Since 1969 Rip Curl has been creating innovative products to aid surfers in their search for the perfect wave. As a brand, they are synonymous with the sport. The insight that shaped this idea was that surfers spend most of their lives waiting for the planets to align, and when they do, the moment is over almost as soon as it began.
How could we change this, capturing the moment into a tangible, re-liveable and shareable thing that could live beyond the waves? And in doing so, revolutionise the way surfers interact with the ocean – while putting the brand firmly at the forefront of any social conversation about surfing. The Rip Curl Search platform delivered on all fronts. Launched on the arms of Pro Surfers at high-profile competitions, and to their mobile followers, it caught the imagination of the highly connected surf community instantly.
Pre-orders of the new GPS watch were sold out in the first week of launch. Millions of surfers around the world have started talking about the ability to finally track, monitor and learn how to improve their surfing performance, all of which leads to cementing Rip Curl as the number one surf brand on the planet.
We built a mobile and desktop App that syncs with the GPS Search watch, translating the raw data of time spent in water and speed and distance travelled into defined periods of paddling, waiting and surfing. This is instantly mapped out onto full colour maps, with tide and weather conditions automatically pulled in, for instant sharing with the global surfing community via cloud-based servers. All data recorded anywhere in the world is stored and displayed, creating a connected surfing community unified by their love of surfing and the desire to challenge themselves and their friends to go better next time.