100,000 brand engagements. Denver's access to nearby trailheads, foothills, and a large outdoor recreation community makes it a proving ground for footwear activations, letting Merrell reach hikers and trail runners where they already gather rather than relying on in-store sampling alone. College Marketing Co.'s staffing approach for the program has emphasized brand ambassadors comfortable operating in outdoor, trail adjacent settings and able to speak knowledgeably about footwear performance in the field. The Merrell partnership reflects College Marketing Co.'s broader capability in outdoor and sports brand activation: pairing product sampling with the kind of trail and event based engagement that resonates with an outdoor focused audience, sustained across dozens of activations in the Denver market.
Campus & Student Marketing
Outdoor & Sports
2024