The End Of Traditional Marketing For The Outdoor Industry?

 

Last month, members of the UK's Outdoor Industry Association attended a workshop on social media at Lancaster University as part of the E-business and Innovation curriculum. The members were apparently astounded at how fast internet and social media are evolving and the opportunities and challenges that presents for outdoor businesses. 

Social media is about building relationships with customers and finding out what is being said about your brand on the Internet. It is not enough to set up a blog, Facebook fan page, post some videos to YouTube and wait for the community to develop. Brands must also contribute and monitor the conversation. 

Social media involves customer engagement and has the potential for customer contribution to innovation. Consumers searching for a specific brand or product are increasingly likely to see and be influenced by results from blogs and Twitter than they are from the official brand pages. 

I think Patagonia and First Ascent are two companies in particular that understand how to use social media and have built up some great communities. With some of the other outdoor brands I feel like I am simply on the receiving end of a big promotional funnel. How about you- which outdoor brands do you feel more engaged with? Why?

Channel Signal, run by industry veteran Paul Kirwin (a guy who really gets it), will have monitors at Outdoor Retailer displaying a live Twitter feed of #ORWinter and are encouraging everyone to tweet their honest perceptions throughout the day. There is even a "guerrilla panel" that has popped up consisting of group of outdoor industry people that are engaged heavily in social networks. 

OK- I promise tomorrow is back to cool new gear coming out of the show! Follow @theGearcaster on Twitter if you want to get live updates on what I am seeing or who I have met. 

Comments

[Josh Turner]

I think this applies to nearly every industry these days. However, I think "The End of Traditional Marketing..." is a bit strong. Companies need to give social media and online presence equal footing with traditional avenues.

[William Roth]

I feel like moosejaw is doing a really good job using social media. They do a lot of promotional giveaways that get their base riled up, but they also keep to their brand message (which is apparently 'Love The Madness') with lots of fun tweets, posts, and questions. I would love to see more specific examples of how outdoor industry communities are forming, and what they are doing as a community.

[Amy Jurries]

Hi William- yes I agree Moosejaw does a great job and Backcountry does too I think. Chaco and Keen both did really well with social media during OR as well- they held numerous contests, posted photos and updates of the happenings at their booths, etc. I know you found the guerilla panel already but for those who haven't yet, check it out: http://j.mp/6BsuWe

And Josh- yep maybe The End was a bit strong. But as you said, companies need to start giving it some real focus.