Columbia Hike Society | Dirtbags
Brief
Now in its fifth year, the Columbia Hike Society had built something real: one of the UK’s most recognisable free outdoor communities, introducing thousands of people to the trails and quietly dismantling the idea that the outdoors is only for a certain type of person. The brief for the 2026 season was straightforward in theory and harder to pull off in practice: kick off a programme of 30 free guided hikes with an authentic community experience in the heart of London. Something that felt genuinely earned rather than staged, and that could carry the season’s momentum from day one.
The idea
Brandnation brought its Creativity Multiplied approach to the campaign, pulling together PR, social, influencer and live experience into a single coherent moment rather than a set of disconnected tactics. The result was Dirtbags, a pop-up laundrette activation outside the Barbican in central London, designed to turn kit preparation into a community occasion.
The concept was simple and slightly brilliant. Hikers were invited to bring their well-worn gear in for a refresh before the season got underway, with cleaning stations, expert repair services and personalisation and customisation opportunities filling the space. Kit that’s seen some miles is kit that’s been used, and Dirtbags celebrated that rather than glossing over it.
From there, the live experience became the content. Creators, press and brand guests joined community members for a guided hike that moved through the city, cut into green space, and ended somewhere no one was in a rush to leave. People who had arrived solo, open and curious. No panels, no forced networking, no overproduction. Just the right conditions, with cameras rolling.
The outcome spoke for itself. Strangers became familiar quickly. People arrived alone and left with plans. The energy carried all the way through, and the social and earned media coverage that followed reflected something that had actually happened rather than something that had been arranged to look like it did.
As a Columbia Hike Society spokesperson put it, the event was about “getting your kit ready, meeting your community and getting out there” at a moment when far too many of us are feeling chronically online. Attention is easy to fake. Connection isn’t. Every channel Brandnation activated around Dirtbags pointed back to that truth.
The wider 2026 programme builds on the same foundation, with 30 guided hikes running nationwide across urban green spaces and more remote landscapes, giving people at every level a way in.
The results
- Hero coverage: Targeted Gen Z coverage included TimeOut, Huck and Proper Mag.
- Equivalent media value: £83,000
- Social engagement: 12,000+
- Content views: 400,000+
