SOAR Blog

Exhibiting at a tradeshow like Outdoor Retailer is a serious investment for any-sized outdoor company. So it only makes sense to maximize EVERY marketing and media opportunity that presents itself, right?

Enter the Outdoor Retailer Winter Market PR Toolkit, to help you do just that.

As always, the Toolkit will help you navigate:

•    Obtaining a copy of the Winter Market media list
•    Uploading electronic press kits to the Paperless Press Room
•    Submitting news and event information to the OR Daily
•    Prepping your show staff to work with the media
•    Sponsorship and advertising opportunities, etc.

In case you (or your client) is in need of convincing, check out a couple relevant results from our most recent OR Attending Media Survey.

Seventy-seven percent of survey media said they used exhibitor press kit materials from outdoorretailer.com in their coverage of the show or in news stories during the year.

“Please encourage vendors to make their press kits available on thumb drives. The days of enthusiastic, large format, paper press kits are over.”

“The more press kits the better; these are an excellent way to identify items of interest before the show.”

Media expressed frustration with exhibitors who lacked information on their profile or failed to respond to media meeting requests. One example would be:

“I requested meetings and info from many people who did not respond and I believe it was because they simply did not use the website tools.”

Not sure which exhibitors were missing these invites but I guarantee you don’t want it to be you or one of your clients. Log in and use those Planner Tools!

Lastly, several media mentioned how much they appreciate when exhibitors provided additional samples, food and  beverages in the Press Room. Do you want to get samples of your latest goo or nutrition bar into the hands of media? Consider bringing free (no strings attached) samples to the press room for attending media. Wanna spring for special seating, a meal or happy hour? Contact your OR account executive for pricing.

As always, we’re here to help you get the most for your every trade show dollar!

Chip Smith, csmith@soarcomm.com, 801.656.0472 x1

Maura Lansford, mlansford@soarcomm.com, 801.656.0472 x2

Alex Strickland, astrickland@soarcomm.com, 801.656.0472 x3

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The first thing that hits you at your first Outdoor Retailer Show is the uniform: Approach shoes, black fleece or puffy and a few days’ stubble for the guys. Cute skirt or jeans, subtly designed t-shirt and maybe a beanie for the ladies. Less business casual than Boulder coffee hut.

For the uninitiated it can be jarring to see so many similarly dressed — and let’s be honest, very good looking — folks streaming into the Salt Palace for the industry’s bi-annual pilgrimage to see the latest and greatest in the world of outdoor gear. And I’ll be frank, I was jarred. I’d joined SOAR just two days before the show and despite years spent loitering in gear shops and a few close calls with the full-blown dirtbag lifestyle; it was my first encounter with so much outdoor industry royalty in one place.

The industry has always seemed like a tough nut to crack. Everyone knows everyone, so unless you know someone, it’s an intimidating threshold to cross. Heck, I felt like I needed to borrow a Subaru just to get there (seriously, the road to Solitude for the All Mountain Demo was far too treacherous for my two wheel drive, that Subaru saved my bacon).

But here’s the thing, by lunchtime on Thursday I realized I’d mistaken insular for tight-knit. Clannish for inter-connected. Occasionally overzealous for, well, I wasn’t entirely wrong on that one. It takes a unique group of people to get worked up over advances in the latest fabric laminate. Within hours I’d been taken in, having great chats with everyone from the fabulous OR staff (<- maybe just a bit of brown-nosing our client here ) to Montana alpaca ranchers to the founders of some of the oldest, most respected brands in the book. By Saturday night, I found myself across the table from social media wizard Sara Lingafelter (RockClimberGirl!) thoroughly engrossed in a conversation about what disciplines drive the outdoor culture conversation.

Walking back to my car on Sunday I couldn’t help but wonder: How the hell did this happen? An industry I didn’t think let outsiders in had me feeling like I’d been there all along. Yes, people come to OR to buy and sell. It is an industry, after all. But there’s a certain silent acknowledgement that once all the paperwork is pushed and the deals are done, there’s something we all completely agree on. We’d rather be outside.

We got an invite to Mayor Becker’s press conference this week announcing the new sustainability ordinances that he wants Salt Lake City to adopt- ordinances would make SLC’s sustainability plan the most comprehensive in the country. It’s too bad our team couldn’t make it to the press conference, which was really more of a press tour of a Salt Lake business and home already implementing the proposed ordinances. Said ordinances address:

photo credit: Jim Urquhart | The Salt Lake Tribune

This is great news for Salt Lake City and is completely in-line with the city’s values- and history. One Salt Lake Tribune article points out that the Mormon pioneers who settled the valley lived sustainably out of necessity and efficiency. Today Salt Lake’s residents pick up their bikes more often, belong to food co-ops and want to see a reduction in traffic. Most expect that the ordinances proposed by Mayor Becker will be passed by the city’s legislature.

A lot of the folks in this town that like it “green” also like to live in the green- and desert- that surrounds. It makes so much sense to make our residential and business lives sync up with our outdoor recreation hobbies. It makes sense why Outdoor Retailer, the place for the outdoor industry to convene, is in Salt Lake.

SOAR is excited to see how these ordinances are implemented over the next few years and what feedback the community has given the mayor in this week of review.

We’re proud of what this town is becoming, and that it is already the type of place 40,000 members of the outdoor recreation industry want to visit on an annual basis.

More on SLC’s green initiatives:

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/home/49891706-76/becker-says-lake-salt.html.csp?page=1

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/opinion/49915105-82/becker-residents-salt-changes.html.csp

Credit Matthew McDermott

Outdoor Retailer ended in late January on a high note with both industry attendance and optimism up from winter 2009. In the midst of writing orders and thinking about upcoming selling seasons, though, the industry as initiated dozens of efforts to provide relief for Haiti after its devastating earthquake.

Manufacturers across the Winter Market show floor offered product to an industry Haitian relief effort coordinated by Terramar, Sierra Trading Post & Eric Larsen. The Outdoor Industry Association (OIA) also partnered with Americares to get first aid kits, water purification systems, headlamps, tarps and hydration containers willing donated from manufacturers in the outdoor industry to Haitians in desperate need of essential supplies. (See below for more information on getting your product to Haiti via Sierra Trading Post and Americares).

In an industry that highly values authenticity and social responsibility, it’s no surprise that the outdoor industry mobilized so quickly to aid Haiti. It employs individuals with just as much strength and heart as the products it manufactures- prepared to be put to work at a moments notice. These qualities and others make SOAR super proud to be part of the outdoor industry.

In fact, we see these qualities in the outdoor industry year round. We associate with outdoor industry leaders that support advocacy groups and let their passion for their sport drive their compassion. SOAR has had some fun and rewarding opportunities to work on a pro-bono basis with non-profits like Bikes for Kids Utah and Trips for Kids. We get to see how much work goes into each event and initiative. Every donation, vote of confidence, re-tweet and sponsorship makes a difference.

Let’s all continue to heed OIA’s call for the industry to “dig deep” during this and every time of crisis and need.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Click here to read about the partnerships forming in the outdoor industry to help Haiti.

To donate this urgently needed product/equipment contact Randy Weiss at Americares at (203) 658-9527 or rweiss@americares.org. All donations will be delivered by air and sea directly to the region by Americares.

Outdoor Retailer exhibitors are invited to donate show products to Haiti via Red Cross if it can arrive at Sierra Trading Post by FEBRUARY 8, 2010. All packages should be sent to Sierra Trading Post Robin Jahnke/Haiti 5121 Campstool Road Cheyenne, Wyoming 8200.

The outdoor industry is abuzz on Twitter, contributing comments, queries and suggestions to all participating manufacturers, buyers, retailers, media and advocacy groups in the 2010 Outdoor Retailer Winter Market through the show’s aggregate feed, ORWinter. Since SOAR launched Outdoor Retailer into the Twittersphere for the 2009 Winter Market, the outdoor industry has channeled much of its conversation through the platforms the show has provided. Attendees and exhibitors getting ready to travel to Salt Lake are using #ORWinter in their Tweets about the show to create dialogues and relationships before they even step foot into the Salt Palace. They can also follow ORShowLive to keep up with OR-specific event announcements that will help them make the most of their time at the show.

The ORWinter conversation will continue throughout the show as attendees Tweet about the new products they’re seeing, the people they’re meeting and the industry events they’re enjoying. Outdoor Retailer sponsor Channel Signal will display these conversations, too, on four 50-inch screens strategically placed around the show.

They’ll toggle between the ORWinter Twitter feed and the top five mentioned exhibiting OR brands. Look for them while you’re there. It will be convincing visual evidence of how social media permeates even the outdoor industry and a reflection of how fast the conversation can shift, especially when there are thousands of people participating.

Next to the monitors will be a directory of 200 exhibitors on Twitter.

If you’re interested in attending the show, January 21-24, please register at outdoorretailer.com. See you there!

I pledge to reduce my greenhouse gas emissions by 450 pounds during May, which many U.S. cities, including Salt Lake City, recognize as Bike Month.

I have the farthest commute of all the SOAR team members (about 30 miles), so I’m not going to attempt to commute the entire way by bike. But I will take the bus two to three times per week, and stop asking my husband to drop me off and pick me up from my home bus stop (I learned at the Bicycle Leadership Conference that 40 percent of trips in the U.S. are just two miles and are the most polluting). If I do this during the month of May, UtahCommuter.com tells me that I can reduce my vehicle trips by 450 to 680 miles and my greenhouse gas emission by 380 to 575 pounds.

Me prepping for the Momentum bike fashion show at Interbike

I first started using mass transit because it was cheaper than buying snow tires for my 1988 California-raised Volvo. Even though the threat of snow is gone (let’s hope), I still try to commute by bus twice a week. The entire commute from point to point takes about 30-40 minutes longer than it would if I drove by myself, but I think it is worth the extra time spent. One-way bus fare cheaper than a gallon of gas and the time I have on the bus to read Newsweek and study Portuguese is priceless. Plus, I get home to my husband in a much better mood not having fought traffic for 45 minutes.

I’ll also reduce my green house gas emissions by biking around town more. I’ve been assessing every road I drive on for its bikeability and often think, “I could totally bike this. Why am I even driving a car?” I see bike trips to the gelaterie are in my not-so distant future.

You can learn how many pounds of carbon emissions your commute reduces by registering at UtahCommuter. com (hint: if you only commute by a car alone, your commute reduces NONE! Think about it.)

I couldn’t help but notice a great article in Friday’s NYTimes.com highlighting Wild Rivers Expeditions, a Bluff Utah river tours company and one of its fabulous tour guides. According the article, freelance writer Kate Siber and a friend signed up for a three day float trip as a way to see the historic region of Monument Valley and linked article above was the result.

Beyond her witty writing evidenced by phrases describing her guide

Nathan Sosa, a Bluff native and self-described hydrologic navigation specialist, stood on the bow of an 18-foot-long baby-blue raft and described the protocols of the river and the boat. He wore a nylon American-flag jacket, button-down shirt and tie, flimsy prom-queen tiara and rubber boots — you know, traditional outdoorsman wear.

and the landscape

Rolling past a host of almost alien-looking geological formations, cliff-top Anasazi dwellings and pristine wildlife habitat, the river is something of a greatest hits album of southern Utah’s attractions.

this article reminded me of one of the areas of outdoor recreation I have not participated in for a few years-rafting.

However, I will be redeeming myself this summer with a raft trip through Flaming Gorge and hopefully, a few product demos at the upcoming Summer OR Show. Yeah for summer!

It’s been a busy week for SOAR and Interbike staff. Last weekend, David and Maura attended the Bicycle Leadership Conference (see David’s posts below) and yesterday I went up to the Outdoor Retailer Backcountry Base Camp outdoor demo at the Snowbasin ski resort and walked the exhibit area with Rich Kelly of Interbike fame.

As of a few months ago, Rich’s job has became a lot busier. He now oversees marketing communications for not just Interbike, but also Nielsen’s Outdoor Retailer (OR), Action Sports Retailer (ASR), FlyFishing Retailer and Health+Fitness Business (HFB) trade shows. Rich has been really busy getting ready for last weekend’s BLC, the OR show that started yesterday and the ASR show that starts Thursday. He even had a chance to write a post about his exploits on InterbikeTimes yesterday in Snowbasin lodge.

Similar to Interbike’s OutDoor Demo, the OR Backcountry Base Camp gives retailers a chance to try out upcoming products. There were more than 50 exhibitors there. The majority of the products there were more for backcountry use rather than resort skiing, but Snowbasin was a perfect venue. Retailers could ride the lifts up to try out telemark skis and boots, head up into the hills on snowshoes or cross country skis and even slide down the hill on sleds.

I don’t know how Rich finds the time to blog, but he does. As I‘m writing this the indoor portion of the show is going on and I need to get over there (It’s at the Salt Lake City Convention Center, about 5 miles from my house). One of our other clients, Delta 7 Sports has a couple of its Arantix IsoTruss carbon fiber mountain bikes in the Miōn Footwear booth connected to generators that when pedaled generate electricity for the booth, making Miōn’s booth the first human-powered booth in the history of the OR show.

Stay tuned for more pictures.

Chip

Media now have easier access to suggested retail prices, product images (low and high res) and spec sheets for Scott USA merchandise as a result of a newly launched marketing/press only Web site and portal.

Scott USA marketing team members say they hope the site will help on-deadline media get a logo or product fact quickly without having to rely on a member of the marketing team. (See today’s BRAIN article)

From my perspective, this Web site is yet another example of bike industry leaders showing the importance of using the Internet to better communicate with media and how better business practices can improve the industry’s environmental impact, one company at a time.

A few years ago, the Interbike Expo announced its Green Steps program. The program offsets energy used to operate the show by purchasing Renewable Energy Certificates (REC), recycling aisle and booth carpeting and increasing electronic communication with exhibitors, attendees and media.

New this year, Interbike provided downloadable press kits of more than 40 participating exhibitors for the media to cut down on the amount paper used in the press room.

My hat goes off to these two companies who know how to work with the media and protect the environment as well!

Wow. It’s been a busy few months since my last post on September 20. I need to learn how to juggle blogging, while at the same time serving our clients.

I have a lot of things I’d like to blog about since my last post, for example, working with the media at Interbike, meeting my cycling hero Greg LeMond in the Media Center at the show, and taking a road trip vacation to Colorado – mountain biking and hiking along the way, etc. I’ll write about those later.

This week was a busy week, but a good one. Monday, November 12, we were in New York City for the PepCom Digital Focus media reception. We took our new client, Delta 7 Sports. They make a $12,000 carbon fiber/Kevlar reinforced Arantix mountain bike using a unique tube design called IsoTruss. Before the evening event, we met with “Popular Science” and “The Wall Street Journal.” The staff at both publications were very interested in the Arantix and its IsoTruss technology for possible stories.

Following those meetings we went to PepCom. Even though PepCom was predominately a “digital” high-tech event, we knew the media outlets slated to attend would also be interested in the IsoTruss, because of its highly engineered, science-based, well thought out design.

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