A digital storytelling agency built from the ground up.

The Locals Project is a tight-knit group of photographers, filmmakers, and designers focused on producing authentic story-driven content in the outdoor/action sports industry. What started as a loose idea for a side project quickly developed into a full-fledged media agency—creating holistic campaigns for major brands including Backcountry.com, Black Diamond, Gregory Packs, Outside Magazine, and Brand USA. As one of the Co-Founders at The Locals Project, I took the reigns on everything from brand development, new business, client relations, to campaign design and implementation.

The Design Challenge

In today’s media-saturated landscape, there is an abundance of high-adrenaline, action-packed content surrounding the outdoor/action sports industry. Our challenge was to find a new angle in the space and create a compelling brand story that would not only differentiate us from what is expected, but also allow our team to receive support from reputable companies and media outlets. During the early stages of the project, our team had yet to produce any work together, so it was crucial to provide evidence behind the merit of our ideas. Without the funds to produce the media and the outlets to distribute the content, our idea was just that—an idea.

The Solution

Our solution was to focus in on the lifestyles of homegrown artists and athletes in some the most iconic outdoor communities around the world. We set out to find characters that were considered as local legends in their community, but largely unrecognized outside of their hometown. By pulling away from the action-packed imagery and focusing on story, we gave these characters a chance to share their unique perspective through our work. After developing the concept, we built a brand that was reflective of this idea and shared our vision with companies and media outlets through a well-crafted presentation deck. Our efforts allowed us to capture enough content to build a responsive website and package our stories into an immersive online experience.

The Results

We received solid traction from a range of well-respected outlets including Outside Magazine, Powder Magazine, Ski Utah, Freeskier Magazine, Teton Gravity Research, Unofficial Networks, The Ski Journal, and Open Snow. These media conglomerates were eager to share our compelling videos, intimate photography and humble stories of the unique and inspiring local characters. In a matter of months, we built our social media platforms from zero to a combined 15,000+ followers. Shortly after the project release, we gained enough momentum to justify leaving our day job’s to pursue the idea full time. One week after making the decision, we received a phone call from our first major client (Backcountry.com), asking us to deliver on a similar campaign with their name on it. 

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