Outdoor Retailer PreShow - 2019 - 22

The Pulse

M A R K E T I N G
This is action: Askov Finlayson
assesses its carbon footprint
and donates 110 percent of the
cost to fight climate change.

Speak with Actions

Here are two simple ways outdoor brands can forge connections with
consumers: One, do things. Two, tell people. By Mike Geraci
EVERY DECISION THAT PRESENTS ITSELF ARRIVES HAND-IN-HAND WITH

a sacrifice; for every gain, inevitably there's a loss. In business, when it
comes to making a decision between purpose versus profit, few people are
willing to sacrifice profits.
And yet, we are told that it is critical to define, live by, and manage to our
purpose. "Start with Why," as motivational speaker Simon Sinek enthuses.
This dynamic is particularly acute in the outdoor industry, in which our
most iconic brands were founded in the shops of passionate, principled
craftsmen. When a hobby or a passion starts to appear more like a potential career and livelihood-a business-the entire motivation equation can
easily shift from passion and purpose to profits.
Today, most manufacturers that appear to be purpose-driven are actually
just doing a better-than-average job executing a cause-related marketing
initiative, because the market requires an outdoor brand to have a purpose.
Because everyone is trying to figure out how to be Patagonia.
Go beyond the campaign and you're unlikely to find a holistic vision

/ SNOW SHOW 2019

driving the entire business. The
high-minded purpose lives only
in the marketing department.
The fleshy brand purpose lacks a
spine.
So, while the words and marketing campaigns capture "Why?" the
KPIs [Key Performance Indicators] that everyone is managing
to on a day-to-day basis dictate,
"For money." That's the disconnect. That's why the purpose and
"Why?" of many manufacturers
come off as hollow, to staff and to
customers. That's where specialty
retail comes in.

words. Actions, not products, define how customers relate to your
brand. These actions are already
baked into your ethos: Environmental responsibility, sustainability, advocacy, outdoor ethics,
clinics, and customer service.
The opportunity is to rethink
how you promote these actions.
Turn up the volume on what makes
specialty special through stories
and an audience. Yes, you should
market actions as you market the
products in your shop.
According to advertising legend
John Hegarty, "A brand is an
agglomeration of stories linked
together by a vision." But what are
stories without an audience? The
good news: You can buy audiences.
Tell people through email platforms and personalization, paid
social media campaigns, and media relations initiatives. Tell people
on billboards, in print, and on TV.
Take actions. Tell people.
The specialty retailer model is
better positioned and set up to be
purpose-driven than manufacturers are. Specialty retailers can provide the local context that makes
initiatives relevant in a way that
online, mass, Amazon, and brands
can't or won't.
So what do you sacrifice? If
you're spending the majority of
your marketing budget promoting
product sales or in-store events,
you're missing an opportunity
to increase differentiation and
awareness. If you're competing on
price, you've already lost. Increase
value by telling stories about all
the amazing ways you empower
outdoor adventures.
Mike Geraci is principal of Geraci
& Co., a brand strategy and
communications group based in
Jackson, Wyoming.

CO U R T E SY AS KOV F I N L AYS O N

ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN

Outdoor Retailer PreShow - 2019

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