Backcountry Marketing

When it comes to building your team who are you working with? Why would you choose an athlete over an influencer? When is an influencer better suited than an ambassador? Why have an ambassador team in 2021?   Maddie Duffy, the Marketing Manager, from Mystery Ranch dives into these questions and more. She explains why Mystery Ranch started an ambassador program, but also why they continue to work w...

Have you ever felt like you don't belong?    As Carie says, the trees don't care what you look like or how fast you're moving. So why do we put so much pressure on ourselves? Why don't we feel like we belong in a sport or are qualified for a job? Have you ever considered what role marketing plays in making other people feel included?   Carie Behe, the GTM Marketing Manager for Cotopaxi, shares her...

Let's face it, as a client you have a lot of options. When it comes to achieving creative work you can choose from an ever-growing list of partners to work with: Agencies, hybrid agencies, studios, producers, contractors, and even your nephew all claim to offer you similar services.  But how do you decide who to work with for what project?   Chase White is the Creative Director at Chase White Phot...

There comes a point in many of our careers when we're given the chance to step away from doing the work, to managing the work. This step isn't for everyone and in this episode, David Zimberoff, the VP of Marketing at SRAM shares his personal story of 25 years as he's slowly moved away from doing the work, to leading the work.    We also discuss the intricacies and challenges of leading a marketing...

In this episode, Mike Somerby, the Director of Marketing from Duckworth jumps on the mic to discuss storytelling and the intersection with customer loyalty.   Building customer loyalty is the name of the game right now. According to Marty Neumeier in his book "The Brand Flip" a loyal customer would spend 33% more than a new customer. If building such loyalty can pay dividends in the future, how do...

A business doesn't last for 100 years without listening to its consumers. Alex Sherbinow from Old Town Canoe and Kayak joins me on this episode to discuss how crucial it is to listen and understand your consumer.   In an era with data everywhere, it's easy to craft digital reflections of who we think our customers are. We might know what age they are, how much money they make or where they went to...

In this episode, Drew Eakins, the marketing manager from Hestra Gloves joins me to discuss the topic of specialization on a generalized level.    For over 80 years, Hestra has been crafting gloves for a variety of users in the outdoor and fashion industry. As a small company, Drew's role involves staying focused and saying no more than saying yes.    If you've ever asked yourself:  1. What does it...

Can'd Aid is a non-profit built on the idea of "Rallying you to do good."   To date, they've built 6,610 bikes and skateboards, donated 2,500+ musical instruments, completed 47 work party days, and recycled 73 million cans.   The non-profit was started by Diana Ralston. Originally the goal was to help areas hit hard by either natural or man-made disasters. As the canned water distribution plan sta...

In this episode, John Salzinger the Founder of MPOWERD shares his opinion on how we as an industry address toxic advertising and the downstream effects.    As people are trying to escape the urban sprawl of advertising, marketers continue to promote, sell and push their products in every conceivable way. These days you can't even go to a gas station without having a screen shoved in your face!   W...

In this episode, Scott Holley, the President of Eddyline Kayaks joins me to discuss all things paddling. Manufactured in the Pacific Northwest, Scott and his team take a very hands-off, yet very focused effort when it comes to marketing.    Like many communities in the outdoors, the community Eddyline has crafted over decades of high-quality service, has lead to a user group that markets for the c...

In this episode, Zach Vestal, the marketing manager from Niner Bikes and BATCH Bikes hops on the mic to give us a little insight into his changing world as he manages two very different bike brands. Niner has been around a while, having built their reputation on the idea that riding bikes on a 29" wheel is the best. Whereas, BATCH Bikes is geared for an audience who are re-discovering their love f...

If you're a freelancer in the outdoor industry, chances are you've asked yourself the following questions: How do I turn my passion into a business? How do I charge? How do I position myself? How do I conquer my inner critic?   In this episode, we're changing up the focus a bit. We've talked with agencies and brands a lot on this show but a group that we haven't chatted with much is the freelancer...

Like many business start-ups, Kansas Sartin saw a need and decided to fill that need. PAKMULE was created to provide cargo storage in the form of a rugged, hitch-mounted system.   In this episode, Kansas shares the background of his company, where they're going, and how they use customer feedback to understand pain points. As he says: "There's no parts store in the field, so having quality equipme...

PR is changing. We all know this and in fact, we did an episode on it with Chris Dickey in Season 1 Episode 13.   In this episode, we dive deeper into how PR is changing. I sit down with Cory Van Auken from Darby Communications to try and understand how PR and Digital Marketing can work together. We talk briefly about how Darby is structured and how they work with clients, but then we jump into di...

In this episode, I'm joined by Peter Williams and Spencer Houser, two of the three co-founders from Super Pacific.   Super Pacific is a truck bed camper company based out of Portland that was born out of the challenges of getting their families outside. Many of us wish we could buy a sprinter, build it out, and just hit the road. But the reality for most of us looks far different.    With families...

In this episode, filmmakers Sean Slobodan and Shandi Kano join me to discuss their latest, award-winning, documentary film "Forever is Now."   "Forever is Now" recently won the "People's Choice Award" at Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival. This is a film about ten people who are Zion National Park's keepers and caretakers. At a time of increasing tension between recreation and environm...

You've likely never heard of Signature Products Group (SPG). In fact, the better Chatham and his team do, the more you don't realize they're there.     Chatham Baker is the Vice President of Brands with SPG. SPG works with brands like Carhartt, Ducks Unlimited, and Real Tree to design, develop, manufacture and distribute licensed products.     In this episode, he explains how SPG works with some o...

In this episode, Christian Lepley the VP of Marketing at GU Energy Labs shares how GU is adapting and embracing newly emerging markets.   Historically GU has been a brand focused on the podium. But when podiums were shuttered in 2020, the GU team realized they needed to be more welcoming of everyone. As Christian says, "it was an awakening." This awakening has been fueled by the everyday athlete w...

In this episode, Rich Hohne the Director of Marketing at Oboz Footwear shares about Oboz's background, his personal career journey (it includes starting a ski resort), and how Oboz has had to adapt since the initial COVID shutdown.   Reliant 100% on retail, sales dried up for about 4-6 months last year. As Rich says, COVID was the best and worst thing that happened. Rich discusses how they've mana...

In this episode, Eli Kerr the CEO of Gnarly Nutrition joins me to discuss why embracing the holistic wellness of a person is crucial to building a strong company, a strong internal culture, and how that permeates into marketing and branding.   Gnarly is on a mission to help athletes be their best selves. To do so, they first have to take care of their internal team. Eli shares about the challenges...

Kyle McCann is the digital marketing manager at Canyon Bicycles USA. In this episode, we talk about his winding career path from sport fishing, to Facebook, to Canyon. He shares about the lessons he's learned personally and professionally along the way.   We talk about passion behind your work, niching vs being a generalist and bikes.   Follow Canyon and Kyle: @canyon_na @kaptainkyle11

The Social Dilemma is a Netflix documentary "...that explores the dangerous human impact of social networking with tech experts sounding the alarm on their own creations." The film has been a popular hit and has motivated people to delete social media, turn off phone notifications, and has prompted many to re-evaluate their relationship with social media.   In this episode, Mary Kate Baumann, the...

Mustang Survival's iconic seahorse logo is a common sight on the water. For years, Mustang has worked in the commercial marine industry supplying life-saving PFD's and float coats. Recently however they've made a pivot to the recreation industry bringing their experience, heritage, and technical skills honed through government contracts to the everyday user.   In this episode, Jo Salamon, the Comm...

In this episode, Amanda Goad from BoldBrew shares about the importance of having a brand voice.    She discusses how to make one, how to use it but also how to let it evolve as your company evolves. Now more than ever, companies are being scrutinized with everything they say. Having a clear brand voice ensures that everything that goes out into the world matches with who you are.  We also discuss...

How many times have you heard the phrase: "content is king?"   While content is important, how important is it really when compared with the strategy behind it? Chris Killen is the Global Marketing Manager at Bell Helmets, and in this episode shares his perspective on the phrase 'content is king.'    From the episode:   "Content is king if it has a strategy...one without the other is a waste of ti...