Patagonia’s Storytelling Strategy

Consider how the backstory of the outdoor-wear company Patagonia has shaped the company’s purpose, vision, and strategy for four decades.

Patagonia was founded by a group of surfers and climbers who cared deeply about the environment. Their backstory influences day-to-day business decisions.

Every part of Patagonia’s business strategy must support their purpose, which is to “Build the best product, cause no unnecessary harm, [and] use business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis.”

The company’s identity affects its operations, culture, and ultimately its legacy.

That alignment of strategy and values played out in a very practical way during the Black Friday marketing frenzy in 2011, when Patagonia launched the “Don’t Buy This Jacket” campaign in The New York Times.

Here’s part of the message the company communicated to customers in that advert:

Because Patagonia wants to be in business for a good long time—and leave a world inhabitable for our kids—we want to do the opposite of every other business today. We ask you to buy less and to reflect before you spend a dime on this jacket or anything else.