Working with rygr, Primus has pursued a media campaign since 2018 that has centered on the deep connections we build over food. Following the launch of its successful series of Campfire Cookoff benefits at the Outdoor Retailer tradeshow, rygr extended the platform to include fresh, curbside breakfast burrito drops for the teams at Outside Magazine, Gear Patrol and The Daily, a media dinner tour collaboration with Happier Camper, and live cooking at the Gear Junkie studio.

These early activations led to a groundswell of momentum for the brand, highlighted by Gear Junkie’s Gear of the Year award and a Best Gear of the Show nod from Gear Patrol, as well as the no. 1 selection in The Voice 50 collection of the year’s best gear.

When Covid-19 shut down media events and travel, our team came together to conceptualize the next evolution of Primus and the power of food. With Zoom fatigue persistent after months of remote working, we understood that any successful virtual event must deliver a great deal of value to the participants. To honor this, rygr developed a series of engaging, custom cooking classes with Primus chef Adam Dulye, during which journalists, brand staff and rygr team members prepared dishes tailored to the attending media.

Over the course of 12 months, we hosted editors and contributors from titles across Primus’ outdoor, travel and lifestyle targets, including dwell, Men’s Journal, Sunset, Expedition Portal, SKI, Gear Junkie, and Backpacker. While these activations were geared more toward relationship-building and, frankly, finding an opportunity to derive joy in our work in the depths of the pandemic, we have also seen coverage among these titles, including a Gear Junkie writeup on camp cocktails and a product inclusion in Sunset’s camping issue.

Shared experiences over food have the ability to connect us in unique, deeply meaningful ways, even when we can’t gather in-person. This is a face we will continue to explore with Primus and other rygr clients moving forward.