Companies screw up… it happens. When you’re a successful company that sells your products worldwide, there are bound to be times when a defect makes it through the assembly line and in the hands of customers.

We all know this, and that’s why companies issue return policies.

However, in today’s world of social media, it is not enough for a marketer to just issue a return policy… at least not, unless you want to be a marketer who doesn’t engage in social media, using it to your advantage.

Recently, Jennifer Jensen, a Texas native, decided to take a trip to New Zealand. She planned to do some hiking and decided to buy a waterproof raincoat from North Face for the trip.

While out on a hike, it started to rain, and she found out within minutes that her raincoat was not waterproof as advertised.

Sharing her experience on TikTok, she admonished the company.

“I bought this ‘rain jacket’ a couple of days ago.” Jennifer said in the video, “…I’m 100% sure that it’s raining outside, and I’m soaking wet.”

She went on to say that she didn’t want a refund from North Face. Instead, she requested for the brand to “redesign this raincoat to make it waterproof and express deliver it up to the top of Hooker Valley Lake in New Zealand where I will be waiting.”

The video went viral, garnering over 11.6 million views and thousands of comments… but none from North Face.

What came next was an innovative response from the company.

North Face responded by shooting their own video.

Sharing the video response on their TikTok page, they filmed a staff member (Jossi Wells) retrieving a red jacket from a local store in New Zealand, boarding a helicopter, and delivering it to Jennifer on top of the mountain.

When they finally posted a comment, they wrote:

“We were busy express delivering Jenn her jacket at the top of the mountain. Thanks for the help, Jossi,” North Face posted.

Their post received over 4 million views and thousands of positive comments.

Even Jenn wrote, “You guys definitely came through for me. We’ll give the new jacket a shot on my next rainy-day hike.”

The whole affair has been deemed a clever marketing opportunity for the company that resulted in a stunt hailed as one of the best brand responses ever by industry experts.

Was it all planned? From the timely response and the fact that they were able to pinpoint her exact location on the mountain, it seems a little staged… Either way (planned or not), it was a brilliant way to engage on social media and promote the brand in an entertaining way.

It was entertaining and funny and showed that North Face cares about customers—In that way, it was a success.

As of this date, both videos combined have exceeded a staggering 16million views.

Click HERE to see Jennifer’s video.

Watch North Face’s amazing social media response click HERE.