What a National Parks Trip Taught Me About Purpose-Driven Brands
Updated: Aug 4
In June 2026, I spent six days on an *Intrepid Travel Active-ism trip through Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons. This trip was built around protecting public lands. The lesson for marketers is simple: a brand lives its values when it permeates its products and experiences
I joined our client Intrepid Travel to experience the kind of trip—and brand—we pitch to the media every day. We help brands tell their stories, sell their products, and elevate their leaders. Yet, we don’t always get to experience these brands firsthand. With purpose-driven brands, it can be hard to articulate fully without a firsthand experience. So, I jumped at the chance to see what it looks like when a company has built its entire business model around its purpose: to create positive change through the joy of travel.
I'm happy to share some of what I experienced, what I took from it, and the one question I keep coming back to.
What are Intrepid's Active-ism Trips?
Active-ism is a range of small-group trips Intrepid Travel launched in June 2025. These trips are for travelers who want to help protect America's national parks during a time of funding cuts and staff shortages. Each trip is led by a local Intrepid guide and hosted by a changemaker who leads activist discussions on the ground. The six-day Yellowstone & Grand Tetons trip I joined was hosted by environmental author Leah Thomas, who coined the term "intersectional environmentalism" and is a TIME100 Creators 2026 honoree.
I grew up visiting national parks. I can't imagine them not being protected and accessible for future generations. So, I was eager to spend a week with people who share that view.
Why National Park Funding Matters Right Now
This backdrop makes the trip more than just a hike. The National Park Service has lost roughly 25% of its permanent workforce since January 2025. The FY2026 budget request proposed cutting NPS funding by about 40%, the largest cut in the agency's 109-year history. Congress rejected it and held operations funding roughly flat at $2.88 billion (source: NPCA). At a time when the future of these treasured places is genuinely uncertain, a hike stops being recreation and starts being a record.
Hitting the Trail: What the Trip Was Actually Like
At our welcome dinner in Jackson Hole, the conversation flowed like a warm ice-breaker. We shared professions, hometowns, parks we’d visited, and, of course, favorite movies, shows, and books. This turned out to be a very well-read group. Book talk turned topical fast. Recommendations for Cultish and An Immense World spun into conversations about toxic masculinity, the political landscape, and why each of us had come on the trip.
The next day, we hiked around Jenny Lake and the Moose Ponds Trail (we saw moose!) to Hidden Falls. We also visited the homesteads on Mormon Row. We talked about the 4th of July and America 250. I was reminded that marking a milestone like that isn't about celebrating the current institution; it's about honoring all that came before it.
On the scenic drive through the Tetons to Yellowstone, more books went on my list: Braiding Sweetgrass and Once There Were Wolves. We hiked from Artist Point to the Brink of the Lower Falls at the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, covering more ground than I expected. But there were marmots, waterfalls, and rainbows, so the trek was worth it.
A Birthday at Grand Prismatic Spring
My personal highlight was a birthday morning at Old Faithful and Grand Prismatic Spring—specifically the upper viewpoint. When I visited Yellowstone in 2021, that trail was closed because of a bear, and I never got to see the icon from above. I mentioned it to our Intrepid guide early in the week, and they quietly carved out time for an optional hike to the top. It did not disappoint. A good way to mark another trip around the sun, standing over one of nature's marvels.
On our final morning, we went out with a naturalist guide.
The conservation story wasn't a talk we sat through; it was woven into the search itself as we tracked the Wapiti Lake wolf pack, one of Yellowstone's notable packs. The early start paid off with multiple pup and adult sightings. Even at a distance through a high-powered scope, seeing wolves in the wild for the first time is a hard feeling to shake.
The day kept delivering: eight bears before lunch, peregrine falcon chicks, sandhill cranes, deer, bighorn sheep, and bison. No wolverine— even our guide hasn't seen one—so I'll save that for next time.
What Purpose-Driven Brands Do Differently
On one drive, the group got stuck on a real question: how do you get people who love Yellowstone to care about the smaller parks and historic sites too? We didn't solve it, but the conversation reminded me that if our group was talking about it, other people were too. The job is to find those voices and make them louder together.
That instinct—building experiences that go beyond the trip itself—is what made Intrepid a purpose-driven company in the first place. What struck me was how little the purpose was discussed. It just was. The commitment showed up in the choices: a specific cause instead of a vague one, an expert host instead of a brochure, a morning tracking a wolf pack instead of reading about conservation.
The market rewards this. Roughly 78% of consumers say they prefer purpose-driven brands, and 82% want a brand's values to align with their own (source: MarketingDive). Purpose-driven brands also grow about twice as fast as those without a clear purpose. But those numbers only pay out when the purpose is real enough to experience.
3 Takeaways for Marketing a Purpose-Driven Brand
This trip showed me what it looks like when a brand truly lives its purpose. The three lessons I came away with are:
A specific, values-aligned cause beats a generic one. "Help protect the parks as funding is cut" is more meaningful and actionable than "we care about the planet."
Let people experience the value, not just hear about it. Participation and an experience change someone in a way a message never will.
Quiet purpose is the most convincing. On this trip, the mission was barely discussed; it just showed up in the choices: an expert host instead of a brochure, a wolf trek instead of a talk.
While you don't need a national park trip to take these lessons to heart, I highly recommend it. Time outdoors is good for your mind, your creativity, and your connection to nature and community.
The One Question Every Brand Should Ask
What the week left me with wasn't a values statement. It was a question for the brands I work with, and for our own Crafted team: “how can we, individuals, and brands, bring our purpose to life?"
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Intrepid's Active-ism range of trips?
Active-ism is a collection of small-group trips Intrepid Travel launched in June 2025 that pair adventure in U.S. national parks with activist-led discussion, designed to help travelers learn how to protect public lands. Trips cap at 11 travelers and are hosted by a guest changemaker alongside a local Intrepid guide.
Who hosts the Active-ism national park trips?
Each departure is co-led by a local Intrepid guide and a guest host known for environmental or public-lands advocacy. The June 2026 Yellowstone & Grand Tetons departure was hosted by environmental author Leah Thomas; other hosts have included climate educator Michael Mezzatesta and Wawa Gatheru.
What does it mean for a brand to be purpose-driven?
A purpose-driven brand organizes its business around a cause or belief beyond profit, and - crucially - lets customers experience that purpose through its products and choices rather than only stating it in marketing. Surveys find about 78% of consumers prefer purpose-driven brands and 82% want brand values that align with their own.
How can a brand authentically live its values?
Build the value into the experience, not the messaging. Choose a specific cause over a vague one, show it through concrete choices customers encounter, and let people participate. The test: if your website and social channels vanished, would anyone still feel what you stand for?
Why is U.S. national park funding under pressure in 2026?
The National Park Service has lost roughly 25% of its permanent workforce since January 2025, and the FY2026 budget request sought to cut NPS funding by about 40% before Congress rejected it and held operations funding near $2.88 billion. Smaller, lesser-known parks are hit hardest by understaffing.
