The North Face has appointed SAMY to lead its influencer management strategy and execution as the outdoor brand increases its investment in creator-led marketing and culturally relevant storytelling.
The remit builds on a partnership that saw SAMY refresh The North Face’s social media strategy in December 2024. As The North Face’s social agency of record, SAMY’s expanded remit now includes leading the brand’s European influencer strategy and execution, uniting social and influencer activity under one agency partner, with a focus on the UK, Germany, France and Italy.
As The North Face continues to invest in social and digital channels, creator partnerships are playing an increasingly important role in how the brand brings its ‘Never Stop Exploring’ story to life across different markets. SAMY will help the brand build more authentic relationships with audiences through athletes, creators and everyday adventurers, while ensuring campaigns remain locally relevant and globally consistent.
SAMY will combine its global network with proprietary AI-powered technology to identify the right creator partnerships for each market. Using its Maia platform and Global Discovery Network, the agency will draw on millions of creator profiles, audience signals and performance data to match talent with campaigns, alongside human editorial judgement to ensure every partnership aligns with The North Face’s brand and values.
As well as creator identification and management, SAMY will provide local cultural intelligence to inform campaign planning, content development and talent activation. The agency will also develop governance frameworks and measurement models needed to evaluate performance consistently across markets, using Maia to track results on an ongoing monthly basis.
Paul Hickey, managing director at SAMY UK, said:
“We’ve worked with The North Face for nearly a decade, and this appointment extends our partnership into influencer strategy and execution.
“As the brand’s social agency of record, we already understand its audience, values and ambitions, and this appointment reflects both the strength of the relationship we’ve built and The North Face’s confidence in our integrated approach to social and influencer marketing.
“Being appointed to lead The North Face’s influencer management strategy across Europe reflects the strength of the relationship we’ve already built with the brand and the confidence they’ve placed in our approach.
“We know that the best influencer programmes don’t simply identify creators with reach or engagement; they identify people with genuine credibility in the communities that matter most to a brand. For a business like The North Face, that means balancing global consistency with local cultural understanding across a series of audiences that live and breathe the brand in different ways.
“Our role is to bring that local expertise into European markets, helping The North Face build meaningful, long-term creator relationships that feel authentic because they’re rooted in the communities they’re designed to reach.”
Stephanie Zogg, senior manager, brand communications EMEA at The North Face, acrescentou:
“The North Face has always told its story through the people who live it. As creator partnerships become an increasingly important part of how we engage our communities, we wanted a partner that combines strategic thinking with the local insight needed to make those relationships meaningful.
“SAMY gives us the intelligence, technology and market expertise to build creator partnerships that are relevant to local audiences while staying true to our global brand.”
