REI’s Brand Misstep: Why Their Endorsement of Doug Burgum is a Marketing Disaster

REI Flagship Store in Denver, Colorado. Source: wenk associates

February 12, 2025

As an avid outdoors person and someone who calls Glacier National Park home, my relationship with brands that support and protect public lands is personal. When I buy gear, I’m not just looking for quality; I’m looking for alignment with my values. That’s why I, like many others, have long seen REI as more than just a retailer—it has been a brand that stood for something bigger: environmental stewardship, community, and the preservation of the places we love.

But REI’s recent decision to endorse North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum for U.S. Secretary of the Interior is a brand move that feels completely out of step with what their customers expect. And worse? It’s happening at a time when REI is already struggling to stay afloat financially. This isn’t just about politics. This is about brand positioning, marketing missteps, and the real-world consequences of a company making a move that alienates its most loyal customers.

The Power of Brand in the Outdoor Industry

Photo by Claire Oswald | @claireoelizabeth

The outdoor industry isn’t just about selling products; it’s about selling a lifestyle, a belief system, and a connection to nature. The most successful outdoor brands—Patagonia, The North Face, Arc’teryx—understand that their customers aren’t just buying jackets and hiking boots; they’re buying into a company’s ethos. This is why outdoor brands often take strong environmental and advocacy stances—they know that protecting public lands directly impacts their customers’ ability to engage with the outdoors.

For decades, REI has positioned itself as the co-op that does things differently. Their #OptOutside campaign wasn’t just a marketing play; it was a statement that resonated with millions. Their support of conservation initiatives and public lands advocacy made customers feel good about where they spent their money.

And now? That credibility is being questioned.

Why REI’s Endorsement of Doug Burgum is a Problem

Photo by @reiunion

REI’s decision to sign a letter supporting Burgum’s nomination for Interior Secretary—alongside other outdoor industry organizations—has sparked immediate backlash from many of its members and customers. Burgum, while an advocate for outdoor recreation, comes from an energy-driven state with policies that lean heavily on fossil fuel development. For many outdoor enthusiasts, any hint of support for policies that could expand drilling or weaken public land protections is a red flag.

While REI’s leadership may see this as an attempt to engage in policy discussions that impact the industry, the reality is that their core customer base doesn’t want their beloved co-op aligning with anyone who could compromise public lands. And for those of us who live in places like Glacier National Park, we see firsthand what happens when corporate interests and politics mix with conservation.

The Financial Context: A Desperate Brand Play?

This decision also comes at a precarious time for REI. The company has been struggling financially, missing revenue targets, laying off employees, and even shutting down divisions. In January 2025, REI announced the closure of its “Experiences” division—laying off over 400 employees. A year prior, the company laid off 300 more workers due to a massive $311 million loss.

With financial troubles mounting, it’s hard not to view this endorsement as a desperate attempt to gain favor in government circles, perhaps with the hope of securing policy wins or economic benefits. But here’s the issue: When a brand starts prioritizing short-term financial or political gains over long-term brand integrity, they lose customer trust.

Brand Equity is Hard to Build—And Easy to Lose

REI has spent decades building its brand equity as a leader in the outdoor space. Customers trust them not just because they sell good products, but because they have taken bold stances on environmental issues. This trust has led to incredible brand loyalty, with people choosing to shop at REI over competitors because they believed in the mission.

But trust is fragile.

Once a brand makes a move that contradicts its perceived values, customer loyalty erodes quickly. We’ve seen it before—companies that miscalculate their audience’s values often face significant backlash, leading to boycotts, lost revenue, and reputational damage.

For many longtime REI customers, this endorsement feels like a betrayal of the environmental commitments they’ve supported through their purchases. And in the social media age, backlash spreads fast. Videos of customers returning REI gear in protest have already started circulating. Twitter threads are calling out the hypocrisy. And the narrative is quickly shifting from “REI is a brand that stands for public lands” to “REI is selling out.”

The Fallout: What Happens Next?

If REI doesn’t address this issue head-on, they risk alienating their most engaged customers—the ones who go out of their way to support the co-op. The ones who pay for memberships. The ones who have defended REI against big-box retailers and cheap online competitors.

REI’s leadership needs to take a step back and ask: What do we actually stand for? Because if the answer isn’t a clear, resounding commitment to public lands and conservation, they’re going to continue losing customer trust.

For customers like me, who live in places where public land policies have real consequences, this isn’t just about brand perception. It’s about the future of the places we love. And if REI no longer stands firmly on the side of protecting those places, then why should we stand with them?

Final Thoughts

Image by Claire Oswald | @claireoelizabeth

REI made a brand play with this endorsement. Whether they intended it to be political or not, it is. And whether they intended it to have repercussions or not, it will.

Outdoor brands don’t just sell products; they sell trust. And once that trust is gone, it’s nearly impossible to get back.

For me, and for many others, REI is no longer the brand we thought it was. And that’s a real loss—not just for them, but for everyone who believes that the outdoor industry should be a leader in conservation, not a participant in its potential destruction.