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.

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.

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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.