Behind The Guide
The People Behind the Pursuit
Split Reed’s “Behind the Guide” is an editorial series, in partnership with Browning, that serves to highlight the gritty, hard-working nature of the guides who’ve dedicated their lives to the pursuit of waterfowl.
Strategy
Letting the Work Speak
Oftentimes overlooked, guides are the ones who spend every day of their season studying the nature of waterfowl and approaching each hunt with the conviction of a military officer. With Behind the Guide, our goal was to cut the fluff and showcase what it’s like to be a true, hardcore, waterfowl guide and their Browning shotgun.
The way we approach this is by leveraging this series in a way that accurately depicts the work these guides put into their pursuit, while also showcasing their Browning shotguns as a centerpiece and crucial tool that can keep up with the worst of the worst conditions.
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Media Execution
Authenticity Above All
When putting together the ‘Behind the Guide’ activations, we keep one word at the top of mind: authenticity. We search for those who are all business, and get in the hole with them.
While balancing their busy schedule, our team is able to spend a few days with each of our subjects, capturing what they do, and how they do it.
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Letting the Words Lead
With these activations, we go back to basics and take an editorial-first approach. By releasing the content to be read on splitreed.com, we provide our audiences a chance to truly engage with the words of these guides, just as they said them. From there, we release a string of photo and video content on social media to support the editorial piece and reach different audiences across different networks.
We make sure this content walks the line of being highly curated and offering a premium feeling, while not loosing it’s sense of authenticity. From there, the last step is to release a Custom newsletter featuring a curated synopsis of the activation + a link to read it, to our subscribers, thus drawing a third line of attention to the editorial feature.
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Key Takeaways
Speaking to the core audience
This series is a pointed approach, aimed at reaching those who need proof before investing their money into a product. By acting as a living testimonial, the ‘Behind the Guide’ series showcases Browning as more than just a firearm, but an extension of the guiding experience.
No spokespeople, just real people
This series aligns with Browning’s mission to provide a quality shotgun to true American hunters. By showcasing the product in the hands of guides with backed reputations, there's a name to each face shown, with their connection to the sport and industry on full display.
A mix of old and new
This series approaches its messaging with a respect for traditional editorial, with a custom content x social media spin. This approach not only serves this content to a myriad of different audiences and demographics, but lives in perpetuity on Split Reed’s digital mag for anyone to read, even well after the initial activation has gone live.
Partner Integration
Browning has been the presenting partner of the Behind the Guide Series since it kicked off in 2024, and plays a large role in shaping it from the beginning.
For our subjects, we seek out guides who have been shooting Browning for multiple seasons and can truly speak to their experience with these shotguns while in the field. Additionally, as partner, Browning receives a batch of all content from our shoots, and is included on all posting and messaging as each activation goes live.
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