Channel Mastery - SoundSage

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In this episode, our guest is Dr. Len Necefer, Ph.D., CEO & Founder of NativesOutdoors – a native-owned athletic and creative collective. The company began as a social media project in March 2017 by Len Necefer (Diné), highlighting stories and photos of Native people in outdoor recreation and addressing the lack of representation of Indigenous people in the outdoor industry. The organization has expanded to providing advisory and consulting services to the outdoor industry on topics within the intersection of tribes, public lands, and outdoor recreation. NativesOutdoors is working directly with tribal governments, community organizations, and individuals on increasing access to outdoor recreation and connecting resources and opportunities within the outdoor industry.

In this episode, you’ll hear Len describe the bumpy road from working for the Department of Energy to founding NativesOutdoors, the federal policy changes introduced by President Biden affecting native land, ancestral sites, and the comanagement policies governing them, and stories of other entrepreneurial Native Americans and how they are contributing to the outdoor rec industry.

Dr. Necefer holds a Bachelor’s in Mechanical Engineering and a Doctorate in Engineering and Public Policy from Carnegie Mellon University. Previous to founding NativesOutdoors, Len has worked for the U.S. Department of Energy and, most recently, the University of Arizona. His work melds the intersection of sport, environmental advocacy, and indigenous peoples. His storytelling work melds the intersection of sport, environmental advocacy, and indigenous people and has been featured in the Alpinist, National Geographic, and over 50 film festivals globally.

The Channel Mastery podcast is brought to you by Verde Brand Communications, a consumer-centric brand strategy and communication agency serving the outdoor recreation industry. Your host is Kristin Carpenter, Chief Strategy Officer, Founder, and Chair at Verde Brand Communications. Channel Mastery is sponsored by our partner Life Time, Inc., owner of the Sea Otter Classic and producer of the Sea Otter Classic Summit outdoor recreation executive gathering.

Discussion points:

Len’s impactful career and path to entrepreneurship with NativesOutdoors
News roundup - Len presenting at the Sea Otter Classic
Biden’s policy changes in 2021 to empower first nations
Co-management and conflict at ancestral sites
Native interest in living and working in their community
Opportunities for teaming up in outdoor rec
Impactful wins empowering native communities
Bridging outdoor rec and native communities
Looking forward with Co-management, Bears Ears National Monument
Getting involved - investing in the pipeline from Native communities for talent
Dr. Necefer will be a presenter - come to the Sea Otter Classic in April

Resources:

Dr. Len Necefer Website

NativesOutdoors

Farmington, NM

John Yazzie Bikepacking Co.

Bears Ears National Monument

Unbranded Documentary

Sea Otter Classic Summit, April 2023

Kristin Carpenter on LinkedIn

Verde Brand Communications

News Articles Mentioned:

https://www.newyorker.com/culture/photo-booth/the-extreme-cyclists-of-the-navajo-nation

https://www.kauffman.org/currents/opportunity-awaits-native-americans-and-entrepreneurship/

https://santoantoniodopinhal.lumiar.co/5-sets-of-challenges-native-american-entrepreneurs/

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Today’s guest is Adam Ruggiero, Editor-in-Chief of GearJunkie. GearJunkie leads the outdoor industry in breaking news and product reviews in the active-lifestyle world. From offices in Denver and Minneapolis, GearJunkie’s journalists, writers, and video producers advance the conversation online and beyond. Millions of monthly readers follow GearJunkie online through multiple channels.

Adam has been with the publication since 2015 when he started out as a news reporter. He spearheaded the creation of the GearJunkie podcast in 2018, holds a degree in journalism from the University of Minnesota, and was named Outdoor Media Summit’s "Editor of the Year” for 2022.

In this episode, you’ll hear Adam discuss his journey with GearJunkie and its current success, the changing landscape of media as a business, utilizing AI and chatbots in journalism and content creation as a helpful tool, and shaping future generations of media.

The Channel Mastery podcast is brought to you by Verde Brand Communications, a consumer-centric brand strategy and communication agency serving the outdoor recreation industry. Your host is Kristin Carpenter, Chief Strategy Officer, Founder and Chair at Verde Brand Communications. Channel Mastery is sponsored by our partner Life Time, Inc., owner of the Sea Otter Classic and producer of the Sea Otter Classic Summit outdoor recreation executive gathering.

Discussion points:

GearJunkie and its increasing scope and momentum
Outdoor media and where it’s headed
Relationships, trust, and ethics in the media landscape
YouTube and trucks
The GearJunkie chatbot article, and the impact of AI
Freelance writing, Grammarly, bots, and wabi-sabi
Hopes for the future of journalism

Resources:

GearJunkie Website

GearJunkie Podcast

GearJunkie’s Chatbot Article

Adam Ruggiero LinkedIn

Sea Otter Classic Summit, April 2023

Kristin Carpenter on LinkedIn

Verde Brand Communications

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Today’s guest is Jeremiah Bishop, a professional mountain bike racer in cross country, short track, ultra-endurance stage races, and gravel. Jeremiah is an athlete ambassador for Canyon Bicycles, a freelance cycling consultant, and a content creator (co-founder of the hit documentary series The Impossible Routes).

In this episode, you’ll hear stories about the beginning of The Impossible Routes in Hawaii, building up the stories and videos during the pandemic, meeting and partnering/co-starring with Tyler Pearce (aka The Vegan Cyclist), and how the relatable, vulnerable cycling stories resonate with so many people.

The Channel Mastery podcast is brought to you by Verde Brand Communications, a consumer-centric brand strategy, and communication agency serving the outdoor recreation industry. Your host is Kristin Carpenter, Chief Strategy Officer, Founder, and Chair at Verde Brand Communications. Channel Mastery is sponsored by our partner Life Time, Inc., owner of the Sea Otter Classic and producer of the Sea Otter Classic Summit outdoor recreation executive gathering.

Discussion points:

Jeremiah’s backstory in biking and history with Canyon
The first “impossible route” in Hawaii
Building through the pandemic
Seven days riding across the Mojave
The low-fi appeal of Jeremiah’s unscripted video stories
Canyon Bicycles - the partnership
2023’s Sea Otter Classic- stay tuned for a future episode on this
Platforms, channels and the cycling industry – all in flux
Tyler and Jeremiah’s chemistry and relationship
The Europe trip - cycling is part of their identity
Film premieres, swag, and fan activities
What looks like it may be a disaster, ends up being amazing

Resources:

Jeremiah’s website

The Impossible Route Website

Jeremiah on Instagram

Offroad to Athens Documentary

The Vegan Cyclist on YouTube

Strava.com

Canyon.com

Sea Otter Classic Summit, April 2023

Kristin Carpenter on LinkedIn

Verde Brand Communications

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Today’s guest is Alison Tetrick - professional cyclist, biochemist, storyteller, and entrepreneur. Alison is also a global ambassador focusing on brand activation, product development, and innovation. Alison believes sports, science, and stories can make a powerful difference in changing the world and loves to do the work to make it happen. She is passionate about creating opportunity, education, and access to cycling for all through scholarships and community engagement.

You’ll hear how Alison was inspired to start cycling by her 60-year-old grandfather, her appearance on The Move podcast and partnership with Lance Armstrong, the new world that is opening up for women in cycling, and her hopes, thoughts and plans for the future of the sport.

The Channel Mastery podcast is brought to you by Verde Brand Communications, a consumer-centric brand strategy and communication agency serving the outdoor recreation industry. Your host is Kristin Carpenter, Chief Strategy Officer, Founder and Chair at Verde Brand Communications. Channel Mastery is sponsored by our partner Life Time, Inc., owner of the Sea Otter Classic and producer of the Sea Otter Classic Summit outdoor recreation executive gathering.

Discussion points:

Alison’s backstory
Promoting the Tour de France and women’s cycling
Partnering with Zwift - visibility is viability
The new career opportunities and benefits - women can choose to stay in the sport longer
Launching a ground-breaking event and its exciting debut
Looking into 2023 and the state of social media
Raising money for diversity and getting women on bikes with bandana sales
Building and supporting this special community

Resources:

Saga Venture

Zwift

The AMT Bandana Project

Alison’s Website

Alison on Instagram

Alison on Twitter

Alison on LinkedIn

The Move Podcast w Lance Armstrong

Kristin on LinkedIn

Verde Brand Communications

Sea Otter Classic Summit, April 2023

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Today’s guest is Steve Lee, President of US Sales at Hot Chillys, a legacy outdoor recreation brand that has been leading the winter sports apparel industry since 1985. Their performance base layers include socks, leggings, turtlenecks, fleece, and accessory products, focusing on comfort and fun. Hot Chillys offers a comprehensive line of apparel for men, women, and children using next-level materials for seamless comfort, function, and fit.

In this episode, you’ll hear how Hot Chillys progressed through the pandemic and has seen its sales double, with consumers rebounding and getting back to enjoying winter sports. You will also hear about how the brand re-tooled its packaging to reflect the brand's sustainability efforts and how Hot Chillys pricing strategy at specialty retail, big box stores, and even online channels like Amazon has been managed and controlled. As they say at Hot Chillys, ‘if you're not having fun, it's just not worth it.’”

The Channel Mastery podcast is brought to you by Verde Brand Communications, a consumer-centric brand strategy, and communication agency serving the outdoor recreation industry. Your host is Kristin Carpenter, Chief Strategy Officer, Founder, and Chair at Verde Brand Communications. Channel Mastery is sponsored by our partner Life Time, Inc., owner of the Sea Otter Classic and producer of the Sea Otter Classic Summit outdoor recreation executive gathering.

Discussion Points

How Steve got his start at Hot Chillys back in 1988
Hot Chillys’ expansion under Performance Apparel
Product positioning, innovation, and marketing
2023 season expectations
Retail strategies – price points and promotions
Advice on inventory levels - demand negating discounts
Bringing the brand and company through the pandemic
Packaging now and then - reinventing for sustainability
Staying true to brand legacy
Amazon sales and MAP - relationship challenges

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Welcome to the 200th episode of the Channel Mastery podcast. Today’s guest is Dan Kihanya, Director of Corporate Development and Investment with REI. Dan is also the creator and host of Founders Unfound, a podcast that profiles tech startup founders from underrepresented backgrounds. He is an experienced serial entrepreneur with extensive experience in the start-up ecosystem - including founder, early executive, investor, and advisor.

In this episode, you’ll hear about Dan’s role with Path Ahead Ventures - offering full-spectrum support to startups owned and led by Black, Indigenous, Latina/o/x, and Asian American and Pacific Islander people. Dan and Kristin chat about the route that guided Dan to REI and the founding of Path Ahead Ventures, the three staples of the program: resourcing, planning, and capital, and the Embark and Navigate Programs.

The Channel Mastery podcast is brought to you by Verde Brand Communications, a consumer-centric brand strategy, and communication agency serving the outdoor recreation industry. Your host is Kristin Carpenter, Chief Strategy Officer, Founder, and Chair at Verde Brand Communications. Channel Mastery is sponsored by our partner Life Time, Inc., owner of the Sea Otter Classic and producer of the Sea Otter Classic Summit outdoor recreation executive gathering.

Discussion points:

Dan’s background and path to his current position
REI’s co-op and brand values resonated strongly with Dan
The vision for Path Ahead Ventures (PAV) and REI - ‘founders first’
Two new 2022 programs for founders - Embark and Navigate
Bridging the gap - how REI and PAV can support new founders
New and different perspectives lead to innovation and inclusiveness
‘Outdoor’ vs. ‘Outside’
Dan’s transition from tech/digital services to physical products/retail
Tapping into REI’s vast resources to help founders
Demo Day/Pitch Day for Navigate founders - the first ever “Founders Market” in Seattle
Reaching typically underrepresented founders - building a network
REI stores as a bridge to the community
Sign up online to keep up with all Path Ahead Ventures - the outdoors are for everyone!

Resources:

Embark Program

Navigate Program

Path Ahead Ventures

Dan Kihanya on LinkedIn

Founders Unfound Podcast

Sea Otter Classic Summit, April 2023

Kristin Carpenter on LinkedIn

Verde Brand Communications

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Tiffany is a results-driven and transformational leader with more than 15 years of experience in nonprofit development, generating revenue, and effective marketing strategies for organizations. Tiffany is the Chief Executive Officer at Camber, aligning with the mission in providing resources and tools in creating diverse, inclusive, and equitable workplaces by expanding Camber’s visibility, strengthening partnerships, and increasing revenue. She will foster a culture of mission- and value-focused revenue, marketing, philanthropy, and engagement both internally and externally for the organization.

Tiffany has planned, developed, and showcased major initiatives for smaller nonprofits and national brands, like Girls Scouts, Planned Parenthood, and the Urban League. Initiatives such as these have allowed her to provide successful fundraising and marketing strategies that raised awareness, built allyship, and secured millions in revenue.

Tiffany is passionate about igniting systemic change in diversity, equity, and inclusion in the Outdoor Recreation sector. She is motivated to help companies create lasting change. Tiffany is pursuing a dual degree at Harvard University, a Bachelor of Liberal Arts, and Masters of LA – Business Administration.

Show Highlights:

In this episode of the Channel Mastery Podcast, Kristin sits down with Tiffany Smith, CEO of Camber Outdoors. Tiffany speaks to past experiences that have led her to Camber Outdoors during a pivotal time, how the outdoor industry is primed to help support the national economy, and how Tiffany’s career path brought her to the organization. Building inclusive workplaces, fundraising, and understanding the industry-specific landscape of DEI efforts are all vital in creating a more equitable working world.

RELATED LINKS

Ep. 192 with Adam Cramer VerdePr.com/blog/channel-mastery-192-adam-cramer-inflation-reduction-act

Public Lands Solutions - publiclandsolutions.org

Western Spirits Cycling - westernspirit.com

Outerbike - outerbike.com

Kristin on LinkedIn - linkedin.com/in/kcarpediem

Verde Brand Communications - VerdePR.com

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Featuring:

Steve Dennis is a consultant, keynote speaker and author focused on retail growth and innovation. He has been named a top global retail influencer by multiple organizations. His thoughts on the future of shopping are regularly shared in his role as a Forbes Senior Contributor. Steve's best-selling book-- "Remarkable Retail: How to Win & Keep Customers in the Age of Disruption"-- was released in a completely revised and expanded 2nd edition last year. He is also the host of the Remarkable Retail podcast.

During a 30-year career as a senior executive at two Fortune 500 retailers–and more recently as a strategic advisor–Steve has worked with dozens of retail, consumer, luxury and social impact brands to inspire, catalyze and design their journey to remarkable results.

As a sought-out keynote speaker, Steve has delivered talks on six continents, sharing his unique perspective on what it takes to reignite customer growth in a world of constant change and shifting consumer preferences. Steve is currently the President of SageBerry Consulting. Prior to founding SageBerry, he was the chief strategy officer and SVP of multichannel marketing for the Neiman Marcus Group. Steve received his MBA from Harvard and a BA from Tufts University.

Show Highlights:

In this episode, guest Steve Dennis chats with Kristin about Steve’s latest book, Remarkable Retail, and the overarching state of retail today. Steve has a wealth of experience in the space, and we are delighted to have had him on the show. A major facet of the new book is the ‘8 Essentials of Remarkable Retail’ framework, crafting what’s necessary to adapt to an ever-changing landscape.

In the show, you will learn about how major retailers performed crisis innovation quickly. The retail space had to pivot dramatically during COVID, and many chose not to innovate or did so too late. Companies that pivoted early, like Tractor Supply, Best Buy, and Target, are strategically overcoming similar problems that have closed many big box retailers in the last few years. One learning lesson is that consistent innovation is the key to being in front of market trends, often equaling success. Kristin and Steve also dive into what success looks like for a retailer in today's market, inventory glut and what the future holds for companies in this space.

RELATED LINKS

Steve’s website - stevenpdennis.com

Steve’s LinkedIn - linkedin.com/in/stevenpdennis

Steve’s newest book, Remarkable Retail - stevenpdennis.com/remarkable-retail

Kristin on LinkedIn - linkedin.com/in/kcarpediem/

Verde Brand Communications - VerdePR.com

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Featuring:

Leta Kalfas is the CEO and Founder of MTNSTUFF. Growing up in Ohio, Leta dreamt of a life surrounded by mountains, trees, and trails of Colorado. She loved the terrain, the hiking, the skiing, the beauty. As a history major from the University of Michigan with a passion for entrepreneurship, Leta found herself in Southern California, in a brief life detour, working in the electrical distribution industry. With a little luck, a few glasses of wine, and an invitation to join the rep agency of her brother-in-law, Tom Gordon, she packed her bags and moved to Boulder, CO, in 1994. At that time, Tom and she were pioneering a few small, unknown brands: Osprey Packs, Chaco Footwear, and Atlas Snowshoes, which dominate the outdoor industry today. Over the years, Mtn Stuff has grown quite a bit, and with Tom’s retirement, Leta found herself at the helm of an agency with a dynamic and experienced sales team.

The life she found as a rep in the outdoor industry is beyond any profession she could have imagined. What struck her immediately when she started were the people. The people with whom she works with, her team, retailers, and vendors have all been nothing short of wonderful. It seems as though she picked this industry because it’s what she loves and loves to do: play in the outdoors.

Leta loves to find the activities that can be done with her team, retailers, and vendors because it brings them all together to experience nature and the outdoors in its proper place and away from computers, registers, boxes, and polybags.

Show Highlights:

Leta Kalfas, the CEO and Founder of MTNSTUFF joins the show to chat about the growth of the outdoor industry, retail stakeholders, vendor relationships, differentiation in a crowded market, and the evolution of relevancy between retailers and a vendor. Kristin and Leta also dive into trade shows, buying patterns, developing relationships in the industry, pandemic pivots, lengthening the buy-sell cycles, and more!

The largest takeaway from the show relates to where retailers are currently at. Returning to the early pandemic days, outdoor recreators multiplied as the outdoors became a safe haven. Retailers, larger brands, and .coms saw large surges in the space. While 2020 and 2021 saw immense growth, then came supply chain issues that have resulted in canceled orders, extensions in cancel dates, and more. Leta is hearing that supply chain issues will last into at least 2024, and orders are

RELATED LINKS

Leta on LinkedIn - linkedin.com/in/leta-kalfas-7947a14

MTNSTUFF Website - mtnstuff.com

Outdoor Market Alliance - outdoormarketalliance.org

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Guest:

Anne Mezzenga is a Top 100 Retail Influencer, podcast host, and the Co-CEO of Omnitalk Retail, a post she shares with Chris Walton. This dynamic team continues to build their podcast, Youtube Channel, and blog into a leading retail media empire, and both hail from Target’s “Store of the Future” concepting team. Anne and Chris were speakers at the inaugural Sea Otter Classic Summit this past April and stand for ‘consumer centricity’ on a level no other retail media organization comes close to.

Show notes:

We produce the Channel Mastery podcast for one reason: To equip and inspire our audience of executive leaders in outdoor recreation to drive their businesses toward expansion during an unprecedented time of change and opportunity. That only works when we commit to trying new strategies and approaches in our businesses. Let’s face it: We know well that what got us here will not get us to the expansion, growth, and purpose we know our teams and brands are capable of going forward.

Part of bringing our mission to life is to recruit the best experts from broader retail and business and tailor their insights to our audience of outdoor recreation executive leaders. And by tailoring, we mean customizing new approaches into actionable strategies you can build into your company. That’s what we brought to life with our sponsor Life Time, Inc., at the Sea Otter Classic Executive Summit this past April, and that’s what we’re bringing to life every week here and going into the 2023 Summit.

Today’s guest is one of the most exceptional resources we have to date to bring the mission of Channel Mastery and the Sea Otter Classic Executive Summit to life. Anne Mezzenga and Chris Walton served as Co-CEOs of Omnitalk Retail and were featured speakers at the Summit, and are repeat guests on the Channel Mastery podcast.

In this episode, we have Anne in the chair, and she’s brought her A-Game! Yes, she over-delivers insightful broader-market retail trends that bring a ton of consumer insight as we head toward 2023. Anne also brings creative and actionable strategies to combat the myriad of challenges in retail today, including the inventory glut. Through this episode, you’ll be challenged to reconsider the retail experience we’re responsible for creating in outdoor recreation. Anne shares what she’s discovered in other retail sectors in her visits this summer with Omnitalk. One of the most powerful facets of this interview is when Anne shares her approaches to empowering the consumer with unexpectedly simple ideas and experiences that bring your store and brand into the consumer's day-to-day in a way that just wasn’t possible before. And who would have thought that retailers could double as banks to their consumers and build trust while doing so? You’ll learn so many new approaches to being far more than a retailer (and all brands are also retailers today) in this show!

This is exactly the type of inspirational big thinking that’s relevant and replicable to the outdoor recreation space and just what we’re proud to offer you on Channel Mastery every week. We hope you enjoy and share this episode! Let us know your thoughts on LinkedIn, and thank you for listening!

The Channel Mastery podcast is presented by Verde Brand Communications, a consumer-centric brand strategy and communication agency serving the outdoor recreation industries. We are also grateful for the sponsorship and partnership of Life Time, Inc., owner of the Sea Otter Classic and producer of the Sea Otter Classic Summit outdoor recreation executive gathering, taking place April 18-20, 2023, in Monterey, Calif. Learn more at Seaotterclassicsummit.com.

Links:

OmniTalk.blog
Anne Mezzenga’s LinkedIn profile - https://www.linkedin.com/in/annemezzenga/
Omnitalk episode / show¹ with Alviere, and the website² for Alviere’s full-stack commerce platform
1 - https://omnitalk.blog/2022/08/15/spotlight-series-the-411-on-embedded-finance-with-alviere-ceo-yuval-brisker/
2 - https://alviere.com/
Omnitalk episode with Volumental show link¹, here is the link to Volumental’s website²
1 - https://omnitalk.blog/2022/03/27/spotlight-series-making-sure-the-shoe-fits-so-you-can-wear-it-with-volumental-cmo-brent-hollowell/
2 - https://volumental.com/

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Featuring:

Kristin Carpenter is the founder of Verde Brand Communications and the host of the Channel Mastery podcast. She earned her stripes in the $873 billion outdoor recreation industries through a decade-long career as a journalist. In 2001, she pivoted from reporting on stories to helping brands create their own stories in the launch of Verde Brand Communications, award-winning brand communications, PR, and digital marketing agency. In 2018, Verde launched the Channel Mastery podcast to help outdoor recreation brand leaders modernize their businesses to be exceptional to today’s connected shoppers.

Show Highlights:

In this solo-cast episode of the Channel Mastery podcast, Kristin brings resources and a call to action to leaders of outdoor recreation brands to boldly adopt and execute new approaches, minimizing risk along the way. The year 2022 is proving to be one of the most unique to date in terms of leading through a challenging business climate, considering headwinds from inflation, supply-chain woes, softening consumer sentiment, and global political unrest, all underscored by one of the most divisive times in history. This episode of the Channel Mastery podcast declares 2022 to be: The Year of The Great Weirdness.

In this episode, Kristin reflects on how our “best-laid plans” continue to elude even the most disciplined of teams and shares tips on adopting new approaches with quick execution to further growth and traction. This episode also covers the outdoor rec consumer’s resemblance to luxury consumers, a Q3 view on consumer ‘buying vs. spending’, and hand-selected resources, including an ‘ode to evolving the legacy supply chain’ by Doug Stephens, the “Retail Prophet,” and Euromonitor International's take on the luxury consumer, and more.

RELATED LINKS

Listen to More Channel Mastery Episodes Like This:

Channel Mastery: 191 with Scott Buelter
Ecommerce Times: Luxury Consumers Dismiss Inflation, Say ‘Full Shopping Ahead!’
Euromonitor International’s: Five Trends Shaping the Global Luxury Goods Landscape
Remarkable Retail: Understanding 'Buying' vs. 'Shopping'
Retail Prophet: The Future of Retail in the New Era of Risk

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Featuring:

Kristin Carpenter is the founder of Verde Brand Communications and the host of the Channel Mastery podcast. She earned her stripes in the $873 billion outdoor recreation industries through a decade-long career as a journalist. In 2001, she pivoted from reporting on stories to helping brands create their own stories in the launch of Verde Brand Communications, award-winning brand communications, PR, and digital marketing agency. In 2018, Verde launched the Channel Mastery podcast to help outdoor recreation brand leaders modernize their businesses to be exceptional to today’s connected shoppers.

Show Highlights:

In this solo-cast episode of the Channel Mastery podcast, Kristin brings resources and a call to action to leaders of outdoor recreation brands to boldly adopt and execute new approaches, minimizing risk along the way. The year 2022 is proving to be one of the most unique to date in terms of leading through a challenging business climate, considering headwinds from inflation, supply-chain woes, softening consumer sentiment, and global political unrest, all underscored by one of the most divisive times in history. This episode of the Channel Mastery podcast declares 2022 to be: The Year of The Great Weirdness.

In this episode, Kristin reflects on how our “best-laid plans” continue to elude even the most disciplined of teams and shares tips on adopting new approaches with quick execution to further growth and traction. This episode also covers the outdoor rec consumer’s resemblance to luxury consumers, a Q3 view on consumer ‘buying vs. spending’, and hand-selected resources, including an ‘ode to evolving the legacy supply chain’ by Doug Stephens, the “Retail Prophet,” and Euromonitor International's take on the luxury consumer, and more.

RELATED LINKS

Listen to More Channel Mastery Episodes Like This:

Channel Mastery: 191 with Scott Buelter
Ecommerce Times: Luxury Consumers Dismiss Inflation, Say ‘Full Shopping Ahead!’
Euromonitor International’s: Five Trends Shaping the Global Luxury Goods Landscape
Remarkable Retail: Understanding 'Buying' vs. 'Shopping'
Retail Prophet: The Future of Retail in the New Era of Risk

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Guest:

Adam Cramer is the founding Executive Director and present CEO of Outdoor Alliance, a national coalition of outdoor recreation advocacy groups that has breathed new life into the conservation movement by harnessing the outdoor community’s passion for place and combining it with a modern approach to organizing and digital engagement. During his time as CEO, Adam has brought new sensibilities to conservation work that have resulted in hundreds of thousands more acres of protected landscapes, improved management for outdoor recreation, and thousands of outdoor enthusiasts awakened to conservation and advocacy work. He is an avid whitewater kayaker and mountain biker, but is always on the lookout for a good skatepark. Adam lives in Maryland with his wife and two kids

Show notes:

On Friday, August 12, 2022, Congress passed the largest ever climate package in the Inflation Reduction Act, an absolute landmark piece of legislation. Channel Mastery has never done an episode on any sort of legislation before today; but know that this show was prioritized. Why? Because of the landmark impact that the IRA is destined to have on our businesses. What’s more, this is a far-reaching (both in scope and timeframe) bill that will create new awareness among our consumers – the outdoor recreation enthusiast. Channel Mastery is 100-percent about understanding our brand fans and target consumers and this bill will ‘train’ them to expect more responsible businesses and brand practices concerning climate mitigation going forward.

The bill is sweeping and complex, and we’ve procured the perfect guide for our episode today in Adam Cramer, the CEO of the Outdoor Alliance, the only non-profit organization in the U.S. that unites the voices of outdoor enthusiasts to conserve public lands and ensure those lands are managed in a way that embraces the human-powered experience. The Outdoor Alliance connects conservation with climate, which positions Adam’s perspective as critical to you, Channel Mastery’s executive audience of outdoor rec business leaders. The Outdoor Alliance is a coalition of national advocacy organizations that includes American Whitewater, American Canoe Association, Access Fund, International Mountain Bicycling Association, Winter Wildlands Alliance, the Mountaineers, the American Alpine Club, the Mazamas, the Colorado Mountain Club, and the Surfrider Foundation.

The Inflation Reduction Act will be on President Biden’s desk by the time you listen to this show, but the interview you’re about to hear in episode 192 is evergreen in that it underscores a tipping point moment in climate and conservation.

Paul Krugman, Opinion Columnist with The New York Times, in his piece “Did Democrats just Save Civilization?” wrote: “This is a very big deal. The act isn’t, by itself, enough to avert climate disaster. But it is a huge step in the right direction and sets the stage for more action in the years ahead. It will catalyze progress in green technology; its economic benefits will make passing additional legislation easier; it gives the United States the credibility it needs to lead a global effort to limit greenhouse gas emissions.” Senator John Hickenlooper (D) Colorado, summed up the bill in his newsletter by describing it as the largest climate rescue investment by any country ever.

The Outdoor Alliance website has informative summary blog posts about the IRA, outlining how the $373 billion funding package will mitigate climate change through investments that will accelerate our transition to clean energy. The bill also includes billions of dollars for wildfire mitigation, forest management, and conservation.

While this hard-fought legislative win most certainly benefits humanity as a whole, it’s crucial to highlight what this means to the business of outdoor recreation and how we, as corporate citizens, have an opportunity and responsibility to step up and heap on awareness and visibility of what’s going to emerge from this game-changing legislation. Whether it's sharing the details and impact of the IRA on the health of the planet and the places we cherish as outdoor recreationalists with our internal teams or on how your brand and reach can further the traction on climate change mitigation, the time to elevate this to our important stakeholders in our outdoor rec businesses is now.

Also, note that consumers will vote with their dollars more than ever before as the road to doing the right thing will be highlighted in the coming months and years, thanks to the IRA.

The Channel Mastery podcast is presented by Verde Brand Communications and Life Time, Inc., owner of the Sea Otter Classic and producer of the Sea Otter Classic Summit outdoor recreation executive gathering, taking place April 18-20, 2023, in Monterey, Calif.

Links:

Show sponsors: Verde Brand Communications, Life Time, Inc.
The Outdoor Alliance website makes it easy to thank local / state Lawmakers and has numerous blog posts about climate and conservation, and the many bridges between the IRA and outdoor recreation
The New York Times, Did Democrats just Save Civilization? August 8, 2022, Paul Krugman
The National Wildlife Federation writes “Inflation Reduction Act a “Historic” Win for Climate, Wildlife
As Congress funds high-tech climate solutions, it also bets on a low-tech one: Nature

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Featuring:

As CEO and president, Scott Buelter guides Ascent360’s strategy and vision. His mission is to bring enterprise-level marketing capabilities to midsize businesses through a powerful CDP, allowing them to better understand their customers and achieve continual growth. Buelter draws upon his data analysis and digital marketing experience at companies such as Nike, Disney, Royal Caribbean, Loews Hotels, American Express and Samsung, as well as upon his academic background. Buelter received an MBA from the University of California–Irvine and a Bachelor of Science in economics from the University of San Diego, in addition to studying at the London School of Economics and the Institute of Education Sciences in Berlin and Vienna.

Show Highlights:

The current economic climate is volatile and at times confusing for consumers. This can make for a challenging time for brands and speciality retailers. We were grateful when Scott wanted to come back on the podcast and talk about how brands can navigate the current times. Kicking off by talking about inflation and the importance of knowing how inflation will affect your consumers. He continued on with his recommendations on how leaders can end the year on a strong path forward. Leaving with his best piece of advice - taking data seriously and using data to make the best business decisions for your brand or retailer.

Related Links:

https://ascent360.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/ascent-crm/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottbuelter/

https://twitter.com/Ascent360

https://www.verdepr.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/kcarpediem/

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Kristin Carpenter is the founder of Verde Brand Communications and the host of the Channel Mastery podcast. She earned her stripes in the $873 billion outdoor recreation industries through a decade-long career as a journalist. In 2001, she pivoted from reporting on stories to helping brands create their own stories in the launch of Verde Brand Communications, an award-winning brand communications, PR, and digital marketing agency. In 2018, Verde launched the Channel Mastery podcast to help specialty brand leaders modernize their businesses to be exceptional to today’s connected shoppers.

Show Highlights:

In this special solo cast episode of the Chanel Mastery podcast, Kristin dives into the level setting we’re seeing in the business landscape and, more specifically, in the outdoor industry as we head into one of the largest buying periods of the year. Kristin touches on the regression of the Covid-timed consumer, economic slowdown, consumer spending trends, heald inventory, and the important months ahead that can not only shape how we finish this year but also set the tone for the partnerships we have and how we work to maintain and build trust with our consumers in 2023 and beyond.

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Listen to More Channel Mastery Episodes Like This:

Jay Townley: “The future ain’t what it used to be”

Tackling Inflation and Margin Pressure in the Sporting Goods Industry

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Show Highlights:

During our conversation with Kimo, we discussed general trends around customer excitement with Life Time events, specifically Sea Otter Classic and Unbound, and how the Life Time consumer base drives what they do as a company. Furthering our conversation on live events, Kimo gave us insight into the vision behind the Grand Pre and its launch this year. We also touched on the spirit of cycling and the community that Life Time creates which is made up of athletes of all different levels.

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Lifetime

Kimo on Twitter

Kimo on LinkedIn
Kristin on Instagram
Verde Brand Communications

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Show Highlights:

We are excited to have Liza Amlani on to discuss accelerating speed to market in the retail space, how to successfully address inefficiencies by limiting waste and using customer-focused digital technologies across channels in the retail space, the importance of preparing for unprecedented events like COVID-19, and more. In a rapidly changing climate such as the one we live in, it is vital for companies to be confident in making swift changes to their business in order to ensure longevity.

Traditionally, companies debuted new products once or twice a year in conjunction with industry trade shows, but times are changing. Today’s consumers want new products to be delivered fast and within their timeframe, and they also want their products to be sustainable. As it stands now, legacy brands seem to face challenges in meeting these demands. During the pandemic, we also saw that many companies are unprepared for massive events that impact production. With climate change, retail production will continue to be impacted in the future, so companies need to think ahead to meet these challenges. Join us to hear the advice Liza gives to retailers and other companies to help them be prepared for unpredictability, and at the forefront of the industry in a fast paced world.

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Show Highlights:

We are elated to have Bradley Schurman on to discuss the shift in perception of what it means to be “old,” how industries are changing their approach to attracting different age groups, the way Bradley and The Super Age approach this ever-changing climate, and more. It is clear that the definition of what it means to be “old” is changing. As medicine, healthier lifestyles, and technology continue to advance, companies will need to adjust internally and externally.

Historically, outdoor-focused businesses targeted younger audiences, but times are changing. More so now than ever, older generations are getting outside and participating in outdoor recreation. Within the next 10 years, we could see one out of five outdoor participants in the over 65 age group, as stated by Bradley. These companies who once focused so heavily on younger audiences will need to adapt to the new marketplace.

It is imperative that businesses begin to take a look at how they perceive and approach older people. How exactly does Bradley think these businesses should tackle that problem? How can companies take advantage of these older generations who are eager to enter the outdoor workforce? Join us to hear Bradley answer these questions and discuss much more in this informational episode.

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Show Highlights:

In this episode of Channel Mastery, I chat with Shane Kinkennon - an executive coach and master facilitator. Shane knows a lot about how wise business leaders respond to the pressure to change. We asked him to explain what exactly he observes from his CEO-level clients. He makes a compelling case that now is the time for brand leaders to think not only about the mechanics of adapting to change but the ins and outs of how they lead their teams and employees.

Shane argues that brands can’t wait until insane external pressures are in the rear-view mirror. To the contrary, the brands that will effectively adapt today and go on to sustain competitive advantage are helmed by leaders who invest their days not in infrastructure, system, and process, but what matters most: their people.

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Show Highlights: I’m delighted to introduce Tim Parr, CEO and Founder of CADDIS, to the show as we evaluate the founding story of his eyewear brand - an online direct-to-consumer platform, business wholesaler, and brick-and-mortar store. We discuss turning a product into a platform by going against the grain in the “age business” and how the market is reacting.

In this episode, we dive into fear of aging that helps to drive Tim and the business, data around the 50 plus age market of consumers, growing an omnichannel, and more. “We want to build the world's best lifestyle aging brand,” and why a self-identifier brand (like YETI) can grow even during a global pandemic.

Tim gleams insight into the brand consciousness of CADDIS and how their glasses are ultimately helping people be themselves.

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Show Highlights: I’m excited to welcome Jacques Rene, a 25-year veteran from Gore who is trailblazing in fabric sustainability, introducing expanded polyethylene (ePE), a newly released environmentally-conscious performance fabric. In this episode, we talk about leading through climate change and pushing the boundaries of what’s possible due to brand and consumer demands - higher levels of performance with a lower environmental footprint. We also chat about gaining organizational insight within Gore and what the future holds - more Earth-conscious products without PFC. Gore is leading the way for ingredient branding, and we’re looking forward to seeing what innovations are to come!

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Show Highlights:

In this episode of Channel Mastery, I had the pleasure of speaking with the newest member of USA Cycling, CEO Brendan Quirk. Brendan is a veteran in the cycling industry and brings a background in racing to his new role at USA Cycling, the nation’s governing body for cycling that oversees the disciplines of road, track, mountain bike, cyclocross, and BMX.

We discuss Brendan’s career and racing trajectory and what landed him at USA Cycling, how the pandemic has accelerated the growth of new cyclists, leadership opportunities in his new role, The Olympics, community building with other brands, and so much more.

Join us as we get to know Brendan and how he is taking the lead to improve USA Cycling, grow the cycling community, and develop in his new role as CEO.

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Show Highlights:

NFTs, also known as non-fungible tokens, are dominating the news and now the outdoor recreation market. In this episode, I sit down with the co-founder of Bike Club NFT, Tyler Benedict, and ambassador, Louise Vardaman to talk about how the community was started and how others can get involved.

Bike Club NFT is a new community concept that pairs nonfungible tokens with real-world benefits. It begins with bike rider artwork created by Rich Mitch, a ten-year creative in the bike industry space. Each piece of art serves as unique owner access to Bike Club NFT.

In February Bike Club NFT is developing a collection of 10,000 unique bike club NFTs. The artwork will be an even mix of male and female avatars with various skin tones, along with a few surprises. They will give the community exclusive access to fitness training, product sneak peeks, global scavenger hunts, and gear.

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Show Highlights:

We’re excited to welcome Jason Blevins as we discuss what sparked him to start The Colorado Sun, a member-owned public benefit corporation, and his career covering the outdoor industry on the Western Slope of Colorado. We discuss his recent article about the optimistic outlook for the ski industry based on the demand for ski lift infrastructure in the US.

As a result of the pandemic, the outdoor industry was granted its wishes of increased participation and diversity in a matter of months. So far, we haven’t seen a drop in engagement. The challenge now for the outdoor industry is how do we sustain that growth and demand? Jason’s solution is to welcome and embrace these newcomers - they are the next generation of public lands advocates and the key to long-term growth.

Join us as we take a dive into trends and predictions for the outdoor industry in 2022, including the challenges and opportunities outdoor-related businesses are facing. The days of cheap labor are over and to adapt, businesses will need to provide livable wages and affordable housing for employees, especially in the light of soaring housing prices in rural communities.

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Description: We’re humbled to welcome back to the show, Scott Buelter, CEO of Ascent360 - a data-driven marketing platform that has grown tremendously in the past couple of years as a result of the pandemic directing more and more purchases online. We discuss the newcomers to the outdoor marketplace (hint: they’re here to stay!) and how you can create loyalty in the face of supply shortages and price increases.

In this episode, you’ll also learn how utilizing a tailored marketing strategy - using segmentation and behavioral data - can create personalized connections, leading to more faithful customers. Scott also gives advice on what customers small to medium-sized businesses should focus on, amid an increase in demand from online customers.

Today, customers are more willing to give businesses their information to build personalized experiences with brands. We’re excited for the boom that the pandemic has created in the outdoor industry and the shift to a more consumer-centric approach as the outdoor goods industry is reinvesting that profit back into their businesses.

As CEO and president, Scott Buelter guides Ascent360’s strategy and vision. His mission is to bring enterprise-level marketing capabilities to midsize businesses through a powerful CDP, allowing them to better understand their customers and achieve continual growth. Buelter draws upon his data analysis and digital marketing experience at companies such as Nike, Disney, Royal Caribbean, Loews Hotels, American Express and Samsung, as well as upon his academic background. Buelter received an MBA from the University of California–Irvine and a Bachelor of Science in economics from the University of San Diego, in addition to studying at the London School of Economics and the Institute of Education Sciences in Berlin and Vienna.

Topics covered:

Consumer-Centric Marketing, eCommerce, Outdoor Industy Growth, Supply Chain Issues, Marketing Segmentation, Behavioral Data, Marketing Automations, COVID Consumer, Customer Loyalty, Supplier’s Market, Customer Journeys, Automation Technology

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Description:

We are delighted to welcome back friend of the show and President of AKvertise, Akvile DeFazio. Akvile and I chat about trends in digital marketing space, iOS14’s effect on cookies, supply chain’s unexpected impacts, diversifying social advertising, and more. Join us to learn from an industry leader in the digital marketing and social media space who works with brands like Thermos, Johnson & Johnson, and Postmates.
As someone who lives for connecting people bringing together consumers and brands is what Akvile DeFazio does best. Akvile founded AKvertise in 2014 as the culmination of her passions for social media, advertising, and helping businesses reach their goals by means of online marketing. In the past eight years, AKvertise has earned multiple accolades, including winning the best small agency award from the annual U.S. Social Media Awards in 2020 among others. As a conversion-driven marketer, Akvile is passionate about helping businesses expand their online visibility and reaching their goals.

Topics Covered:

iOS14 removing cookies, How supply chain is affecting schedules on editorials, Transparency with supply chains, managing client expectations, and being flexible, real-time data analysis, Amazon affect, diversifying social channels brands are targeting with, and pricing per channel.
Pinterest, Snapchat, TikTok, Twitter, Quora, Reddit, industry trends and consolidation, tracking abilities, planning for the holidays, create internal goals, plan early and often, social media advertising, social media marketing, influencer marketing, online advertising, search engine advertising, paid social traffic,
Future is not about hypertargeting as personal data becomes harder to come by. Recommendations are to start early, plan ahead, and have advertising dialed. Track and code data appropriately to understand what audiences are finding interesting and using that tailor your message.

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Episode Highlights:

W.L. Gore’s Global Sales and Marketing Leader for the Fabrics Division, Nora Stowell, and Global Technical Leader for the Consumer Fabrics, Matthew Decker, join Kristin Carpenter on this week's episode of Channel Mastery.
Nora and Matthew have been instrumental in launching GORE-TEX’s latest iteration of advanced micro-porous polyethylene, the ePe system, over a decade in development in partnership with brands like Arc'teryx, Patagonia, Adidas, Solomon, and Dakine.
Hear how GORE-TEX elevates the value equation of ingredient branding with sustainable materials. As the consumer evolves, so does sustainability in products and the environmental imprint on our businesses - to last longer, lower carbon footprint, light/thinner, and be PFC free.
We are delighted to share the stage with Matt and Nora as they detail the production process, strategic partnerships, the Bob Gore’s Shower Test, and the future of the GORE-TEX brand.

Description:

In this episode of the Channel Mastery Podcast, I sit down with Nora Stowell and Matthew Decker of GORE-TEX to discuss the next iteration for their ingredient brand in their upcoming fall 2022 collection of expanded polyethylene (EPE). In addition to performance, the new line adds responsibility for their materials - which resonates with the current market demand from retailers to the end-consumer. Join us and listen to how a decade of work has come to fruition

Nora

Nora Stowell grew up in the mountains of Maine and has been an outdoor enthusiast ever since. As Global Sales and Marketing Leader for the Fabrics Division, she leads a global team in various markets to support GORE-TEX in their consumer and technical footwear, garments, gloves, and accessories products. When she’s not at Gore, Nora is the Chairman of the Board for Outdoor Industry Association (OIA), serves as a mentor and board member for Camber Outdoors, and is also on the advisory board of Backcountry.com’s Women’s Leadership Coalition.

Matt

Matthew Decker is the Global Technical Leader for the Consumer Fabrics business. He has worked for Gore for 15 years as an engineer, scientist, and technical leader in the Central Research and Fabrics Divisions. He has led technology and product development across various markets and applications, including structural firefighting, consumer and military protective clothing, and architectural fabrics. Before his current role, he provided technical leadership to the Footwear, Gloves, and Accessories business and the Comfort Research Group.

Topics covered:

bringing EPE ( expanded polyethylene) to market, Bob Gore, product testing, uniqueness of the outdoor industry, partner brands, product testing process, brand trust, brand trust in the outdoor industry, PFC-free, low carbon footprint, environmental footprint, Higg MSI goals, OEKO-TEX's Bluesign, product development, Bob Gore Shower Test, sustainability, consumer buying habits, fitness for end-use, partnership with brand partners, responsible performance, ePTFE,

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Episode Highlights:

Hear how Gathr Outdoors rebranded and expanded its offerings with numerous acquisitions
CEO, Keith Bornholtz does a deep dive into his leadership theory, a new role with Gathr, and the importance of devotion in a passion-driven outdoor industry
And I think, at least for this business, it's just essential that that entrepreneurial passion and the spirit of each and every one of the brands continues to survive and thrive.
As Gathr creates a larger community of brands, Bornholtz sees vital importance in bringing each brand's individualism into the greater vision of Gathr Outdoors.

Description:

In this episode of the Channel Mastery Podcast, I sit down with Keith Bornholtz, the CEO of the recently rebranded Gathr Outdoors. Bornholtz has worked for years in passion-based industries with his work in the pet space and brings a fresh leadership style to the former MacNeill Pride Group. He speaks to the brand's recent acquisitions, CPG business model, three H leadership styles, outdoor industry growth, and much more.

Bornholtz, who has over 30 years of experience in branded consumer products, joins Gathr Outdoors from Central Garden & Pet, where he was President of the pet distribution business unit and led a five-year strategic transformation of their national multi-channel platform. Bornholtz previously held senior leadership positions at Yes To Inc., Big Heart Pet Brands, Clorox, and Procter & Gamble. Bornholtz is an executive leader with a progressive history of improved operating performance and increased enterprise value in multiple environments.

Topics covered:Three H leadership styles, Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG), passion-based businesses, passion-based industries, corporate conglomerate, MacNeill Pride Group, acquisitions, COVID, bicycling, outdoor, endurance sports, RV, industry growth, outdoor industry, pro and the enthusiast in the outdoor industry,

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Episode Highlights:

Hear how Bureo expanded their reach and mission by partnering with brands like Costa Sunglasses and Patagonia
Dave Stover and Kevin Ahearn share their founding story of Bureo and their clear mission of ending net pollution in the oceans
As consumers continue to align with brands that share their core values, it’s more important now than ever for specialty businesses and brands to be transparent about their initiatives and efforts when it comes to sustainability

Description:

As part of our Channel Mastery series featuring brands and businesses that are focused on sustainability, we are elated to introduce the team from Bureo, Dave Stover and Kevin Ahearn. Bureo is on a mission to end fishing net pollution in our oceans and shares their story behind their passion throughout the episode.

Dave and Kevin offer insight into their interesting journey to gain B-corp status, their founding story and the development of their partnerships like Patagonia and Costa, which has increased their reach tenfold.

Bureo is absolutely standing up to the challenge of serving consumers who are aligned with brands and businesses that share common values to them.

Kevin Ahearn is one of the three co-founders of Bureo Inc. Growing up in a family of Ocean lovers, Kevin took to surfing at an early age with his Dad and twin brother Brian. The importance of "protecting the places you love" was a lesson ingrained in the brothers at an early age and something Kevin has carried throughout his life and into his professional career at Bureo. He holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering, and leads, research and development, recycling supply chain and material integration efforts at Bureo.

David Stover is a Co-Founder of Bureo Inc, an emerging company focused on developing innovative solutions to recycle discarded fishing nets. An avid surfer and environmental enthusiast, David left behind a career in corporate finance when his global travels led him to the issues facing our ocean today. Currently residing in Ventura California, David splits time between Chile and the US and is actively involved in Bureo's day-to-day operations alongside the broader mission to prevent plastic pollution in our oceans.

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Episode Highlights:

Research showed that through the pandemic consumers eagerly want to align with brands who share their values
Cooler offers calculations instantly so you can neutralize your carbon footprint as a business to achieve your customers’ climate goals
Michel and Jon share how the company was founded and how they’re working to fight climate change

Description:

Consumer loyalty through the pandemic and still into 2021 is up for grabs. What we saw throughout COVID and the particularly crazy political climate we’re living in still is that consumers eagerly want to join up with brands that are ethically aligned with their own values. What Michel Gelobter, Jon Dorn and the team at Cooler Incorporated offer is a solution and technology that brands and consumers can trust with a mission to make your business part of the climate solution conversation.

Taking action as a consumer against climate change can feel daunting and what numerous studies and reports through 2020 showcased, is that consumers are no longer looking at their governments and representatives to solve the problems for them. They’re looking at the brands they self identify with and are aligning their dollars with those brands who are actively joining the fight against climate change.

On this episode of Channel Mastery, you’ll hear how brands can become “Cooler” and work to first identify their full carbon footprint on the products and services they provide and then create a plan to neutralize that carbon footprint. Michel shares the planned official launch of the business, which also happened to align with the very beginning of COVID and explains how his relationship with Jon Dorn of Outside Inc. helped the company pivot to work closely with the outdoor industry.

Thirty years ago, Jon Dorn left a low-paying job in academia for a lower-paying job as a magazine editor at Backpacker. But that opportunity to become a full-time adventure journalist fed his wanderlust, and he’s never looked back. He’s slept under the stars in 17 time zones (only 7 to go!), come face-to-face with wolves and grizzlies, led Backpacker to five National Magazine Awards, and made it the world’s first carbon-neutral magazine. At Active Interest Media, Jon served as editorial director and later as president of the company’s Active Living Group, which included brands such as SKI, Yoga Journal, Backpacker, Clean Eating, and Climbing. After several years as the company's Chief Innovation Officer, during which he added oversight of AIM's video studio, online education platform, and in-house marketing services agency, Jon took a break to co-launch Cooler, a software startup that calculates and eliminates the carbon footprint of any product or service at checkout. He jumped back into media in October 2020, helping Pocket Outdoor Media rebrand as Outside Inc. after the acquisitions of Outside magazine, OutsideTV, and several other adventure brands. Today, he oversees Outside and several related business development projects. In his spare time, he serves on the board of a nonprofit serving homeless youth in Colorado and is an avid triathlete, cyclist, and hiker.

Michel Gelobter is the CEO of Cooler, inc (cooler.dev) and Managing Director of Reflective Earth (reflectiveearth.org). He has held senior positions in advocacy, government, academia, and business, with an ongoing substantive focus on innovation, climate change, energy, and social justice. As a businessman, he founded the first consumer-facing climate software company, Cooler, and was a founder or senior leader in two other cleantech startups. As an advocate, Michel co-founded a number of environmental justice, water, and oceans organizations, including the New York City Environmental Justice Alliance, and led Redefining Progress from 2001 through 2006, where he worked to originate and design the world’s most aggressive climate legislation (California's Global Warming Solutions Act).

As an academic Michel was the founding director of the Program on Environmental Policy at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs. Prior to that, his government service included a stint as a Congressional Black Caucus Fellow, staff at the U.S. House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee and serving as Assistant Commissioner for the New York City's $2 billion-a-year water utility and environmental agency.

Michel earned his MS & Ph.D. at UC Berkeley’s Energy & Resources Group and presently serves as a Board member of CERES, the California Clean Energy Fund, and the African-American Advisory Committee of the Spence-Chapin Adoption Agency. He is co-founder the Green Leadership Trust, and is a part-time Director at infoedge, a boutique management consulting firm operating at the intersection of big data and strategy. In that role, he leads the innovation and sustainability practices.

Michel also published Lean Startups for Social Change: The Revolutionary Path to Big Impact (Berrett-Koehler Press, 2016). He lives with his three children in Berkeley, CA.

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Episode Highlights:

Marketing Director, Holly Fraser, introduces Outsider’s Network, the newest network connecting talent and content creators in the outdoor industry
Outsider’s Network helps drive inclusiveness with their mission to find a diverse, collective of outdoor talent
Holly shares what phase of their launch Outsider’s Networks is currently in and where the network is headed over the next few months

Description:

All of us in specialty businesses and in the outdoor industry know that it can be challenging to find talent in remote locations or professional models that can do the incredible activities - kayaking down a river, rock climbing, mountain biking - we need them to do to showcase our brands. That’s where the Outsider’s Network comes into the equation. They connect professional models and welcome non-professional enthusiasts to their network with producers, agents, and the makers behind the brands.

My guest this week is Holly Fraser, Marketing Director for Outsider’s Network, a website and talent marketplace in the early phases of their launch. Outsider’s Network helps people search and then book talent in the incredible places where outdoor shoots happen across North America. Holly partnered with the founders of Origin Outside, an outdoor focused marketing agency, to launch Outsider’s Network.

The network is now in what Holly referred to as the “Model Car” phase of their official launch. The components of the car are all available at outsidersnetwork.com and they’re accepting applications for both the talent and booking side of the program, but the engine (or official launch) won’t be added until a little later this summer.

Learn about the newest network connecting brands with talent in the outdoor industry on this week’s episode of Channel Mastery.

Holly Fraser is the co-founder of Outsiders Network. The concept of Outsiders Network came from her career as an outdoor content producer with Execution Media Ltd, her Whistler-based boutique production company that works locally and around the world. Execution’s client list includes major car companies, clothing lines and adventure gear brands, all of which benefit from Fraser’s professionalism and creative instincts that she’s been honing since her days studying photography and media at Ryerson University. Prior to founding Execution in 2011, Fraser worked in creative agencies, ran a photo-arts gallery and event space and traveled the world raising awareness for animal rights, a cause that she passionately advocates for in her day-to-day life (just ask her three-legged rescue dog that found the good life when Fraser brought him home). Now a mother of a toddler you can find Holly working from home on the ancestral and unceded territories of the Skwxwú7mesh, Lil’wat and St’at’imc Nations with her daughter and three rescue animals or out exploring the beautiful world on her dirt bike, mountain bike, sled, board or skis.

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Episode Highlights:

Hear how Russ and the Path Less Pedaled team have grown their Youtube following to over 100,000+ by speaking to the enthusiasts, as opposed to the pros, within the biking community
Party Pace is the how Russ describes the audience of Path Less Pedaled. They aren’t the cyclists on the podium, they’re the newcomers or long-time riders enjoying two wheels as their own pace
With a tech savvy audience on YouTube, Path Less Pedaled focuses on authenticity and honesty on their channels

Description:

In the active outdoor lifestyle and outdoor recreation markets, and cycling in particular, we tend to get in our own way. We’re known as being too competitive and focus on the professionals. On this episode though, we’re talking about the enthusiasts. In 2020 and through the pandemic, the cycling boom meant newcomers to the sport in a way that has never been recorded and my guest today is speaking directly to that newcomer and inviting them into the community.

Content Creator at Path Less Pedaled, Russ Roca joins me for episode 173. Russ and his partner, Laura, spent a few years key-less, as he put it, meaning they traveled the U.S. and then New Zealand by bike creating content. They launched Path Less Pedaled, which has since grown to an impressive 100,000+ followers. He shares how they’ve been able to grow their YouTube channel and their Patreon network by listening to their fan base and meeting their needs.

I have been a fan of the Path Less Pedaled channel and network for quite awhile now but am particularly impressed in how they guide their consumer, in their case, viewers, and make them feel like you’re in the garage with them, talking shop and enjoying a chat. Tune in to hear all about the Path Less Pedaled!

Russ Roca is the content creator behind the Path Less Pedaled Youtube channel. Prior to Youtube he had worked as a freelance writer/photographer for various bicycling publications such as Bicycle Times, Adventure Cycling and Momentum Magazine. He and his partner, Laura Crawford, have also worked as bicycle tourism consultants helping tourism destinations market themselves to cyclists and have worked with organizations like Travel Oregon, Visit Idaho, Travel Iowa and other state and local level destination marketing organizations.

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Episode Highlights:

Inventor and Entrepreneur, Joe Wold shares the backstory behind LifeHandle, a versatile sling created to handle anything
Hear how Kickstarter introduced the LifeHandle team to a new audience and ultimately a new target consumer
Introducing ambassadors to the product has simultaneously introduced new ways to use LifeHandle’s products

Description:

I have been looking forward to introducing Joe Wold, inventor and Co-founder of LifeHandle to the Channel Mastery audience because he offers a very unique pandemic story. Like so many brands and specialty retailers, LifeHandle experienced supply chain issues in 2020 when they were expected to officially launch their first product. Rather than hiding under a rock, they shifted gears and introduced a Kickstarter campaign to ensure their product was introduced to the market and that they stayed in touch with their target consumers.

Through the Kickstarter campaign, they were able to tell the story behind product development, Joe’s personal need for it after a car crash and they actually discovered new uses and audiences perfect for the product. I’ve always thought the Kickstarter platform allows brands to get closer to your audience than traditional avenues and LifeHandle proves this to be true. Along with details of the Kickstarter campaign, you’ll also hear about LIfeHandle’s experience adding an influencer program to their brand and the discoveries made from that experience.

As always, thanks for listening. Enjoy the show!

Joe Wold is the inventor and Co-Founder of LifeHandle, a carrying assist and dog leash company that makes everyday life and adventures a little bit more enjoyable and a lot more comfortable. Joe is a geologist by training but has always been a tinkerer to make solutions for common problems. Joe grew up in Wyoming and is an avid fisherman, skier, mountain biker, hunter, and lover of the great outdoors. He lives in Boston with his wife Chelsey and two children, Wells and Tucker, and their Chocolate Lab, Bruin.

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Episode Highlights:

Vice President of Strategy, Stephen Regenold is focused on continuing to connect with Lola Digital Media’s and AllGear’s consumer through authentic content
Lola Digital Media recently acquired a number of sites. Hear what’s on the horizon next for the network of sites.
With an emphasis on authentic content, journalistic integrity and honesty, Lola Digital Media continues to be the reliable source for today’s evolving consumer

Description:

It doesn’t matter what channel you, as a consumer, buy from or engage on - it all starts with trust. The entire universe has been built on relationships and reciprocity and my guest and longtime friend, Stephen Regenold with AllGear and Lola Digital Media lives and breathes this. He is the absolute caretaker for the focal consumer and works to grow the trust of that beloved consumer. As brands, we are responsible for giving the consumer what they need and empowering them to buy where they want to buy, maybe even more so than we were prior to COVID.

On this episode of Channel Mastery, Stephen shares how they are further fostering customer and brand relationships through the development of a new network of sites. With the ever-changing algorithms and data shifts, it’s nearly impossible to keep up, but what Stephen and his team at Lola Digital Media and AllGear are focused on is continuing to put a majority of their efforts into the heart and soul of true research, journalism and writing that leads to authentic content.

I have been lucky enough to call Stephen my friend for nearly two decades now and love hearing how he’s continuing to further media through the creation of authentic content and always staying closely connected to that North Star we’re always talking about - our consumers.

Stephen Regenold is the Founder of GearJunkie, a publication covering the outdoors and active-lifestyle categories with millions of monthly readers. GearJunkie was acquired by Lola Digital Media in April 2020, and Regenold now serves as VP of Strategy with the startup company building a new network, AllGear. Regenold is a journalist by training and former writer for the New York Times. A climber, skier, and ultra-endurance athlete, Regenold launched GearJunkie in 2002 as a nationally-syndicated newspaper column. He lives in Minnesota with his wife, Tara, and their five children.

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Episode Highlights:

Rob DeMartini, CEO of USA Cycling since 2019 offers listeners a clear picture of the organization's long-term strategy and plans for the future
With the recent shift to free youth memberships, USA Cycling isn’t dwelling on the past, but planning for the future of cycling and adapting a mission-driven mentality
Hear how the vision of USA Cycling is shifting to include a different kind of member; a member that is excited to be a part of USA Cycling and wears it with a sense of pride.

Description:

In the cycling world, it’s no secret that there are strong opinions about USA Cycling. What I have always believed in life and in business is that what’s happened in the past, does not dictate our future, which is why I was eager to interview Rob DeMartini, CEO of USA Cycling. Rob is a newer leader to USA Cycling, joining the organization in 2019 and came to the organization from outside of the fishbowl, but with a background working with a number of outdoor brands. He’s incredibly fluent with “our people” in the Channel Mastery community and offers a vision that will be extremely beneficial to the future of both USA Cycling and cycling as a whole.

We’ve talked about the monumental growth of the cycling industry in 2020 through 2021 and the importance of not only catching and collecting newcomers to the sport but keeping them. Rob shares the long-term vision and strategy for USA Cycling, including offering free youth programming and the importance of doing so for the future of the sport.

He also shares how the organization is putting “compliance” in the rear view mirror and steering toward a mission-driven mentality for the future. This is a must-listen to episode for our Channel Mastery cycling enthusiasts, but also for anyone interested in hearing how an organization can make strides to become a more inclusive, receptive to feedback and open to change.

Rob joined USA Cycling in February 2019, bringing with him extensive knowledge and experience from a diverse background as well as strong business-building experience across various industries. A passionate athlete and cycling enthusiast, Rob was drawn to the opportunity to lead USA Cycling after recognizing the potential for the organization to take on a larger leadership role in the cycling industry.

Rob came to USA Cycling after spending 12 years as President and CEO of New Balance where under his leadership, New Balance doubled its global annual sales to reach $4.2B and achieved one of the highest growth rates in the athletic footwear and apparel industry. Prior to joining New Balance, his career at Procter & Gamble spanned 20 years, beginning in their Food & Beverage Division and including management roles with the Gillette Company, North American Snacks, and Millstone Coffee.

Rob is the past Chairman of The American Apparel & Footwear Association and is a former board member of The Advanced Functional Fabrics of America, a nonprofit spinoff from MIT, focused on accelerating innovation in the apparel industry. He is also a current board member of Welch Foods, a Farmer Owned Cooperative and former board member of Aloha Foods.

Rob earned his B.S. in Finance from San Diego State University. Rob, along with his son and daughter-in-law owns Park City Bike & Demo Bike Shop, and resides with his wife in Park City, Utah.

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Episode Highlights:

By sticking to their original business model, Outdoor Prolink offers exclusive membership to active industry professionals
Hear how guides are the original influencers bridging the gap between brands and consumers
With a database of over 130,000 members, Outdoor Prolink still provides a customized experience for their members

Description:

For specialty brands and businesses, referrals and recommendations from industry pros are a make it or break it tool and ultimately, a channel in and of itself. I invited Gareth Richards, CEO of Outdoor Prolink on the podcast for this episode to offer insight into the Outdoor Prolink membership, and how the members continue to drive the relationship between brands, specialty retail stores and consumers.

Outdoor Prolink was created to connect outdoor industry professionals directly with brands. Through a handbuilt approach for accepting applicants and monitoring members, they’ve grown immensely over the years and now have a database of over 130,000 industry professionals. They have never wavered from their original business model and still require proof of employment and annual verification to continue membership.

Influencer marketing has existed since the dawn of time, though it hasn’t always been known as it is today. Guides, along with specialty retail associates, were the original influencers offering advice for newcomers in the sport on which gear and equipment they used and put full trust in to keep them safe. What Outdoor Prolink does is continue to build the relationship between brands and outdoor industry professionals through a tech driven platform, which eventually drives consumers to independently owned retailers.

With a quickly changing landscape, brands and retailers should be focused on consumer centricity now more than ever. The members of Outdoor Prolink offering third-party testimonials continue to drive consumers directly to retail and master their channel.

Gareth Richards is CEO and owner of Outdoor ProLink. He has a demonstrated history of working in the sporting goods industry and is skilled in retail, sales, event management, team building, and sporting goods. He is a strong business development professional with a MA focused in Experiential Education from University of Colorado at Boulder.

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Episode Highlights:

Hear how the welcoming and engaged community of Veloclub is fueling their membership growth
Abby Mickey shares her personal story against inequality in cycling and as a female journalist
Learn how Youtube as a channel is helping build an audience excited about women’s racing

Description:

I’ve been a long time follower of Cycling Tips and became even more of a fan when Abby Mickey, retired professional cycling and extraordinary journalist joined the team. Abby brings a beautiful narrative touch and has such a strong sense of storytelling that it makes every story richer and offers a point of differentiation. I was absolutely thrilled to host her as my guest on this episode of Channel Mastery.

During our interview, Abby shares the story of joining the team at Cycling Tips as Associate Editor and the negative response from some of the audience members. This unwarranted feedback was sent to her via email, comments on podcasts and articles or directly to the Editor in Chief.

She also shares how the community of Cycling Tips membership, Veloclub is highly engaged, loyal and quickly expanding. You’ll also hear how Youtube is becoming a channel important to women in cycling.

Abby was born and raised in the mountains of Colorado. Until college she was a ski racer but once at the University of Colorado Boulder she discovered the world of bikes. She participated in mountain and road racing until she graduated from school with a degree in History. Afterwards she pursued a professional career in road racing and competed in Europe and the USA until 2019 when she hung up her race bike. Now she is an Associate Editor at CyclingTips. She focuses on covering the women’s professional peloton through writing and also on her podcast, Freewheeling.

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Episode Highlights:

Host, Kristin Carpenter, sits down with Renita Smith and Emily Newman to offer a look at the tools Camber Outdoors offers to “Meet the Moment”
A recent workplace survey by Glassdoor reported that 76% of employees and job seekers said a diverse workforce was very important when evaluating companies and offers. Hear how Camber Outdoors works with companies to move closer to the goals of diversifying their workforces
As we approach the one year anniversary of the murder of George Floyd, it’s timeto check in on the goals and promises you made as an organization over the past year

Description:

In June 2020, Emily Newman and Renita Smith of Camber Outdoors went live on Facebook with Channel Mastery host Kristin, in the midst of protests surrounding the murder of George Floyd. During that discussion, they announced the release of new resources Camber had created to help brands and businesses in the specialty markets and outdoor industry move forward with their diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.

Now, as we approach the one year anniversary of George Floyd’s murder in late May, Emily and Renita offered a check-in or progress report and “Tools to Meet the Moment.” The discussion invites organizations to revisit the promises made a year ago and continue to learn, act and change within their organizations.

With a recent Glassdoor workplace survey reporting that 76% of employees and job seekers said a diverse workforce was very important when evaluating companies and job offers, it’s important now more than ever to continue work in this space and continue to revisit the promises outlined in 2020.

Emily Newman is Executive Director of Camber Outdoors and serves as ex officio on the organization’s board of directors. Prior to joining the organization in 2019, Emily served as Founder and Founder & Principal of Beechwood Partners, a social-impact consultancy dedicated to developing vision, strategy, operational systems and teams for foundations and field-leading nonprofit clients. Notable projects included work with the Obama Administration’s My Brother’s Keeper Alliance, Microsoft, Majestic Realty Foundation, PeerForward, the Los Angeles Urban League and a variety of prestigious Tribal Government and Family Foundations. Emily holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Barnard College at Columbia University and a Master of Science from the New School for Social Research.

Renita Smith is Chief Programs Officer of Camber Outdoors and a proven leader in driving superior performance, financial value, and positive social impact for enterprises spanning the private and nonprofit sectors. She is passionate about creating diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplaces that enable companies to better reach and serve customers, employees, partners, suppliers, and their communities. In her role at Camber, Renita devises our strategic roadmap and leads the implementation of all programs, initiatives, and resources that will support the $887 Billion Outdoor Recreation Economy in building a diverse talent pipeline and creating inclusive hiring practices and workplaces.

Renita serves on the boards of several organizations focused on health, education, and the arts. She is particularly passionate about helping to equip low-income, minority, and/or underrepresented young people actualize their potential in college, career, and beyond. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from Stanford University and a Master of Business Administration from Stanford Graduate School of Business.

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Episode Highlights:

Scott Buelter, Ascent 360 CEO and founder returns to the show to share the newest consumer trends to focus on in Q2 2021
In the 2020-2021 ski season, resorts went from 15% consumer data collection to 90% consumer data collection almost overnight. What’s next for the ski industry?
As biking is about to pick back up, hear what you can do as a specialty retailer to stay connected and engage with your target consumer above your competitors

Description:

Ascent 360’s CEO and founder, Scott Buelter is back for another appearance on this episode of Channel Mastery. Scott joined us for episode 157 in January 2021 and shared key consumer trends we could expect as we were in the first month of a brand new year and quarter. We were eager to get him back for this episode so he can share a wealth of information from Q1 and what we can focus on in specialty business as we’re now into Q2.

We’ve all known that consumers in specialty markets are passionate. They’re willing to work around fragmentation and friction for our products because they adore their sports and the community that come along with them. Scott shares some of the personal touches he’s seen retailers hone in on this year to uplevel their human to human connections and increase their engagement.

With so many newcomers first to the skiing industry and now as we enter the 2021 biking season, the specialty experience has to evolve. This is a must listen to episode, as Scott advise on what’s working and what’s not working with the data to better understand it.

As CEO and president, Scott Buelter guides Ascent360’s strategy and vision. His mission is to bring enterprise-level marketing capabilities to midsize businesses through a powerful CDP, allowing them to better understand their customers and achieve continual growth. Buelter draws upon his data analysis and digital marketing experience at companies such as Nike, Disney, Royal Caribbean, Loews Hotels, American Express and Samsung, as well as upon his academic background. Buelter received an MBA from the University of California–Irvine and a Bachelor of Science in economics from the University of San Diego, in addition to studying at the London School of Economics and the Institute of Education Sciences in Berlin and Vienna.

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Episode Highlights:

Live Feisty founder, Sara Gross, shares how creating content that fits their ever-evolving target consumer and staying connected with that consumer has helped Live Feisty grow and expand their community
Sara shares insight to her life and story as a professional athlete, mom, content creator, podcast host, Ph.D., and business owner and more
Hear how Live Feisty expanded into a number of different spaces when the pandemic hit and how they pivoted from in-person to virtual events

Description:

On the Channel Mastery podcast, we focus on the importance of knowing your target audience and really speaking to them, engaging with them, and staying connected to them. What I enjoyed most in speaking with Sara Gross, Live Feisty founder, for this episode is that she not only focuses on staying true to her target audience, but is also quick to pivot and expand Live Feisty’s content as their audience continues to grow and change.

Sara tells us how the name “Live Feisty” came to fruition and how building a safe and inclusive community is at the heart of all they do. She also shares the challenges and opportunities Live Feisty faced in order to shift from in-person events to virtual events through 2020.

To wrap up the interview, she said something that is still resonating so much for me. She said, “...people say to fake it until you make it, but I don’t think that’s it. It’s a willingness to work in the dark.” If you’re an entrepreneur struggling to forge ahead or simply looking for some inspiration from a real visionary, you’ll find a lot of value in this episode.

Sara Gross is an Ironman triathlon champion, an academic, podcast host, tiktok-er and the founder of Live Feisty Media. After twelve years as a professional triathlete and three major international wins, Sara set her sights on shifting the cultural narrative for athletic, performance-minded women. Sara founded Live Feisty Media in 2017, a company that creates content for active, feisty folks who love to sweat or be covered in mud from time to time. Sara’s PhD is in women’s history and you can hear her unsolicited opinions about many things every Friday on the ‘If We Were Riding’ podcast.

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Episode Highlights:

You’ll hear how Outside Inc., is modernizing endemic journalism through editorial and experience acquisitions and a strong content ecosystem
Robin and Kristin share how Covid-19 shifted consumer behavior and how those shifts are connected to a massive influx of newcomers into the outdoor markets
You’ll get Robin’s take on one of the most important approaches to retain these newcomers - making it easy for them to identify and actively engage with their passions
Discover the long-term vision and strategy for Outside Inc., including its membership program and how the teams at Outside Inc.’s myriad of publications and brand experiences will work to “catch and keep” our outdoor recreation newcomers in 2021

Welcome to another season of Channel Mastery! This episode featuring Robin Thurston, CEO of Outside is our inaugural episode of season four. We can’t wait to offer another season of Channel Mastey, presented by Verde Brand Communications.

Robin is the CEO of Outside, the world’s leading creator of active lifestyle content and experiences. Formerly known as Pocket Outdoor Media, Robin acquired Outside along with other companies such as OutsideTV, Gaia GPS, AthleteReg and Peloton magazine in February 2021. To say I was excited to interview him is an understatement. Through these acquisitions and a major rebranding, Robin and the Outside team have created an incredible content ecosystem that is changing the experiential and outdoor media market and single handedly modernizing journalism.

On the episode, he shares how their strong content enables them to create data that leads to personalization and ultimately converts to membership and a tailored consumer experience. We touch on the consumer behavior shifts that took place in 2020 and how Outside is focused on connecting and engaging with newcomers to the outdoor industry.

As always, thanks for listening to Channel Mastery! Subscribe today to hear new episodes first all season long!

Robin Thurston is the CEO of Outside, the world's leading creator of active lifestyle content and experiences. Formerly known as Pocket Outdoor Media, Robin acquired Outside along with other companies such as OutsideTV, Gaia GPS, AthleteReg, and Peloton Magazine in February of 2021. Outside now reaches 70 million of the most active consumers across its web, print, podcast, social, video, and TV platforms. Before joining Outside, Robin ran a consumer genetics company called Helix in Silicon Valley, and co-founded and built MapMyFitness into one of the world’s largest open fitness tracking platforms. A Colorado-native, Robin resides in Boulder with his wife and three children.

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Description:

For this week’s show, we’re replaying our MOST downloaded show ever in four plus years of Channel Mastery - the Jennifer Kriske, Machines for Freedom show, originally released as episode 118 in January 2020.

Jennifer is founder and CEO of Machines for Freedom, a very specialized, very awesome women’s cycling apparel brand. Her entrepreneurial spirit and approach showcases a spirit and drive to serve her target consumer. She does that through the right mix of channels, remarkable content and a comfort around putting a continued stake in the ground with inclusivity. She was a groundbreaking leader in this regard and I am completely inspired by her.

Her message in this episode is one that should really resonate with the specialty business community served with Channel Mastery.

Enjoy this encore episode, and know that within a couple of weeks, Channel Mastery will enter a new season with a stellar line-up of guests. We’re up-leveling the show to be the vehicle you need to know what’s working and what’s not to serve your focal consumer today.

Jennifer Kriske is Founder of Machines for Freedom, a high quality, high performance, women’s cycling apparel company. Prior to Machines for Freedom, she held positions ranging from entertainment media and hotel and restaurant design. In the midst of designing restaurants, she took up cycling and realized the need for kits that were more specifically designed for women.

Machines for Freedom launched in 2014 and immediately created palpable changes in the cycling world which has led to an industry-wide shift in the way cycling apparel is designed and marketed. Machines For Freedom not only proved to the industry that an entire market exists, but the company innovated and elevated cycling apparel for women in a way no other brand has, while building a strong and organic community riders who support each other, challenge themselves, and spread good vibes.

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Episode Highlights:

After in-person events were cancelled in 2020, SIA names tradeshow and event veteran, Brian Stephenson Director of Snowbound Festivals
What changes can consumer trade shows like Snowbound make to minimize the negative environmental impact of such large in-person events?
Hear how offering educational and relevant content year-round through SIA’s membership portal creates a barrier-free entry point for newcomers to the sports and bridges the gap between experts and novices

Description:

In the summer of 2020 and in the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Brian Stephenson was named Director of the Snowbound Festival, an event that many of us have always considered the kick off for the winter season. Brian was hired by SIA and brings with him an extensive background in consumer events like Comicon, Star Wars Celebration with Disney and Lucasfilm, and many others.

The cancellation of in-person events was our reality over the past year, and though we can’t say for certain what the next year will bring, developing a whole new ecosystem and expanding on the concept and community facet of an event like Snowbound is what Brian will bring to the table.

A membership site is a platform we haven’t discussed here much on Channel Mastery, but our consumers are continuing to evolve and become even hungrier for our content. Similar to email lists, memberships create an audience willingly engaging in what we have to say and offer a community. SIA and Snowbound are widening the portal for the newcomer to winter sports, bridging the gap between an expert and a novice and bringing all of these components together under one portal and then the literal, roof, of the consumer shows.

Also on the minds of so many of our evolving consumers is sustainability and how their favorite brands, businesses and organizations are aligning their practices with that of the consumers. Brian shares what Snowbound Festivals of the future are doing to ensure they’re practicing what they preach and keeping the environment and sustainability at top of mind.

Brian Stephenson is the Director of Snowbound, the new consumer platform of Snowsports Industries of America (SIA). Brian started his career in the winter division of Airwalk and then became the Sports Marketing Manager for SoBe Beverages at PepsiCo and oversaw the partnership with Burton Snowboards including the US Open of Snowboarding and the winter athlete program. After leaving Pepsi, Brian helped create a new consumer pop culture event division at Reed Exhibitions called Reedpop. Reedpop runs some of the largest consumer events in the world including New York Comic Con, Star Wars Celebration, ComplexCon, PAX, Emerald City Comic Con, and many more. While at Reedpop Brian built and maintained relationships with global partners including CBS, Crunchyroll, Disney, DC Entertainment, Lucasfilm, Marvel, Microsoft, Warner Bros, and many others. Brian joined the SIA team in 2020 and is bringing his multi-faceted brand and event experience together with his love of Snowsports to build the new Snowbound Festivals.

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Episode Highlights:

Rach McBride, a non-binary pro-athlete, shares how they use their platform to be a vehicle for positive change and how brands can follow their lead
People for Bikes introduces new sub committees including a DEI focused committee bringing together individual brands to discuss racial and gender inequality and how to make everyone feel safe on bikes
Hear why accepting progress over perfection is the first step for brands!

Description:

Rach McBride is known in the sports community as ‘the most interesting person in triathlon.’ They were the first triathlete to come out as non-binary and they are using their voice, story and platform, to create an inclusive community and bring awareness and education to individuals and businesses. Rach joins me on this episode of Channel Mastery, along with Jill Nazeer, Diamondback’s Director of Marketing.

You’ll hear Rach’s story of becoming a professional athlete a little later in life, respectively, and what’s ahead for 2021 after the cancellations of so many races in 2020. Rach and Jill share details of the Diamondback Gravel Scholarship, the growth of gravel and what People for Bikes is doing to create a more inclusive and safer environment for new or established cyclists.

This is a must-listen for brands and businesses unsure about where to start when it comes to inclusivity, diversification and equality. Brands are in the driver seat of the vehicle of change and it’s time to embrace progress over perfection.

Rach has been racing full-time as a professional triathlete since 2011. Known as the “Purple Tiger,” they are a three-time Ironman 70.3 Champion and have numerous podium and course record results across several distances in the sport. Deemed "the most interesting [person] in triathlon" by TRS Radio, Rach is the first professional triathlete to be out as gender non-binary. They hold two graduate degrees in genetics and are an accomplished cellist. Rach loves being a minimalist, spinning fire, and working in sexual health education and advocacy in beautiful Vancouver, Canada, where they live and train.

Jill Nazeer is the Marketing Director at Alta Cycling, the parent company of Diamondback, Raleigh, Redline, Haibike, and IZIP. Jill has experience working in the outdoor industry for brands such as K2 and The North Face, as well as at non-profits such as the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Team In Training where she managed their Triathlon and Cycle teams. Originally hailing from Chicago, Jill takes full advantage of Seattle’s adventurous spirit, and enjoys bringing her passion for the outdoors to the community.

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Episode Highlights:

Learn how Overland International is utilizing a multi-channel approach to marketing - print, podcasting, online, email - to connect with its customers.
Why authenticity is so important in your marketing strategy - it makes all the difference and Overland International is doing an amazing job at it!
The future of consumer shows, like the Overland Expo. Is there still a place for shows like this today?
Overland International’s secret sauce to making newcomers feel welcome - and how this is the key to success for the industry.

Description:

Scott Brady of Overland International has been a path burner for the overland community for years, and continues to lead the charge when it comes to connecting, engaging with and welcoming new participants to the industry. Overlanding, which has grown into a nearly a trillion dollar industry was once thought of as separate from the outdoor industry, but Brady continues to tie together the two into a broader ecosystem that is beneficial for everyone.

In this episode, you’ll hear how he’s mastering a multi-channel mix to continue to connect with his established audience on channels he owns, while also welcoming and engaging new enthusiasts. He also highlights the importance of continuing to diversify the fans and followers of the sport for long-term industry success. We also touch on predictions for the future of consumer shows like Overland Expo and the challenges we’ll face in years to come because of the pandemic and shutdowns.

Overlanding may be a lesser known branch of the outdoor industry, but it’s one I’ve been excited to keep an eye on for the past few years and even more so while studying how the consumers have changed and shifted their behaviors and preferences because of COVID-19.

Scott is an adventure driver and consultant who has worked on various specialty-vehicle projects for auto manufacturers, aftermarket companies, and television producers such as Top Gear. He is a passionate photographer and writer with international credits, the only American to have won the esteemed Outback Challenge, Morocco, and a Tread Lightly Master Trainer. Business ventures during the past decade include the Overland Society, Expeditions West, Expedition Portal, and Overland Journal. He has traveled through over 60 countries and across every continent. His most current project, Expeditions 7, is a round-the-world overland odyssey in two 78 Series Toyota Land Cruisers. After reaching the end of the road, he enjoys canyoneering, climbing, and mountain biking. Scott lives in Prescott, Arizona.

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In this episode of Channel Mastery, I sit down with Maria Boustead. Maria started Po Campo, an international distributor of functional, stylish, and practical cycling bags for riders of all ages after realizing there was a major need for a bag that cyclists would find functional and enjoy using throughout their normal workday. Maria and I dive into the foundation of Po Campo, how the pandemic completely shifted their marketing efforts, product focus, equity crowdfunding, and much more.

Over the past 11 or so months throughout the pandemic, we’ve seen huge booms and a wave of newcomers in the cycling industry. Maria admits that their success at Po Campo, may have been a bit of - right product at the right time - but she is incredibly proud of being able to support and serve both the new cyclists of 2020 and the veteran cyclings with good gear from Po Campo. Through the biking boom, she and her team were especially focused on finding the right channel mix to reach their target consumers, who were surprisingly different in 2020 compared to years prior. While their company website may have been the initial workhorse, investing heavily in their digital presence and a new website, proved to be a focal point and necessity for the brand in order to reach and engage with their new consumer

What I was most excited to talk to Maria about is a channel we haven’t explored much here on Channel Mastery and that’s Equity Crowdfunding. Rather than crowdfunding with a model like Kickstarter, Po Campo opted for a Equity Crowdfunding, which provides donors with a financial stake in the business. After building the brand alongside their customers, Po Campo felt providing this piece of the Po Campo pie and financial stake was the absolute right move for their business.

If you’re interested in scaling a small business, while keeping the end consumer at top of mind and focusing on how to reach and engage them, tune in to this week’s episode of Channel Mastery.

TAKEAWAYS FROM THE EPISODE

Maria shares the channel shifts and growth they discovered at Po Campo with the massive influx of newcomers to the cycling industry. Through a new website focused on serving their target consumer and investing in their digital presence, Po Campo grew their online sales by 250% yoy.
Po Campo brought in a team of industry professionals, including past Giro and Marmot teammates to grow the business in marketing, product development and financial management to help with planning for the future.
Through equity crowdfunding rather than a more traditional crowdsourcing platform like Kickstarter, Po Campo offers a piece of the company to continue to connect with their consumers and brand followers.

Maria is the founder and CEO of Po Campo, an internationally-distributed line of functional, stylish, and sustainable bags designed specifically to make biking a better and more seamless part of your life. Since May 2013, Po Campo has partnered with World Bicycle Relief, donating a portion of sales to funding the purchase of bicycles for girls in developing countries so that they can get to school. An in-demand speaker, Maria has presented about her entrepreneurial journey in the bike and outdoor world at the League’s National Bike Summit, the Industrial Designer Society of America (IDSA) National Conference, and the Outdoor Retailer Trade Show, among others.

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Kim Miller, CEO of SCARPA North America and a revered friend of mine and client of Verde Brand Communications is our guest today on Channel Mastery. In 2020, Verde launched a regular monthly episode series featuring resources and solutions to ensure people of color are more comfortable identifying as part of the outdoors communities. Verde is committed to strategically using our reach and the reach of our clients to welcome a more diverse participant base into the incredible outdoor community.

On this episode, Kim shares the initiatives SCARPA North America has made to ensure they’re continually thinking about equity, diversity, inclusion and sustainability. In early 2021, they launched the inaugural “SCARPA Stands for Guiding Growth - Athlete Mentorship Initiative.” The goal of the program is to connect and engage the SCARPA Athlete team with accomplished athletes from historically marginalized communities, who are aspiring to take their sport or career to the next level.

Listen to the full episode to learn more about the new initiative, Kim’s past and the mindset for SCARPA’s future and how diversity plays a role in the outdoor industry, growing a brand, and creating a sustainable working environment.

TAKEAWAYS FROM THE EPISODE:
The Scarpa team launched a program in 2021 entitled, “SCARPA Stands for Guiding Growth - Athlete Mentorship Initiative.” The program is designed to connect and engage the SCARPA athlete team with accomplished athletes from historically marginalized communities, who are aspiring to take their sport and career to the next level.

Kim talks through the development of SCARPA’s Pillars of Principles or Pillars of Values - people, planet, principles and product.

Now, more than ever, it is important for speciality businesses and brands to be vehicles of positive change. Kim shares how he and his team at SCARPA are ushering this type of positive and forward change.

Kim Miller is the CEO of Scarpa North America, a performance-driven and purpose-built backcountry skiing, climbing, hiking, mountaineering, trail running, and telemark footwear company.

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Scott Buelter, CEO and President of Ascent 360 joins us on this episode of Channel Mastery. Ascent 360 was founded with the mission to build advanced technology that does amazing consumer personalization and bring it to the outdoor industry and specialty businesses and brands. This idea was an incredibly forward thinking idea at the time and I truly believe it has elevated the opportunity for small and mid-sized specialty brands to earn the hearts, minds and trust of their target consumers - a mantra you hear me say often, Channel Masters.

If nothing else, 2020 granted us all in specialty business experiences that worked or didn’t work. We now have so many things we can look back on and either graduate forward as we’re looking to manage another year or leave behind. Consumer behavior shifted at unprecedented rates last year and with that, consumer expectations changed too. We have to continue to be nimble and connect with our consumers on an emotional level and Scott is here today to offers real life examples of how to do just that.

This episode is a great way to lead into 2021 and I am excited to see what Ascent 360 does next!

GUEST PROFILES:

As CEO and president, Scott Buelter guides Ascent360's strategy and vision. His mission is to bring enterprise-level marketing capabilities to midsize businesses through a powerful CDP, allowing them to better understand their customers and achieve continual growth. Buelter draws upon his data analysis and digital marketing experience at companies such as Nike, Disney, Royal Caribbean, Loews Hotels, American Express and Samsung, as well as upon his academic background. Buelter received an MBA from the University of California–Irvine and a Bachelor of Science in economics from the University of San Diego, in addition to studying at the London School of Economics and the Institute of Education Sciences in Berlin and Vienna.

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In this episode of Channel Mastery, I am joined by Andrew Osborn. Andrew became the VP of Brand Creative at Outdoor Research, a beloved Verde Brand Communications client, after years of working in creative studios and on the design side of advertising agencies. He started at Outdoor Research just weeks before Covid-19 hit the states and has played a pivotal role in rebranding and guiding creative efforts throughout 2020 and is leading the charge into 2021.

Outdoor Research proved to be the leader of innovation and product development when they pivoted their productions early in the pandemic to create their face masks. In this interview, we dive into Andrew’s past work, how they quickly shifted production in the pandemic, where OR is headed next, and what 2021 has in store for brand storytelling, consumer engagement, and hard goods marketing, and more.

With a background in design and interactive experience, Andrew Osborn isa creative director who blends passion and profession with a strategic focus in the athletics and outdoor industries. He currently serves as Vice President of Brand Creative at Outdoor Research.

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Michelle Duffy, Director of Off-Road Events and Marketing for Life Time leads a small and mighty team with huge hearts and a huge commitment to their event athletes. If you are a long-time listener of the podcast, you have likely heard me talk about my love for Leadville and other events that the team at Life Time puts on annually. If you haven’t heard me talk about it, episode 100 recaps the significance of the 2019 race for me personally and introduces Kimo Seymour, SVP of Operations at Life Time. Understanding my own personal love for the events they host, it was obviously unfortunate that almost every single event was cancelled due to the pandemic this year.

What I am most proud of though in working with Michelle directly and Life Time as a client of Verde Brand Communications throughout the year, is that their team did not shy away from the public, they didn’t climb into the figurative holes each of us likely considered, even if just for a second. No - Life Time’s team immediately found ways to stay connected to their target consumers. They offered challenges to all groups of people to participate in, they rebranded in the midst of a pandemic, they raised unbelievable amounts of money for foundations and organizations within their racing communities and pivoted in so many more ways than you’d believe.

I cannot wait to see what the Life Time team does in 2021!

Michelle Duffy is the Director of Off-Road Events and Marketing for Life Time.

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Earl Hunter, President and founder of Black Folks Camp Too joins Kristin Carpenter and Alice Baker on this episode of Channel Mastery.

Black Folks Camp Too is a marketing-driven business with a mission to increase diversity in the outdoors. He and his son took a three-month road trip, staying at campgrounds across America and in those three-months, he saw only one other black family. It was through this experience and more, that he began his mission to help bring people of color into the outdoors.

Earl’s passion, energy and enthusiasm is infectious. He challenges brands and companies to join him on his mission, a marathon, not a sprint and lean on him and his company to help drive the change in the outdoors and the outdoor industry overall.

We were elated to have Earl on as a guest and look forward to following his mission and connecting Channel Masters with his cause.

Earl Hunter is an experienced business leader across multiple industries. He has been widely recognized for his ebullient personality, hard work ethic and non-traditional approach to building relationships and closing deals. He is the founder and President of Black Folks Camp Too - a marketing-driven business whose mission is to increase diversity in the outdoor industry by making it easier, more interesting and more fun for black folks to go camping too.

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Eric Porter is a professional mountain biker that I have worked with over the years in a variety of different ways. At the end of every year, he’s traditionally planning his trips for the new year, but just like so many of us in 2020, he had to change how he approached this past year.

With cancelled trips, races and essentially all plans, he pivoted to focus on video production and ramped up his Youtube Channel - Porter MTB - over the past year. His goal throughout the year was reaching 100k follower and for him, he’s committed to turning out high quality videos, ensuring the videos he shares feature him authentically and that he’s connecting with his fans and followers.

As we’ve all seen in 2020, we have to adjust to where our consumers are and how their behavior has shifted. Eric and his fellow athletes at Diamondback and other brands are practicing what they preach and providing authentic content that speaks to their followers.

Listen to the full episode to hear how he reached - and exceeded - that 100k followers goal and what’s next to come for him!

Eric Porter is a father, fly fisherman, backcountry snowboarder, and Professional Mountain Biker. He grew up racing cross country mountain bikes, then switched to downhill and won Collegiate National Championships, and then switched to freeriding, where he was the first to grind handrails on a mountain bike. He spent the next 8 years on the World Slopestyle Tour and filming for big free ride videos, which piqued his interest in traveling the world. Since 2011 he has been on the forefront of mountain bike adventuring, riding his bike places no one else has been, and sharing those adventures with the world. He spends time on all of his bikes, from the road bike at home while training, to dirt jumping in his legendary backyard riding setup, to the XC bike for endurance and adventure racing, and mixing in a healthy dose of bikepacking as well. He is also trying hard to help as a public lands and trails advocate, volunteering as President of Wasatch Trails Foundation, helping to build and maintain multi-use trails in Utah.

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The year 2020 will forever be defined for outdoor recreation with the word “Boom.”

That’s especially true in cycling.

In April, bike sales grew 75% year over year and in June, 63% according to Axios. Creating a more inclusive, welcoming community for newcomers has always been a focus of Steve Matous, President of NICA, but especially during the bike boom of 2020 and the pandemic.

Steve was last on the show in August of 2019 for Episode 98 and I am stoked to have him back to Channel Mastery at this critical time. Steve’s insights shed light on how NICA has spent the last nine-plus months shifting their operations and races during the pandemic.

He shares how NICA immediately reached out to partners and sponsors at the start of the COVID-19 outbreak to ensure they could still operate and continue to serve the cycling community, their initiatives to invite newcomers to the sport, the importance of their missions through the pandemic and more. You’ll be inspired and amazed at the outcome Steve and the nimble NICA team has created so far through COVID. I hope you gain a lot of inspiration from this episode, I certainly did!

Steve Matous is president of the National Interscholastic Cycling Association (NICA). He comes to NICA from a broad-reaching and successful career in the outdoor industry from both the commercial and not-for-profit side, having led Outward Bound, Entre-Prises Climbing Walls, and the American Alpine Club, among other organizations. He is a strong advocate for youth participation and developing lifelong outdoor enthusiasts.

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This week on Channel Mastery, I’m pleased to introduce you to Cassie Abel, who is spearheading Women Led Wednesday, an online shopping event taking place on November 25th, 2020. This annual event joins together 400 women-founded brands across multiple industries and is a solution to try and keep the acceleration going on developing women in leadership.

As part of Channel Mastery’s justice, diversity, equity and inclusion series, we are elated to offer a platform here on the podcast that helps people who may need more visibility and elevate their voices and their missions.

Whether we realize it or not, along with the pandemic and recession, we also have another crisis moment to keep a close eye on and work to avoid together. We’ve seen a high percentage of women leaving the workforce through 2020. Cassie is leading by example with Women Led Wednesday by supporting and encouraging us to support women founded brands.

Join me in celebrating women by visiting www.womenledwednesday.com and through the collective purchasing power uplift the women-founded businesses featured on their site.

Based in Sun Valley, Idaho, Cassie Abel is a long-time outdoor industry professional who has committed her career to elevating women in the outdoors and in business. Abel is the co-founder & CEO of Wild Rye, a women’s mountain apparel brand dedicated to crafting beautiful and technical apparel that fits, inspires confidence and welcomes more women into the outdoors. In addition to Wild Rye, Abel founded Women-Led Wednesday, a purpose-driven shopping holiday that occurs annually with the goal of encouraging the general public to vote for women in leadership with their dollars. The holiday occurs annually the day before Thanksgiving – November 25, 2020 – and to support the holiday, Women-Led Wednesday hosts a robust women-led brand directory that features well over 400 women-led brands across all industries.

Prior to Wild Rye and Women-Led Wednesday, Cassie founded White Cloud Communication, a boutique PR & Marketing consulting business in addition to holding roles at Smith Optics, Visa, in finance and as a division one NCAA lacrosse coach.

When not working away to bring equity to women in the outdoors and in business, you can find Cassie playing in the mountains of Idaho (most frequently on bikes and skis) with her husband, Mike, baby, Sawyer, and fur-baby, Kirby.

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This year brought countless challenges, but 2020 also granted us with opportunities we likely didn’t expect for some of our businesses and brands.

Outerbike, the premier experiential consumer cycling event dedicated to helping mountain bikers and gravel grinders find their perfect bike, stepped up in a unique way in 2020 instead of retracting and taking figurative shelter.

When Outerbike’s expanded in-person events were cancelled, the small and mighty team designed and launched a digital tool designed to help lead consumers to the bike that’s best for them.

And what a necessary resource! Please add in stats on bike growth here, thank you!

Ashley Korenblat, founder of Outerbike, joins me again on the show (she was also featured in episode #86) with a special announcement. Launching this week is Outerbike’s interactive guide leading consumers to the bike category that’s best for them: Your Friend in the Bike Business.

This interactive digital resource takes away the intimidation of walking into a bike shop for help as a newcomer to the sport, but is also tailored to work for experienced riders, whether you’re looking for a new bike or just exploring options.

The cycling industry saw huge waves of newcomers to cycling and outdoor recreation in 2020. Now businesses of all sizes have the opportunity to catch, collect and keep this newcomer. Listen today to see how Ashley and her team are creating a welcoming and inclusive environment to newcomers and experienced cyclists alike. I for one was super inspired to see this small, entrepreneurial company take massive action to nurture our amazing newcomers to cycling and outdoor. I hope you enjoy this episode and share it with as many cycling enthusiasts - new and experienced - as you possibly can!

Ashley Korenblat is CEO of Western Spirit, founder of Outerbike and managing Director of Public Lands Solutions.

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Hello my friends and welcome to episode 149 of the Channel Mastery podcast.

It’s the end of October 2020 as I’m recording this - we have a big day happening next week. It’s a lot, isn’t it? This election? What I have planned for you today is a light respite from the rhetoric you may be being bombarded with on EVERY CHANNEL known to man and woman kind - right now.

So…. Let’s drop in!

Channel Mastery exists to level the playing field for specialty brands as the competition continues to climb around reaching, engaging and converting today’s consumer. Winning their attention, let alone keeping it? It’s a continual street fight…

My guest today is the absolute epitome of specialty and I am delighted to present this interview to you because it literally screams to us that we need to pay attention to the details, be as human as we can, and live to serve the people in our brand and retail specialty communities.

Nancy Guinn is the founder and President of Dog Krazy, a retail pet product store that is so much more than that.

Nancy takes the time to get to know and tailor service to her shoppers and her community. She knows what she’s great at and what her business excels at, and she keeps building more surprise and delight of the specialty variety into the channels that her people follow her and Dog Krazy on.

So, Dog Krazy was founded in 2006, but you know what’s amazing? Her expansion hit a fever pitch in 2020 - yes, the COVID 2020… They now have seven total locations and a very robust, regionalized social media presence and following. The channels all feed each other, and give Nancy and her team the opportunity to present their forms of customer care in so many ways throughout their target shoppers’ journey.

This is an entertaining episode, and Nancy is very very energetic. Take note of three things you can either resurrect in your specialty business, or that you can start to try through the rest of 2020 and into 2021. I hope you enjoy this special episode of the Channel Mastery podcast - consider this cross-training for your specialty business!

Nancy Guinn is founder and President of Dog Krazy Inc. The first location was established in August 2006 when Nancy realized she wanted to spend every moment of her life with her bulldog, Pignet. Piglet was the inspiration for Dog Crazy and since her passing, Dog Krazy has expanded to seven locations throughout Virginia.

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Today, Verde launches the first of a regular monthly episode series featuring resources and solutions to ensure people of color are more comfortable identifying as part of the outdoors communities. Verde is committed to strategically using our reach and the reach of our clients to welcome a more diverse participant base into the incredible outdoor community!

Today’s guest on the Channel Mastery podcast is Aaron Foley, who was named Director of the Black Media Initiative at the Newmark Graduate School of Journalism in June of 2020. The collective goal in his new role is to increase the potential for community media. This is defined as Black media, Latino media, Indigenous media, Asian media, and media that is geared towards immigrant communities. It can also include Jewish media, Muslim media, Catholic media, etc. Ensuring Black media outlets are more sustainable is also a top initiative in his role.

Prior to this position, Aaron was a Fellow at the John S. Knight Journalism Fellowships at Stanford University, where he served as one of 19 professionals selected for a 10-month residency at Stanford assigned to research and innovate solutions in Journalism. Aaron and his cohort worked on topics like: revenue streams from public entities to fund independent newsrooms; curbing spread of misinformation and disinformation among Black news consumers.

He’s also been a journalist, of course. He served as Chief Storyteller for the City of Detroit, a position that was a Mayoral appointment, a first for a city government in the U.S. And was Editor In Chief for BLAC Detroit Magazine. Aaron comes from a family that is deeply rooted in journalism, as his mother was a reporter, editor and photographer for the Michigan Chronicle, which is considered one of the oldest Black newspapers in the country.

Through his work in his new role, he wants to ensure Black media outlets are more sustainable. He offers ways for brands and businesses to successfully reach broader audiences and also sheds light on how our specialty businesses can support black media outlets and enable more people of color to feel part of our outdoor communities through media.

Kristin is joined by a co-host today, one of her esteemed Verde Brand Communications colleagues, Alice Baker!

Alice has been a part of the Verde team for about three years and crushes it day in and day out leading her clients at the agency. Alice has stepped up to lead Verde’s commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. Verde’s agency-wide goal is to strategically deploy its reach, and the reach of its clients, to enable more people of color to feel welcome in the outdoors. Once a month going forward, the Channel Mastery podcast will be dedicated to that commitment. Alice will be co-hosting these special episodes.

Without further ado, here’s the Aaron Foley interview on the Channel Mastery podcast! Let’s do this!

Aaron Foley is a journalist from Detroit who has had an extensive freelance career and was the city of Detroit’s first chief storyteller from 2017 to 2019. Before joining the Newmark J-School’s Center for Community Media (CCM) in June 2020 as the Black Media Initiative Director, he was a John S. Knight Journalism Fellow at Stanford University.

His freelance work has appeared in BuzzFeed, The Atlantic, CNN, Forbes, The Root, Ebony, Columbia Journalism Review, New Michigan Media among other platforms. He also helped launch the successful digital news site MLive Detroit and was editor-in-chief of BLAC Detroit magazine, a publication covering black life, arts, and culture in metro Detroit. He is the author of How to Live in Detroit Without Being a Jackass (2015) and has an impressive public speaking record, including a Ted Talk. Foley describes himself as “a product of Black media.” His mother was an editor at the Michigan Chronicle, one of the oldest and last remaining Black newspapers in the country.

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This episode combines three interviews, which took place during a 3-day interview sprint with some of our most popular and knowledgeable Channel Mastery guests. David Howell of Howell and Associates, Ryan Riggs of Pattern and Kelly Ramirez of Prismatic, joined me for the first ever Verde Brand Communications and Channel Mastery Holiday Summit.

They are absolute knock-outs for when it comes to specialty business experts and they’re here today to help offer tips and guidance for all of us leading into holiday and finishing 2020 as strongly as possible. Each of these speakers bring a unique perspective on how consumer behavior trends and a surge in ecommerce will be reshaping the holiday season this year. Their information is invaluable as we wrap up the year.

Listen here and subscribe to Channel Mastery!

David Howell is Managing Partner and founder at Howell & Associates. For 19 years he and his firm have specialized in traditional Global Brand Protection, Anti-Counterfeiting, and the Newera Open Marketplace and Ecommerce Channel Compliance. Having worked with over 500 manufacturers in recent years, he has a level of uncanny foresight in helping manufacturers solve online issues in just about every facet. When he’s not working long hours for his client’s success, he can be found deep in the Idaho mountains hiking, biking, or on his paddleboard on beautiful Payette Lake.

Ryan Riggs is the Vice President of Business Development at Pattern. His career has spanned over 14 years in global commercial sales, and brand and product management. He has worked for KEEN, Columbia, Mountain Hardwear, and Montrail in the outdoor footwear, apparel and equipment sectors. He has successfully led global and regional teams to develop multi-channel product and merchandising strategies that grow revenue and increase profitability for both the brand and partners.

Kelly Ramirez is founder and CEO of Prismatic, a growth consultancy that bolts onto brands to improve E-commerce performance and accelerate revenue from digital channels. Kelly founded Prismatic after nearly a decade at Google, where she led global growth initiatives for the top 1% of digital native travel advertisers including Expedia, Orbitz, Travelocity, Hotels.com. With hyperfocus on the foundational elements that enable a company to succeed in the new e-commerce ecosystem, Prismatic is an advisor, an interpreter, and hands-on practitioner for brands in growth mode.

During the COVID crisis, Kelly and her team have been working in lockstep with clients in the SaaS, Outdoor, and Travel industries to interpret macro impacts, develop strategic and authentic response strategies, and evolve their approach to scale in the dynamic retail environment.

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A few weeks ago, I had the honor of doing my second interview for the Outdoor Biz podcast, a show produced by podcast leader Rick Saez. It was refreshing to be interviewed about the Academy, and franky, to be the interviewee and not the interviewer. The episode turned out super well for a couple of reasons:

1 - It definitely outlines who the course is for, why we launched it, and the intentional timing of our launch (it very much serves specialty brand and business leaders transforming during a pandemic and recession while balancing living through palpable social unrest in the world)

2 - This podcast episode brings to light the very real, very human experience of launching something like an immersive, digital product and the personal change that calls for (from your’s truly). Never have I felt this vulnerable in what I thought was my safe zone - business. …

Channel Masters, you’ll get a lot out of this episode because it answers questions about the offering of the Academy, but also, because it gives you a front row seat of what it was like to literally LIVE THROUGH what I was about to teach in the Academy - choosing to intentionally change and up-level through a very very uncertain time.

I’ve learned since doing this show that this expansion of Verde's service and support offerings for our specialty communities required a mindset shift. It called me to step up on a level I never had before, and to lead a small but mighty team within Verde to bring it to life.

And we are SO glad we did. Why? That’s easy….

The Multi-Channel Marketing Academy opens for enrollment again this week, on Tuesday, September 15th. Mark your calendars!

Whether you are a seasoned marketing professional looking to up-level your multi-channel strategy, a business leader looking to rethink your strategy in light of recent changes, or a startup working to create and execute marketing that will put you on the map, this course will give you the skills and strategies to grow and engage your community across the most relevant channels, while driving your end goal - generating sales.

And your instructor, me, WILL be able to coach you through leaving your past identity behind, and stepping up and into a much bigger calling and a bigger way to serve and create expansion: through becoming a multi-channel master, and a change agent within your organization.

I hope you’ll join us in this cohort of the Academy!

Listen to the episode and subscribe to Channel Mastery and The Outdoor Biz podcast!

Rick Saez is an avid Outdoor Adventurer a 30+ year career in the outdoor industry. He’s held leadership roles with iconic brands such as Montbell, Eagle Creek, JanSport Dana Design and Lowepro. He is Founder, producer and host of the Outdoor Biz Podcast and author of Trails to the Top: Outdoor Adventure Insider Stories and Advice to Manage Business and Grow Careers.

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As we’re in the year of pivoting, quickly shifting consumer behaviors and uncertainty, I thought my guests today from the Springs Wealth Group would be great to feature on the show, which is our first official “Cross Training” episode, a new type of show we’ll be hosting every other month or so. In this series, we get to learn from specialty brands that are not retail or physical product related. No matter what kind of business you have, your customer is online today and we all need to be re-examining how our target customer is discovering, engaging with and buying from us. The Springs Wealth Group is no exception.

My guests today include Andy Inman and Chris Young are co-founders and financial advisors at the Springs Wealth Group, a financial advisory practice with offices in Colorado Springs and Texas.

What they do is very important throughout the year, but in a year like COVID and as we're heading into the last couple months of 2020, business finances and personal finances are top of mind for many of us. Andy and Chris talk about their unique way of getting to know prospective clients, which I LOVE and how they’re trying to change the way of thinking from, I’ll enjoy life when I retire to let’s enjoy it now.

They’re also here to talk more about Corporate Social Responsibility and the trends they’ve seen in the financial world when it comes to people and businesses supporting brands that math their ethics and belief systems.

Andy Inman is a financial advisor and co-founder at Springs Wealth Group, based in Colorado Springs, CO. For the past 11 years he has partnered with both individuals and businesses/organizations to help them align their financial strategies with both their individual lifestyles and long-term goals. When he’s not busy collaborating with his clients to help them live their best life, he can be found somewhere in the Rocky Mountains camping, mountain biking, skiing or snowboarding (yes, he does both). He considers himself an avid supporter of the Colorado lifestyle, an outdoor enthusiast, a semi-pro bourbon drinker, and an amateur handyman. He currently lives in Colorado Springs with his wife Emily, and their three dogs.

Chris Young is a financial advisor at Springs Wealth Group. He started his financial services practice in 2002 in San Antonio, TX. Since then, he has worked with hundreds of successful families and business owners helping them to reach their most important financial goals. After spending the first 17 years in Texas, he and his family made the decision to move to Colorado. His decision was both personal and professional. Personally, for his youngest son Dean, who has autism, to could get additional resources in helping him to have a successful life. Professionally, to join together with my current business partner, Andy Inman, to focus on working with individuals and businesses with a passion for the outdoors and the outdoor lifestyle. He currently lives in Colorado Springs, CO his wife Adrianna, and three boys, Jack, Cole, and Dean. He is actively involved in their lives through sports, scouting, as well as autism awareness. He enjoy camping, backpacking, snow skiing, and anything outdoors.

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Channel Masters are very entrepreneurial in how they think and approach problem solving. In fact, when they have a problem they can’t find solutions for, they build the solutions themselves. That scrappy approach is what makes us inherently nimble. Roy Steves, my guest on today’s episode, is one scrappy problem-solver, and his client base is grateful for that. In this episode, you’ll hear right from the beginning - the founder’s story of Roy’s company Statbid, that he ushered in a new approach to paid search, one that put the client first.

That approach is more appreciated in 2020 than ever before for Statbid’s clients. Why? Well, Roy calls 2020 the year of irrelevant data. You need to know what he means by that, and in this episode he goes deep on why it’s important and how to act on that fact.

What’s in this episode is mission critical for marketers as they enter the last quarters of this challenging year. You’re about to witness the earliest onslaught ever of Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Holiday 2020 promotion and yes, Roy has advice on how to set a plan that will get your brand through in fine style.

Roy also points out that going direct to consumer is no longer an added bonus, but an absolute for brands and retailers meeting the needs and expectations of today’s changing consumer.

We discuss what’s working best today for online discovery and traction building and explore actionable steps you can take to prepare your business for the upcoming Q3 and Q4 of 2020, as we continue to work through COVID-19 and the unexpected changes of 2020.

Roy Steves is the co-founder of StatBid, a paid search agency specializing in direct to consumer and retail eCommerce brands. Previously, he had been CMO of PoolSupplyWorld, where he started as a web developer in 2010, but struck gold designing and implementing marketing and attribution systems, then building a marketing and merchandising team, ultimately doubling the business in just two years. This led, in 2013, to an acquisition by Leslie's Pool Supplies, the largest retail chain in their industry. During this period, he was a regular speaker at eCommerce conferences (eTail East and West, SuiteWorld, StatBid Summit) and podcast guest , where he thrived on conversations with fellow eCommerce operators. StatBid, founded in 2015, is the perfect vehicle for assembling an unrivaled team of experts, helping build eCommerce businesses, and talking shop.

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For the past five-plus months, through the COVID pandemic, recession and also, the social unrest that’s become part of our day-to-day lives as we shepherd our businesses, we’ve been talking around the importance of connecting your brand to a cause.

Today, we start a series on Channel Mastery about how to take action on that super important goal.

Connecting your specialty brand with social justice, social impact or a cause is not a nice-to-consider any longer - it’s a must do. No matter how you refer to it, it’s the action of having your brand stand for something and taking action toward supporting that cause every month going forward.

Consumers are demanding that their favorite brands align with them ethically and that those brands are taking action to make the change happen in the world they want to see. They no longer witness their government or other trusted institutions creating that change; so they’re now expecting their favorite brands to do just that.

Our first expert resource on that topic, hand picked for you, Channel Masters, is Chris Steinkamp, my guest on the Channel Mastery podcast today. Chris is the Principal and Founder of Baselayer Group and one of the founding members of Protect Our Winters (POW).

Chris is a fantastic resource for specialty brand leaders intent on aligning their ‘why’ with social and environmental impact. In this episode, you’ll learn how to give you fans and followers what they want: a cause to believe in and join, as well as a way to “roll up their sleeves and do something” with you to create change. Chris shares stories from the early days of POW and how other brands are leading by example to make real impact.

So many brands want to do the right thing right now, and consumers are tying their dollars to their values and supporting brands and businesses that align with them. We dive into creating movements and how brands can build deep loyalty from their fans and followers through corporate social responsibility.

Chris Steinkamp is the principal of Baselayer, a marketing consultancy that helps values-driven businesses and organizations build their brands and drive change through impactful brand strategies and consumer engagement initiatives. In 2007, he started Protect Our Winters (POW) with Jeremy Jones and was the executive director of the organization for a decade. He wrote the mission and the strategic business plan, built the POW brand and launched numerous initiatives and partnerships that established POW as the pre-eminent climate organization representing the outdoor sports community around the world.

He spent most of his career in Los Angeles, at advertising and marketing agencies such as TBWA\Chiat\Day, Deutsch and Octagon, developing award-winning campaigns for Nissan and BMW, and was part of the core team that won the Grand Effie for Nissan.

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This Channel Mastery episode originally aired as a live webcast produced by Outdoor Retailer in late June 2020. The webcast, The Weekly Chat, is an extension of The Weekly, a digital magazine for Outdoor Retailer. It launched in the face of the pandemic and economic shutdown and was very well attended by Outdoor Retailer’s audience.

Channel Mastery host, Kristin Carpenter, was asked to appear on the show with Doug Schnitzpahn to discuss the battle for trust, and engagement, and how more traditional media institutions can serve today's ever evolving consumer as they search to build trust and community online.

Traditional media entities are searching for ways to bring value to their audiences and readerships. Let’s face it - media is being disrupted in a big way and has been for the past few years. People are continually re-trained to expect both content and community to be presented in new ways and on new channels, and this evolution is not slowing down.

There isn’t a playbook for the pandemic and now recession so it’s our responsibility as business leaders to listen to and watch where the consumers are going, how they’re getting there, and adjust our way of thinking to best serve that North Star - our target consumers/shoppers.

Doug and Kristin dive in on this topic as it pertains to the discovery facet of the consumer decision journey.

Doug Schnitzpahn is an experienced innovative freelance writer, editor, and team leader with a demonstrated history of working in the publishing industry. He is skilled in Journalism, Corporate Communications, Social Media, Digital Media, and Editing. Doug is a strong media and communication professional with a Master of Fine Arts - MFA focused in Creative Writing from University of Washington.

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Though it’s still a few months away, the Winter 20/21 season will be here before we know it. Specialty businesses and brand leaders are in the throes of preparing for business with new best practices in the COVID-era. On this episode of the Channel Mastery podcast, I sat down with Wintersteiger’s Sales Director for Consumer Products, Ryan Eittreim. Wintersteiger is the leader in service and rental solutions for the ski and snowboard industry. Ryan’s led a super interesting initiative that Wintersteiger is producing for the specialty community: A best practice guide to serving consumers at both retail and rental this winter. What’s more, these incredible resources are in your favorite color: Free!

In addition to walking through these resources in this episode, Ryan and I also discuss the specialty markets’ journey through modernization of the consumer path to purchase through COVID. Specifically, we discuss how retailers and brands must be more consumer centric as the way consumers research and buy continues to change. I like to think of this conversation as a foundation of sorts to building a new plane while you’re flying your existing plane. Jedi!

I invite you to listen, learn and share this foundational episode created to help you best prepare your business to serve the moving target that is our consumer in the COVID-era. And don’t forget to grab the free resources at channelmastery.com.

Ryan Eittreim, born and raised in Sun Valley Idaho, is a 30-year veteran in the Snowsports Industry with focus on Bootfitting, Repair and rentals. Ryan has spent the last 20 years with Wintersteiger, Inc. in Salt Lake City, Utah as product and sales manager for machines and rentals, is currently the Director of Sales for Wintersteiger’s consumer brands Hotronic and BootDoc.

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We’re on the verge of August, 2020, which marks a shift into a new selling season, a kick-off into a key planning window for the coming year, and also, puts Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Holiday on the near horizon.

Episode 140 is the start of our brand-new season of the Channel Mastery podcast. David Howell is managing partner and founder of Howell & Associates. He has helped hundreds of fortune 500 and specialty brands with selling online, keeping brand and pricing parity and offers valuable insights from the trenches.

So, if you’re wondering how COVID-19 impacted the Amazon marketplace, or lived that impact yourself, you’ll want to tune in to this show. And, if you’re interested in knowing what David’s paying clients are hearing from him in terms of his counsel on how best to distribute product and branded content going forward? Trust me, you want to listen to this interview.

David Howell is Managing Partner and founder at Howell & Associates. For 19 years he and his firm have specialized in traditional Global Brand Protection, Anti-Counterfeiting, and the Newera Open Marketplace and Ecommerce Channel Compliance. Having worked with over 500 manufacturers in recent years, he has a level of uncanny foresight in helping manufacturers solve online issues in just about every facet. When he's not working long hours for his client's success, he can be found deep in the Idaho mountains hiking, biking, or on his paddleboard on beautiful Payette Lake.

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The Pro’s Closet continues to revolutionize the way people buy bikes. The company offers a very innovative channel strategy that enables consumers to buy used bikes easily online. They build trust with their 141-point inspection process and keep cyclists in their ecosystem with an easy to join and engage with approach where a cyclist is offered the option to trade in a bike and get a new one every year. They’re a retailer of all bike brands, have an incredible bike museum, and are amassing an incredibly unique data set as more and more cyclists discover the site.

And a lot more cyclists are discovering the site - from COVID-19 newcomers to cyclists affected by the recession; the Pro’s Closet is counting some of its best months in 2020. Simply put, the Pro’s Closet is completely disrupting the way bikes are bought and sold.

I interviewed Nick Martin, the founder of the Pro’s Closet, in 2019, and captured the incredible vision and founding story of the company. It is one of our most downloaded shows and you can listen to that show here.

And today, I am so excited to present to you the Chief Marketing Officer of the Pro’s Closet, Matt Heitmann. He’s a veteran in the cycling industry, having served at Competitive Cyclist, BMC, Canyon and more. Now, as the CMO at Pro’s Closet, out of Boulder, Colo., he is creating an orchestration between digital, tech innovation, and cycling that’s never existed before. I’m pretty confident in saying that Matt quite possibly has the coolest job in cycling!

Perhaps the best part about the Pro’s Closet right now is the fact that the company is simultaneously closing the gap between experienced riders and newcomers by offering content and shopping experiences for each.

The cycling industry has seen a massive boom since the start of COVID, and I was curious to learn what the Pro’s Closet was seeing in demand and also, site traffic. Matt details a lot of trends in this show, which I think you’ll get a ton of perspective from. And, in terms of demand, let’s just say they’re turning over inventory 2 ½ times per month!

Listen in to hear more about how Matt and the team at Pro’s Closet continue to help grow the community of cycling enthusiasts through constant innovation - this team literally never sits idle!

Matt Heitmann is a data driven commercial executive and is now Chief Marketing Officer at Pro’s Closet, located out of Boulder, Colo. Prior to the Pro’s Closet, Matt was driving commercial growth for Canyon Bicycles GmbH, BMC Switzerland, Backcountry.com and CompetitiveCyclist.com.

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While consumer behaviors continue to shift, one trend is here to stay: Our consumer is just plain comfortable being online now, for the entire decision and purchase journey. And with that, the battle for their attention is at an all-time high.

Today’s guest is like a secret weapon for specialty brands struggling to engage and serve their target consumers. Kelly Ramirez is the founder and Chief Growth Officer of Prismatic, a Bozeman, Montana-based specialty brand growth agency. She has a background in-house at Google, and a love for small brands taking an artisan approach to customer experience online through her firm’s mix of services that include marketing analytics, performance marketing, marketing automation, conversion-rate optimization, forecast and growth modeling and user experience.

The best part about Kelly? She knows that our specialty consumers are searching for a more human connection. In this episode, you’ll learn how to use tech to enhance your human, specialty connection with your consumer. I hope you get a ton out of this episode, Kelly is an incredible resource!

Kelly Ramirez is founder and CEO of Prismatic, a growth consultancy that bolts onto brands to improve E-commerce performance and accelerate revenue from digital channels.

Kelly founded Prismatic after nearly a decade at Google, where she led global growth initiatives for the top 1% of digital native travel advertisers including Expedia, Orbitz, Travelocity, Hotels.com. With hyperfocus on the foundational elements that enable a company to succeed in the new e-commerce ecosystem, Prismatic is an advisor, an interpreter, and hands-on practitioner for brands in growth mode.

During the COVID crisis, Kelly and her team have been working in lockstep with clients in the SaaS, Outdoor, and Travel industries to interpret macro impacts, develop strategic and authentic response strategies, and evolve their approach to scale in the dynamic retail environment.

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This episode of the Channel Mastery podcast was originally recorded as a webinar on April 30, 2020 as part of the Snowsports Industries of America Town Hall Thursday series, and can also be found on their COVID-19 hub.

Since the beginning of the coronavirus crisis, it’s an understatement to say that we have seen massive shifts in consumer trends, especially in the outdoor active lifestyle spaces. Speaking on the topic with me are Ryan Atkinson of Smartetailing and Ben Barenholtz of Quivers. Both offer incredible insight and broader perspectives to how we must change our businesses to operate and match the evolution of today’s consumer.

This episode focuses on foundational pieces to help understand the trends of where consumer behavior is now and where we think it is going. Though we don’t have a crystal ball, and certainly couldn’t have predicted how 2020 has been so far, we do have the ability to recognize the changes and adapt our businesses in real time.

Ryan Atkinson is President and Co-Owner of SmartEtailing. He is passionate about enhancing marketing for independent bicycle dealers. With more than 20 years of related experience, Ryan has worked in almost every aspect of the bicycle retail distribution network.

Ben Barenholtz is a marketing leader and startup builder, with a passion for e-commerce and physical retail. He currently heads marketing for Quivers, the leading provider of “Fulfilled by Retailer” technology for brands and retailers. Prior to Quivers, Ben was the VP Marketing at Reach Analytics, a consumer analytics software company.

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With the continued pandemic and some of the U.S. in the beginning phases of reopening store fronts and other businesses, I was so looking forward to speaking with my guest on today’s podcast. Jennifer Tetrick, Director of PR and Communications at Decathlon is a returning guest today on this episode of the podcast. She joined us last April for Episode 84 when Decathlon, now in 70 countries globally, had just opened a store near Oakland, Calif.

As we begin to reopen here in the United States, Decathlon’s European stores are about two weeks ahead of us so it’s important to not only watch what they’re doing to safely and effectively begin to reopen but learn from them too. Jennifer touches on some of the changes implemented to ensure their staff and customers safety is of the utmost importance, the lessons they’ve learned so far and how they’re overcoming these challenges as a company.

Along with the ins and outs of the reopening of some of their stores, Jennifer also shares how their multi-channel approach has shifted throughout the pandemic, to ensure they’re not only communicating with their target consumer, but understanding how their target consumer wants to be approached.

Jennifer Tetrick is Director of PR and Communications at Decathlon. She joined the Decathlon team full-time after retiring from professional racing.

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Outdoor recreation will be a healer for all of us post pandemic and through the recovery of the recession. Taxa Outdoors is a revered client partner of Verde Brand Communications, the presenting sponsor of the Channel Mastery podcast, and I had the honor of interviewing CEO and founder of Taxa Outdoors, Garrett Finney, on the podcast today.

So what is Taxa Outdoors and why do they make mobile human habitats built for adventuring? And why do they have only four products named after insects? The Mantis, Cricket, Tiger Moth and Wooly Bear are the four models available today.

Does Taxa Outdoors make a recreational vehicle (RV) or an outdoor gear hauler? Yes. Is it a people transporting mechanism to the natural environment? Yes. Is it more mobile habitat designed to be a functional and fun basecamp than box-like RV? Yes!

Taxa Outdoors is enjoying a healthy surge of sales and community growth through the pandemic and now, the recession. These American-made, artisan campers are not exactly inexpensive, yet they’re selling very well during this time of constriction and consumer confidence.

Want to know why? Listen to this conversation. You’ll learn how Garrett was his own target consumer, and how he created what he truly wanted in a mobile, adventure-ready habitat: the promise of freedom and life transformation that you can pull behind a light-duty SUV! Who doesn’t want that in the throes of the pandemic?

This episode is all about the business of belief, and the inspiration of one very special visionary entrepreneur. I hope you enjoy it!

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“The consumer is the channel,” said Mike Massey of Locally. He’s absolutely right, and with COVID-19 creating new consumer behavior dynamics weekly, it’s even more true.

Channel Mastery was launched three years ago this month to enable specialty brand and business leaders to know what’s working best, and what’s not, with consumer behavior. A big part of that is how we are serving them with both product and content through a perfect overlay of channels behind the scenes. All they want is to have a remarkable experience with a brand with as little friction as possible.

Easy, right?

Well, not so much. Brand marketers know that consumer preference and behavior changes are pretty constant, and we are working constantly to change our brand and content strategies and channel mixes. But with the pandemic and now recession? There’s been such a marked shift in how products are brought from concept to consumer that a big reset is warranted.

And that’s where the Multi-Channel Marketing Academy comes in!

After over a year in the making, my team at Channel Mastery, Verde Brand Communications and I are launching a new digital product - Multi-Channel Marketing Academy.

This digital course and community provide a blueprint that’s usable for nimbly adapting to brand and product launches as well as ongoing communications strategies. With this blueprint, our students will become the owner of the end consumer/shopper relationship within their organizations, reporting to their C-suite peers on what’s working, and what’s not, for the brand’s absolute target shopper.

This is the course that specialty brand and business leaders need to adapt their businesses to the new business landscape being created now by COVID-19 and the recession.

This episode of the Channel Mastery podcast is about the ‘why’ behind the Academy, and what to expect should you decide to join us in our inaugural cohort. The timing for this course could not be more pressing. We will only be launching this during certain times of the year, so don’t miss out!

Here is more information on the Multi-Channel Marketing Academy:

Duration: Two months, during which time seven modules (with exercises and templates) will be taught, weekly coaching sessions, and guest lecturers

Who is it for: Specialty marketing professionals, business leaders and entrepreneurs

For more information on the course, visit channelmastery.com/course and register for an introductory webinar on May 12 here.

Kristin Carpenter is Channel Mastery host and the CEO and Founder of Verde Brand Communications. A former journalist, Kristin worked on staff for major consumer lifestyle magazines, business and trade titles. Now 19 years later, she continues to serve as Verde’s CEO and directs strategy for the agency. She launched Channel Mastery in 2017 and is happy to be masquerading around as a journalist again through her hosting of the podcast. It’s her ‘beat’ to bring the absolute best practices around serving today’s connected shopper to specialty business and brand leaders. Channel Mastery is the only resource of its kind, and it was created to help level the playing field for specialty brands as they compete for the attention spans, minds and hearts of today’s shopper with marketplaces, big retail and well funded direct-first brands.

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Imagine you’re sitting with your team at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, in one of the early and most active hot spots, Seattle, Wash. You lead a manufacturing team at a 39-year-old outdoor apparel and gear company that’s been a U.S. manufacturer for the entirety of your brand history. You all know there’s a bigger role to play. Within an instant, you all agree to go forward and go big to serve in the COVID-19 crisis.

In this instant, the reality of pivoting to become a manufacturer of FDA-compliant Personal Protective Gear for front-line healthcare workers, starts to become real.

It’s an industry you know nothing about. Your factory is not set up to safely operate in COVID-19 conditions, let alone as an FDA-compliant protective equipment manufacturing space.

Yet you go for it together anyway. Five weeks plus of 24-7 work and dedication ensue.

It’s at the five-week mark that I was able to sit down with Jason Duncan, who leads Tactical, CSR and the U.S. manufacturing operations at Outdoor Research. What you’re about to hear is a story of an incredible company culture (you’ll hear first hand the emotional bond and strength this crew finds in the word “team”), a level of human resilience in employees of all ages and focuses at the brand, and the incredibly fast progress that’s being made.

It all started in one moment when the agreement was made to serve in a way that’s much broader than the teams’ known before.
For almost two months now, Jason and his team at Outdoor Research have been leading the charge and have transformed the manufacturing arm of this incredible legacy brand with deep US manufacturing roots into a PPE cranking machine. Through thoughtful processes, an all-hands leadership team and creativity, the story of their pivot is incredible, albeit inspiring.

The Channel Mastery podcast has offered in-depth interviews going deeper into the commitment, results and tenacity of several outdoor brands and organizations. It was truly an honor to facilitate the original panel, and to share the inspiration and gumption of the individuals using their brands and organizations as vehicles for positive change.

I get a sense that the broader outdoor recreation community is just getting started as engines of opportunity to build the future that’s ahead. I look forward to journeying through the forthcoming innovations with you, right here on Channel Mastery.

Jason Duncan is currently lead Tactical, Innovation, and CSR teams for Outdoor Research. He has over twelve years of management experience supplemented by business administration education and eight years of chemistry experience (academic and private sector), prior to working in the outdoor industry. Duncan received an MBA from the University of Washington Foster School of Business as well as a BSc in Chemistry and Mathematics from McGill University.

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This episode is the second installment following the panel I led for Outdoor Industry Association (OIA) and the Snowsports Industries of America (SIA) focusing on manufacturers pivoting to produce Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). The full webinar took place on April 13th with leaders from Outdoor Research, Chaco, DPS Skis, and the Office of Outdoor Recreation for the State of North Carolina.

Lyndi Bell, Chaco’s Consumer Experience Marketing Director, is the first interview in this double-header show. It’s so inspiring to hear Lyndi talk through the process and journey she and her team at Chaco took to shift production from sandals to sewing face masks. With a focus on masks that could be more widely distributed to organizations other than hospitals, they were able to open the way for the essential healthcare workers to utilize the N95 masks. She and the team at Chaco found purpose in the chaos when the COVID-19 spread was just beginning in the US and was able to pivot their production, internal team and even their mobile factory, a converted school bus, into a PPE manufacturing facility.

Alex Adema, President and CEO of DPS Skis, joins me for the second half of the show. The story of how DPS connected with three other outdoor recreation brands in Salt Lake City is nothing short of heartening and inspiring. DPS Skis, Petzl, Goal Zero and Eastman Manufacturing together pivoted through nimble collaboration. Petzl’s headlamp straps, Goal Zero’s financial support and raw materials and machinery from Eastman propelled the DPS Ski manufacturing facility pivot forward. The four companies collectively experienced strong morale boost that continues as the commitment to PPE grows.

The third and final installment of this special Channel Mastery podcast series, which is part of the COVID-19 content continually being produced by Verde Brand Communications, showcases the companies and organizations featured on the April 14, 2020 OIA and SIA panel on a deeper level. The final episode is one of the best, and features Jason Duncan on Outdoor Research. You’ll be blown away by the level of commitment and resilience displayed daily by the Outdoor Research team. Subscribe to the Channel Mastery podcast today, and never miss an episode!

NOTE: This Channel Mastery episode offers two interviews that initially aired on Facebook Live on Thursday, April 17, 2020.

Residing in Grand Rapids, Lyndi Bell found her love for the outdoors along the sandy shorelines and thick forests of Michigan. Lyndi was part of the #chaconation long before joining the brand‘s marketing team 3 years ago. At Chaco, she has had the opportunity to lead a number of programs including retail marketing and visual merchandising, partner collaborations, and key account management. This past year, her role has primarily been focused on experiential marketing which included converting a school bus into a mobile repair factory for the brand, similar to the larger ReChaco facility in Michigan. It likewise, also included the unexpected opportunity to pivot when it became clear experience marketing in 2020 would look very different than originally planned due to Covid-19.

Alex Adema is the CEO of DPS Skis, headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah. Before joining DPS Skis in 2015, Alex’s background consisted of distinctly varied and unique experiences in both, large corporate and entrepreneurial start-up organizations. This began with a decade of experience in the financial services industry before making an unorthodox shift to focus on founding two non-profit community oriented startup organizations. After these successful launches, Alex transitioned to managing a venture development organization in upstate New York. Alex earned his bachelor’s degree in Economics & Business from Colorado College, an Executive MBA from The University of Buffalo (SUNY), and the Lean Operations Executive Education Management Certificate from the University of Utah's David Eccles School of Business in 2019.

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This episode is the second installment following the panel I led for Outdoor Industry Association (OIA) and the Snowsports Industries of America (SIA) focusing on manufacturers pivoting to produce Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). The full webinar took place on April 13th with leaders from Outdoor Research, Chaco, DPS Skis, and the Office of Outdoor Recreation for the State of North Carolina.

Lyndi Bell, Chaco’s Consumer Experience Marketing Director, is the first interview in this double-header show. It’s so inspiring to hear Lyndi talk through the process and journey she and her team at Chaco took to shift production from sandals to sewing face masks. With a focus on masks that could be more widely distributed to organizations other than hospitals, they were able to open the way for the essential healthcare workers to utilize the N95 masks. She and the team at Chaco found purpose in the chaos when the COVID-19 spread was just beginning in the US and was able to pivot their production, internal team and even their mobile factory, a converted school bus, into a PPE manufacturing facility.

Alex Adema, President and CEO of DPS Skis, joins me for the second half of the show. The story of how DPS connected with three other outdoor recreation brands in Salt Lake City is nothing short of heartening and inspiring. DPS Skis, Petzl, Goal Zero and Eastman Manufacturing together pivoted through nimble collaboration. Petzl’s headlamp straps, Goal Zero’s financial support and raw materials and machinery from Eastman propelled the DPS Ski manufacturing facility pivot forward. The four companies collectively experienced strong morale boost that continues as the commitment to PPE grows.

The third and final installment of this special Channel Mastery podcast series, which is part of the COVID-19 content continually being produced by Verde Brand Communications, showcases the companies and organizations featured on the April 14, 2020 OIA and SIA panel on a deeper level. The final episode is one of the best, and features Jason Duncan on Outdoor Research. You’ll be blown away by the level of commitment and resilience displayed daily by the Outdoor Research team. Subscribe to the Channel Mastery podcast today, and never miss an episode!

NOTE: This Channel Mastery episode offers two interviews that initially aired on Facebook Live on Thursday, April 17, 2020.

Residing in Grand Rapids, Lyndi Bell found her love for the outdoors along the sandy shorelines and thick forests of Michigan. Lyndi was part of the #chaconation long before joining the brand‘s marketing team 3 years ago. At Chaco, she has had the opportunity to lead a number of programs including retail marketing and visual merchandising, partner collaborations, and key account management. This past year, her role has primarily been focused on experiential marketing which included converting a school bus into a mobile repair factory for the brand, similar to the larger ReChaco facility in Michigan. It likewise, also included the unexpected opportunity to pivot when it became clear experience marketing in 2020 would look very different than originally planned due to Covid-19.

Alex Adema is the CEO of DPS Skis, headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah. Before joining DPS Skis in 2015, Alex’s background consisted of distinctly varied and unique experiences in both, large corporate and entrepreneurial start-up organizations. This began with a decade of experience in the financial services industry before making an unorthodox shift to focus on founding two non-profit community oriented startup organizations. After these successful launches, Alex transitioned to managing a venture development organization in upstate New York. Alex earned his bachelor’s degree in Economics & Business from Colorado College, an Executive MBA from The University of Buffalo (SUNY), and the Lean Operations Executive Education Management Certificate from the University of Utah's David Eccles School of Business in 2019.

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In the crisis, innovation and deep meaning continue to emerge. And I’m honored to be able to facilitate conversations that are fueling collaboration and forward progress in our communities. I led a panel for the Outdoor Industry Association and the Snowsports Industries of America focusing on manufacturers pivoting to Personal Protective Equipment, to meet the insanely huge demand for front-line health-care professionals.

We had a huge amount of interest. Here’s the replay of the panel webinar that took place on April 13th. Leaders from brands including Chaco, DPS Skis, Outdoor Research, the Office of Outdoor Recreation for the State of North Carolina, participated.

There will be three new Channel Mastery episodes with the panelists. Let’s be honest - it’s impossible to learn all that’s possible from the five all-star panelists in a 45-minute panel or through 15 minutes of questions.

The first episode, #131 features Amy Allison, Director of the Office of Outdoor Recreation for the State of North Carolina, and Sarah Wood, the founder of The Good Talk business consultancy and of the very dynamic SupplyConnector. In this episode, you’ll learn about growing from local to national, the best way to start collaborating to shift to manufacturing PPE, and how to tap into a long-standing network, while concurrently building in-roads to a much bigger national network.

We will be offering two more podcasts in these COVID-19-oriented shows; the second will featuring Chaco and DPS Skis, and the third featuring Outdoor Research. Additional resources have been created by the team at Verde Brand Communications and can be found on the Verde Blog.

Sarah Wood is the owner and lead business guide at Good Talk, a business management firm based in Brevard, NC, and Grand Junction, CO. Sarah has 16 years of professional experience working across the country in roles such as VP of Operations at Industry Nine, creative services business owner in Nashville's music industry, executive director of 5Point Adventure Film Festival, and development officer for the American Alpine Club. Sarah brings a varied perspective to her leadership and a philanthropic lean to her work and travel. Sarah is the current Board Chairwoman for the North Carolina Outdoor Recreation Coalition, advisor for the Waypoint Accelerator Program and Venture Asheville, and co-founder of Supply Connector.

Amy Allison is the Director of the North Carolina Outdoor Recreation Industry Office. Amy’s background and passion lies in the Outdoor Industry where she worked as the Director of Marketing for ENO, while also spearheading their initiatives for giving back to the global community, and was a founding member of the Outdoor Gear Builders organization in Western North Carolina. For over 20 years, Amy has dedicated her energy and skills to connecting others to the outdoors. From directing pioneering experiential education programs with youth across the Southeast to living on the road all over the lower 48 as a national Traveling Trainer for the Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics, the strategy of integrating sustainability, conservation, education, and business has been the context of her career.

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This episode is Part II of a series on Consumer Psychology through the Coronavirus crisis and beyond. It is in connection with Channel Mastery Episode #128 and along with that show, was recorded on Facebook Live. In the first of the series, I offered a foundation to consider to better understand where consumer behavior might be going. I shared research with you that considered how we are wired as humans to survive things like pandemics. I presented these mechanisms and matched them with the coronavirus pandemic.

The goal was to take something that was not going to change about people today – how we’re wired to survive – and apply that to the pandemic and recession, to gain insights about how we’re likely to react as a species.

In this episode, I continue through that theme and dive into the most recent Edelman Survey published March 30, 2020 about how consumers are trusting brands today. For additional resources and a look at our Verde COVID-19 Guide, visit www.verdepr.com.

Kristin Carpenter is Channel Mastery host and the CEO and Founder of Verde Brand Communications. A former journalist, Kristin worked on staff for major consumer lifestyle magazines, business and trade titles. Now 19 years later, she continues to serve as Verde’s CEO and directs strategy for the agency. She launched Channel Mastery in 2017 and is happy to be masquerading around as a journalist again through her hosting of the podcast. It’s her ‘beat’ to bring the absolute best practices around serving today’s connected shopper to specialty business and brand leaders. Channel Mastery is the only resource of its kind, and it was created to help level the playing field for specialty brands as they compete for the attention spans, minds and hearts of today’s shopper with marketplaces, big retail and well funded direct-first brands.

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I don’t know about you, but I’m very ready to talk about something other than COVID-19. My friend Jayson O’Mahoney, founder and publisher of Gravel Cyclist, offered to do his very first podcast interview with me. So, we’re offering that to you as a respite from the pandemic and ensuing recession. I’m also pretty bummed that I haven’t been able to be with my people - the gravel cycling community - due to the change in dates of the Belgium Waffle Ride (BWR) and most recently, the Dirty Kanza.

Jayson, also known as JOM, is a straight shooter and amazing storyteller. His passion, energy and honesty come through in droves in this show. Jayson loves to root for those riders out for an adventure, not to win. He holds a special place in his heart for the last-place finishers. I respect that!

I’ve found a lot of value in the Gravel Cyclist’s gear reviews, as I’ve been in the market for a new gravel bike (that purchase is currently on hold, but it’s still very fun to research online and Jayson’t reviews are some of the best I’ve discovered). We address his approach to reviews, as well as his channel strategy to continue to grow the stoke and engagement of his audience. I hope you enjoy this break in Channel Mastery’s COVID-19 podcast series, and Verde’s COVID-19 resource page.

Jayson O’Mahoney, aka JOM, discovered cycling in 1991 and was instantly fascinated with biking technology. He’s called Gainesville, Florida home since 2004 but is originally from South Australia. JOM is the #1 contributor to the Gravel Cyclist website.

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NOTE: This episode originally aired as a Facebook Live on Thursday, April 2nd, 2020.

We study consumer behavior a lot in this community. It’s without a doubt one of the absolute core areas of focus for any Channel Master.

Because of that, I’ve been asked repeatedly what my take is on how the pandemic will affect consumer behavior. In this episode, I’m laying the groundwork for our forthcoming work around this, Channel Masters. Yes, today we take our first swing at how a ‘typical’ consumer recession mindset could look like when paired with a global pandemic.

This is a fast-moving target and there’s truly no way of knowing where our brand fans will be on the other side of this. But it’s important to consider a few things. First and foremost, our brand fans, shoppers, target consumers - however you classify them - are people first. And they are hurting through this pandemic, some much more so than you and I are. I want to acknowledge that first because it’s so vitally important; we must caretake our people now by serving and not selling.

However, I can’t ignore the many, many requests I’ve been receiving from you, and my clients, about where things could be headed regarding consumer psychology, behavior and mindset.

I tapped into two resources for today’s episode: Professor Scott Galloway with New York University (his brand-new Prof G podcast), and an April, 2009 issue of the Harvard Business Review.

In the first half of the episode, I brought insights from the Prof G show, specifically from his interview with social psychologist, Professor Jonathan Haidt. He offered a framework of sorts for how humans are wired to handle and evolve through major events like plagues, terrorist attacks, depression and recessions, and yes, pandemics. I go through the three “toolboxes” we access as humans during high times of stress, to enable you to deduce for yourself where we may land from what we’re living through today. Keep in mind, these toolboxes are hard-wired into human DNA, they are what has enabled us to survive and be resilient.

In the second half of the episode, I cite the April 2009 Harvard Business Review article titled: How to Market in a Downturn. This article is a great read right now, and I highly recommend you give it a look. It considers consumer behaviors during and after the 2008 Great Recession.

Ultimately, if you pair how we are hard-wired as humans with the most recent “comparable” or comp in business and how consumers evolved through that, we have some kind of starting point or foundation to support our future (many) episodes that will dive into this further.

Episode #128 is another special show in our series offering support for specialty business leaders to communicate and evolve their companies and teams during this incredibly challenging time of pandemic and recession.

Please know, I am very much hoping you’ll continue to send me ideas for more resources and support for our businesses during this time. Email me at channelmastery@verdepr.com. And for more coronavirus-specific resources from our presenting sponsor, Verde Brand Communications, head over to www.verdepr.com. For more episodes of the Channel Mastery podcast, visit ChannelMastery.com.

Kristin Carpenter is Channel Mastery host and the CEO and Founder of Verde Brand Communications. A former journalist, Kristin worked on staff for major consumer lifestyle magazines, business and trade titles. Now 19 years later, she continues to serve as Verde’s CEO and directs strategy for the agency. She launched Channel Mastery in 2017 and is happy to be masquerading around as a journalist again through her hosting of the podcast. It’s her ‘beat’ to bring the absolute best practices around serving today’s connected shopper to specialty business and brand leaders. Channel Mastery is the only resource of its kind, and it was created to help level the playing field for specialty brands as they compete for the attention spans, minds and hearts of today’s shopper with marketplaces, big retail and well funded direct-first brands.

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Please note - this episode was recorded in early March 2020. Since the recording of this episode, the store has released the following information: they have shifted their water services to outside only and the station is sanitized in between each use. Their inventory is available online for shipping or pickup at store and customers are no longer admitted inside the store. Staff is located at the door for pick up and shopping needs. Credit cards and cash is being sanitized and disinfectant wipes are provided at the door.

If you’ve been to Moab, Utah and haven’t stopped at GearHeads Outdoor Store, you cannot drive by next time. Over the past two decades, this family owned and operated store has become an absolute staple in the desert. They are your one stop shop for free filtered water, yes, read that again - free filtered water - hiking, biking, climbing and all other outdoor gear imaginable.

One of GearHeads co-owners, Steve Kennedy, is my guest on this episode. We discuss the challenges he’s currently facing (and overcoming) as he and his team shift to a temporary location, he touches on the shifts in consumer preferences and their gear of choice, the recycling programs they have been able to implement and we discuss the winning of the inaugural SNEWS’ CoolShop Award.

Not only did GearHeads win the first CoolShop award by a landslide (over 7,000 votes more than 2nd place), but Steve and his team also donated their $500 winnings to the Access Fund, a national advocacy organization with a focus on conserving and keeping U.S. climbing areas open.

Through the hiring of a strong and knowledgeable workforce and understanding their customer base and how their preferences can shift from season to season, GearHeads is proving to be one cool shop and a must stop of Moab!

Steve Kennedy is co-owner of GearHeads Outdoor Store located in Moab, Utah. He joined brothers Doug and Greg to be part of GearHeads in January 2009. They have been in business for over 22 years with a mission to provide high quality outdoor equipment, clothing, footwear and more while delivering world class customer service.

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This episode of the Channel Mastery podcast offes another installment of the series for effectively communicating as a specialty business during the Coronavirus crisis. It was recorded live on Facebook Live on Monday, March 23, 2020 and is available on that platform as well.

The message of this broadcast focuses on taking steps forward and the paradigm shift that is happening right now as we continue to learn how to navigate through these difficult times. Two weeks ago, we were seeing people in preparation mode, and while we still may be in that to some extent, we’re seeing a shift of the human spirit in that people are going from preppers to helpers.

As a business in the trenches of this with all of us at Verde, it is absolutely imperative that you are not tone deaf to the news cycle and how your audience is receiving and reacting to it. I have promised to continue to be available here with you through this and will continue to offer resources to your brands. I hope you find this episode to be helpful and wish you, your employees, your families and friends health and safety during these trying times.

Kristin Carpenter is the host of the Channel Mastery podcast and the CEO and Founder of Verde Brand Communications. A former journalist, Kristin worked on staff for major consumer lifestyle magazines, business and trade titles. Now 19 years later, she continues to serve as Verde’s CEO and directs strategy for the agency. She launched Channel Mastery as Verde’s podcast in 2017. It’s her ‘beat’ to bring the best practices around serving today’s connected shopper to specialty business and brand leaders. Channel Mastery is the only resource of its kind, and it was created to help level the playing field for specialty brands as they compete for the attention spans, minds and hearts of today’s shopper with marketplaces, big retail and well funded direct-first brands.

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Kristin Carpenter, host of the Channel Mastery podcast and CEO/Founder of Verde Brand Communications, is offering a second episode with current best practices (as in for today, 3-17-20), for specialty brands communicating in the throes of the novel coronavirus. We continue to get new information daily and a lot has changed since we were last together, just six days ago, when we released the first of the Channel Mastery episodes focused around COVID-19.

In this episode you’ll get comfortable with communicating more to your audiences: your primary audience of your employees, your external close stakeholders, and your brand fan community. As a specialty brand, you play a positive role in the lives of your audiences, and this episode is about how to show up for them in a way that feels authentic to you. Examples in our show notes below include exceptional social media and email marketing efforts.

Keep checking Verdepr.com/blog and ChannelMastery.com for more resources and information as we continue to learn more about this global issue.

Kristin Carpenter is the host of the Channel Mastery podcast and the CEO and Founder of Verde Brand Communications. A former journalist, Kristin worked on staff for major consumer lifestyle magazines, business and trade titles. Now 19 years later, she continues to serve as Verde’s CEO and directs strategy for the agency. She launched Channel Mastery as Verde’s podcast in 2017. It’s her ‘beat’ to bring the best practices around serving today’s connected shopper to specialty business and brand leaders. Channel Mastery is the only resource of its kind, and it was created to help level the playing field for specialty brands as they compete for the attention spans, minds and hearts of today’s shopper with marketplaces, big retail and well funded direct-first brands.

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In this episode of the Channel Mastery podcast, I’m sharing a brand-new framework that the Verde Brand Communications team and I created for our roster of specialty brands to support crisis communications for the COVID-19 virus crisis.

We wanted to share this with you, Channel Masters, because we strongly share a collective opinion that specialty brands must take a communications strategy that’s, well, specialized. And in this podcast, I explain what that means and why it’s important, and offer our solution to you in a five-part framework created just for specialty brands.

Keep in mind, this was recorded Friday, March 6, 2020. We will be updating the content on the Verde Blog and on my LinkedIn profile. It’s being co-produced by SNEWS, BRAIN and SIA. Check back to these sites for additional up-to-date resources.

Kristin Carpenter is Channel Mastery host and the CEO and Founder of Verde Brand Communications. A former journalist, Kristin worked on staff for major consumer lifestyle magazines, business and trade titles. Now 19 years later, she continues to serve as Verde’s CEO and directs strategy for the agency. She launched Channel Mastery in 2017. It’s her ‘beat’ to bring the absolute best practices around serving today’s connected shopper to specialty business and brand leaders. Channel Mastery is the only resource of its kind, and it was created to help level the playing field for specialty brands as they compete for the attention spans, minds and hearts of today’s shopper with marketplaces, big retail and well funded direct-first brands.

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It wasn’t long ago that the only thing we knew about Bentonville was that it was home to Walmart’s headquarters. Now in 2020, this small Arkansas town has made a name for itself in the cycling community and is continuing to grow by the day - literally. The town welcomes an average of 34 people moving to the area every day!

Aimee Ross, Director of Bike Bentonville, is my guest on this episode and shares how collaboration is key. By structuring Bike Bentonville under the city’s tourism bureau, Visit Bentonville, the community has done something truly unique. Ross discusses how she came on board as Director, the structure of the organization, the relationship with Visit Bentonville, the collaboration with other towns such as Fayetteville and so much more.

In this episode, you’ll learn how Aimee and her team are not only introducing cycling to more people, they’re creating meaningful economic growth through outdoor recreation. Also, we talk through one of the most important and impactful facets of Bike Bentonville’s success, how the growing ‘cycling destination’ is intentionally creating an inclusive community around making cycling accessible to all interested residents and tourists.

Bike Bentonville is putting the small town of Bentonville on the map. Learn how Aimee continues to build the stoke and get the word out about his gem of a cycling destination through multiple channels on this episode. It’s a good thing we include the transcript - this interview is so good, you’ll want to listen to it more than once, and read the transcript!

Aimee Ross is a 14-year cycling industry veteran with experience spanning from manufacturing, sales, marketing, event coordination, advocacy, development, and education. She is currently the Director of Bike Bentonville, the Visit Bentonville cycling brand created to promote and sell Bentonville, Arkansas as a destination. Cycling is her passion, and she believes it should be available to all people. Aimee’s focus on a daily basis is to help create more and better cycling access in Northwest Arkansas, doing her part to help create opportunities for a larger culture of active and healthy community members. Aimee holds a Bachelor of Science and a Bachelor of Applied Arts from Central Michigan University.

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It wasn’t long ago that the only thing we knew about Bentonville was that it was home to Walmart’s headquarters. Now in 2020, this small Arkansas town has made a name for itself in the cycling community and is continuing to grow by the day - literally. The town welcomes an average of 34 people moving to the area every day!

Aimee Ross, Director of Bike Bentonville, is my guest on this episode and shares how collaboration is key. By structuring Bike Bentonville under the city’s tourism bureau, Visit Bentonville, the community has done something truly unique. Ross discusses how she came on board as Director, the structure of the organization, the relationship with Visit Bentonville, the collaboration with other towns such as Fayetteville and so much more.

In this episode, you’ll learn how Aimee and her team are not only introducing cycling to more people, they’re creating meaningful economic growth through outdoor recreation. Also, we talk through one of the most important and impactful facets of Bike Bentonville’s success, how the growing ‘cycling destination’ is intentionally creating an inclusive community around making cycling accessible to all interested residents and tourists.

Bike Bentonville is putting the small town of Bentonville on the map. Learn how Aimee continues to build the stoke and get the word out about his gem of a cycling destination through multiple channels on this episode. It’s a good thing we include the transcript - this interview is so good, you’ll want to listen to it more than once, and read the transcript!

Aimee Ross is a 14-year cycling industry veteran with experience spanning from manufacturing, sales, marketing, event coordination, advocacy, development, and education. She is currently the Director of Bike Bentonville, the Visit Bentonville cycling brand created to promote and sell Bentonville, Arkansas as a destination. Cycling is her passion, and she believes it should be available to all people. Aimee’s focus on a daily basis is to help create more and better cycling access in Northwest Arkansas, doing her part to help create opportunities for a larger culture of active and healthy community members. Aimee holds a Bachelor of Science and a Bachelor of Applied Arts from Central Michigan University.

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Tyler Benedict, founder and publisher of Bikerumor.com, is my guest this week on Channel Mastery. Eleven-plus years ago, Tyler started Bikerumor.com and during that time, he's seen a lot of evolution in terms of how consumers use and share his content, and how his site factors into the consumer decision journey. In this episode, Tyler gives his well informed take on what's working, and what's not, with endemic content today. You'll learn how his team approaches and optimizes content across multiple channels, including the Bikerumor.com website, blog, Youtube channel, newsletter, podcast, and through events. We also talk about the ongoing evolution of the media landscape as well as how brands can best serve super busy media covering events like Sea Otter and Outerbike. I'm fairly certain that Tyler is one of the hardest-working journalists in cycling today, and he keeps pushing into new frontiers. Check out his upcoming Peak Content Summit, a gathering of some of the brightest minds in content marketing today taking place in Ashville, NC., March 11-13, 2020.

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This episode of Channel Mastery is quite different than our usual episodes, but I was so impressed with the program my guest leads for Texas Tech University that I wanted to share it with all of you. Jerod Foster is an Associate Professor of Practice in the Department of Journalism and Creative Media Industries at Texas Tech University. He’s also an editorial commercial photographer focusing on outdoor and conservation.

Foster, along with a team of Professor’s of Practice, lead an adventure media course and program at Texas Tech University designed to take the students out of the classroom and ensure they understand there are career possibilities beyond of the 9-5 desk job. The programs connects students with actual clients in the outdoor industry and allows them to create media through bikepacking, camping and travel. Jerod walks us through how the program initially began, the relationships his students develop with their clients and each other, and shares stories from previous semesters.

As we continue to grow and evolve our multi channel strategies as businesses, this is a must listen episode that offers an insider’s look from someone on the ground with the next generation. I thoroughly enjoyed my conversation with Jerod and hope you do too!

Jerod Foster is an editorial and commercial photographer focused on outdoor conservation and travel, as well as an associate professor of practice and assistant dean in the College of Media & Communication at Texas Tech University. His teaching strongly centers on field-based, immersive visual storytelling instruction, and his award-winning Adventure Media course involves taking students on a week-long bikepacking expedition to locations in the southwest to create short-form documentary content for different outlets and organizations in the outdoor recreation and conservation fields. His latest book, Between Two Rivers: Photographs and Poems Between the Brazos and the Rio Grande, is a collaboration with poet John Poch that celebrates the waterways and land between the Rio Grande in Northern New Mexico and the Brazos River exiting into the Gulf of Mexico.

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It’s solocast time, Channel Masters! In this show, we’re going to deep dive on three things you need to know for 2020 when it comes to successfully serving today’s connected shopper.

An entirely new decade is here and in just the first month of that decade, Amazon, Starbucks, Anthropologie, Target and Nordstroms have all announced new retail and brand experience concepts. Keep in mind, Channel Mastery does not advocate that you stop what you’re doing and shift tactics to respond to what the majors and marketplaces are doing. However, we must study what they are doing and how successful their strategies are to best understand how we can best serve our target shopper.

I took the time to really drill into the three trends that are most relevant to specialty brands and retailers, and you can only find that here!

In our passion industries, we serve shoppers who literally align their identities with what they want to believe about themselves. We must continually up-level how we serve our target shoppers to ensure that our message and brand experience - and yes, our products - are becoming part of their identities, and their lives.

This solocast is about 30 min., and will deliver solid insights to you, and the links in the show notes will support further learning. I hope that this show inspires you to go big in terms of how you’re serving your absolute bullseye target shopper in 2020!

Kristin Carpenter is Channel Mastery host and the CEO and Founder of Verde Brand Communications. A former journalist, Kristin worked on staff for major consumer lifestyle magazines, business and trade titles. Now 19 years later, she continues to serve as Verde’s CEO and directs strategy for the agency. She launched Channel Mastery in 2017 and is happy to be masquerading around as a journalist again through her hosting of the podcast. It’s her ‘beat’ to bring the absolute best practices around serving today’s connected shopper to specialty business and brand leaders. Channel Mastery is the only resource of its kind, and it was created to help level the playing field for specialty brands as they compete for the attention spans, minds and hearts of today’s shopper with marketplaces, big retail and well funded direct-first brands.

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My guest today, Rick Saez, is host of The Outdoor Biz Podcast, and the author of a new book entitled, Trails to the Top: Outdoor Adventure Insider Stories and Advice to Manage Business and Grow Careers, which took form using the content from his first 65 episodes podcast episodes.

Obviously, I’m a huge proponent of podcasts as a messaging, discovery, engagement and even conversion channel for consumers today. That’s become Rick’s specialty - helping brands use podcasts to do just that.

In this episode, Rick and I explore the benefits and reach of podcasts, and how to best use one to amplify your brand message and create unique brand experiences for your target shoppers.

Yes, a podcast about podcasting is meta, but what better medium to learn what’s working best today for this fast-growing marketing medium? Podcasts are evolving and growing faster than we realize and the most exciting thing about them is how much content can be pushed across multiple platforms from each episode.

Listen in to hear how Rick and his team are expanding their reach and offer resources to help you get your podcast off to a great start.

Rick Saez is an avid Outdoor Adventurer a 30+ year career in the outdoor industry. He’s held leadership roles with iconic brands such as Montbell, Eagle Creek, JanSport Dana Design and Lowepro. He is Founder, producer and host of the Outdoor Biz Podcast and author of Trails to the Top: Outdoor Adventure Insider Stories and Advice to Manage Business and Grow Careers.

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Machines for Freedom Founder, Jennifer Kriske is my guest today on this episode of the Channel Mastery podcast. Kriske discovered cycling, like so many of us do, when she was working a job that entailed super long-hours, where she was always on. Cycling gave her the window to shut off work and re-invigorate.

She was a beginner cyclist, and that gave her a very clear view into the experience - meaning, there wasn’t anyone telling her what she should, or should not do. She noticed that she was not the only woman on her rides who was uncomfortable in the ‘kit.’ She also knew that, like her, other women riders were not feeling super fashionable in what was available to them to ride in.

Rather than being complacent, she decided she needed to do something about it and launched the company, Machines for Freedom. She has a fantastic entrepreneurial story, and you’ll get to hear it first hand here today on this week’s show.

Although the brand is primarily digitally native, Jennifer’s methods for getting it started were geared more in the direction of relationship building through community rides and open conversations with cyclists. This made for a very authentic, organic channel strategy to build an audience and continually engage them.

Her strategy has always been driven by the relationships she built on her group rides, and in her region. Slowly that branched out to a much wider reach, and a very loyal following. In 2018, Specialized Bicycle Components invested in Machines for Freedom with the intention of keeping the companies separate, but thriving together. Like I said, Kriske’s story is interesting, on so many levels!

Throughout the episode, Jennifer and I discuss the why behind founding the brand, how she was able to build the loyal following, apparel in independent bike shops and the relationship between Specialized and Machines for Freedom. She’s holding fast and true to her vision of creating high-performing, super stylish kits that are built with a very specific rider in mind, and Specialized backs this vision today. I also know you’re going to love the part of the interview where Jennifer talks about her 2020 IRL (In Real Life) campaign, focusing on gravel. I hope you learn as much from Jennifer as I have researching this and interviewing her for the Channel Mastery podcast!

Jennifer Kriske is Founder of Machines for Freedom, a high quality, high performance, women’s cycling apparel company. Prior to Machines for Freedom, she held positions ranging from entertainment media and hotel and restaurant design. In the midst of designing restaurants, she took up cycling and realized the need for kits that were more specifically designed for women.

Machines for Freedom launched in 2014 and immediately created palpable changes in the cycling world which has led to an industry-wide shift in the way cycling apparel is designed and marketed. Machines For Freedom not only proved to the industry that an entire market exists, but the company innovated and elevated cycling apparel for women in a way no other brand has, while building a strong and organic community riders who support each other, challenge themselves, and spread good vibes.

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I had the opportunity to sit down with Sutton Bacon and Darren Bush, the founders of Paddlesports Retailer and now, the Big Gear Show. This episode is co-produced by Verde Brand Communications, the leading source of multi-channel specialty brand communications, and SNEWS, the source for outdoor active lifestyle industry news.

This show is positioned for “Main Street, not Wall Street,” and invites hardgoods manufacturers (no apparel), from outdoor, bike and paddlesports for the first time ever. It makes sense, all of these categories of outdoor active lifestyle do share a shopper. But the Big Gear Show is disruptive and is - not surprisingly - inspiring a lot of direct conversation in the outdoor active lifestyle communities.

In this episode, you’ll get to hear straight from the founders why they believe so much in this audacious launch, why they’ve brought together outdoor and bike, why they’ve hired on two past trade show directors in bike and outdoor to lead the charge, and their take on the opportunity for specialty hardgoods manufacturers to endear today’s connected shopper. We also get into why Sutton and Darren believe that adding another trade show to an already-clogged calendar of regional shows, the Grassroots Outdoor Alliance shows, Eurobike, and the Outdoor Retailer show makes complete sense.

The Big Gear Show is slated to launch this July in Salt Lake City and offers a chance for retailers, inventors, dreamers, big and small to connect with the north star, the shopper.

We invite you to listen to this episode with an open mind, and also, to please share it to build the conversation online. You can weigh in at the LinkedIn pages of SNEWS and Kristin Carpenter, the host of the Channel Mastery podcast and the founder/CEO of Verde Brand Communications.

Sutton Bacon is the former leader of the Natahala Outdoor Center, and the co-founder of Paddlesports Retailer with Darren Bush, who is the creator of the successful paddling-specific consumer event, Canoecopia, and the owner of specialty paddlesports retailer, Rutabaga.

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My guest today is a well-known thought leader in the evolution of retail, more specifically, marketplaces. In this episode, you’ll meet Kiri Masters, the Founder of Bobsled Marketing, The Marketplace Institute and a Forbes contributor. As Amazon continues to change on a monthly, weekly (and sometimes daily) basis, it is Kiri’s mission to help specialty brands and businesses navigate the Amazon marketplace.

Kiri began her Amazon quest in the early days of the platform in 2012/2013. Needless to say, there were few, if any, resources available to support a specialty brand presence on the Amazon marketplace. She quickly realized that there was a very real need for a tailored solution for smaller brands and Amazon consulting. In 2015, she launched Bobsled Marketing, which helps brands to manage their Amazon sales channel with operational support, brand protection, marketing and advertising. Four years later, in 2019, she launched the brand-new Marketplace Institute, which was designed to enable smaller businesses to have a self-serve model for through a private membership program.

For many of Verde’s clients, it’s just not possible to have an in-house Amazon expert or marketplace manager. Kiri has learned a tremendous amount through her businesses, and in this episode, she shares a wealth of knowledge and current tips on how to put your brand positioning forward

It was an honor to sit down with Kiri on this episode and I am so looking forward to see what she does next and have her on the show again.

Kiri Masters is Founder of Bobsled Marketing and The Marketplace Institute. She is also a Forbes contributor.

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Mike Massey and Teddy Schiavano of Locally are back on another Channel Mastery episode just in time to kick off the brand-new decade!

Locally is a company that connects the brands and products found in thousands of stores with nearby, interested shoppers. I like to think of it as a triangulation of sorts between specialty retailer, brand and target consumer. Mike and Teddy, and the Locally team, are always evolving the how around their mission, because the consumer continues to evolve. Locally makes it easier to compete for the attention of today’s shopper, and therefore, it levels the playing field for specialty businesses competing for the attention of today’s connected, omni-channel consumer.

In this show, Teddy, Mike and I dissect the big impact of Nike’s formal separation from Amazon, and what that means to the logistics game (and Amazon’s continuing quest to train our consumers). We also talk through brand culture, mission and vision and the importance of that type of storytelling to position specialty to win with target consumers. If you’re curious to know what the key trends and insights are that are anchoring how consumers will discover, engage and buy from you in 2020, this is one episode you do not want to miss. In fact, you’ll want to share it with your colleagues and friends.

Let us know what you think about the show, we love to hear from you. You can join the conversation on LinkedIn or Instagram.

Mike Massey, Founder and President at Locally is a third generation retailer and owner of Massey's Outfitters. The idea of Locally grew out of a need to market in-stock products to nearby online shoppers and accept transactions from them. At Locally, Mike is the head of strategy, operations and partnerships.

Teddy Schiavoni is VP of Business Development at Locally. His work in the snow sports industry includes retailer, sales rep, product development and marketing. His deep connections around the globe allow him to present Locally as a solution to enhancing brand/retailer relationships.

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Algorithms have their place, but for specialty/artisan brands, emotive storytelling and a human over algorithm approach will continue to win the day. My guests today in this episode personify this. You’re about to meet the artist and team behind Open Road Ski Company and Man Behind the Maps. Note: This episode is co-produced by our friends at Snowsports Industries of America (SIA).

James Niehues is The Man Behind the Maps. He’s literally defined on-snow resorts through his illustrated maps and is the point of terrain reference for countless skiers and riders. I challenge you to find a single skier or rider who isn’t familiar with his artwork.

When Todd Bennett and Ben Farrow, co-founders of the Open Road Ski Company, realized that there wasn’t an anthology printed of James’ incredible artwork, they set about creating a vision and opportunity for Niehues. In this podcast, you’ll hear first-hand how the book “Man Behind the Maps” came to be.

The story of Niehaus and his collection of on-snow resort maps is nothing short of incredible, and you will get to hear it first hand from James, as well as Todd and Ben, in this episode.

Niehaus is a very humble man, and Bennett and Farrow worked hard to bring a genuine, absolutely top-tier book to market featuring the genius of Niehaus. In this show, James shares his process behind his artwork. He discusses his trips around the world and how he got connected with Todd and Ben to bring his ski maps into one collection.

Long-time fans of Jim’s, Todd and Ben approached him with little publishing knowledge but with a passion to turn Jim’s life work into a timeless, museum quality piece of art in the form of a beautifully curated coffee table book. By launching a Kickstarter campaign, the enthusiasm from the skiing community turned what Ben and Todd thought may be a flop of a launch into the #1 Funded Art Illustration Project in Kickstarter history.

It has been through their storytelling and their shared passion for skiing that Man Behind the Maps is in the marketplace now and soon to be in all homes where skiing is enjoyed.

Jim Niehues is the artist known as The Man Behind the Maps. Over the past 30 years, Jim has been painting ski maps for over 200 resorts around the world.

Todd Bennett and Ben Farrow co-founded Open Road Ski Company after realizing the ski resort maps they knew and loved were created by the same artist. In 2017, they reached out to Jim and started the process of bringing the book, Man Behind the Maps, to life.

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As Amazon Prime and Uber, along with other businesses committed to bringing convenience and personalization to today’s shopper, Chris Guillemet, CEO and co-founder of velofix, was busy with his two partners pioneering the mobile bike shop solution.

That was six years ago, and a lot has changed with today’s omnichannel consumer and cyclist. In today’s Channel Mastery podcast, Guillemet and I discuss this evolution in the context of the future of the mobile bike shop. Where the channel is headed in the near future is not what you might expect.

Bike shops are still a strong go-to channel for today’s omnichannel cyclist, without a doubt, but cyclists are also consumers, and are trained everyday by the likes of Amazon, Instacart, Lyft and other friction-removing, convenience-driven businesses. Consumers today are demanding - they want choice, they want personalization and they want to save time. And they don’t have patience for anything less than that, it seems. In fact, just this week, Amazon Prime members threw a fit because of slower-than-usual delivery times.

Guillemet and his partners are not in the business of taking down the IBD - far from it. Instead, they’re hell-bent on serving more cyclists - and consumers - in the way they’re used to being served by brands today. They want to make it easier to ride bikes - whether that’s for competitive amateur cyclists refusing to lose a day of training or commuters committed to getting around their city safely and efficiently by bike.

In today’s show, you’ll learn about opportunity. Guillemet and his partners only see runway with cycling and closed on a round of funding early in 2019 with a group who believes the same.

In this episode, you’ll learn about velofix’s new U.S. expansion, which includes a U.S. headquarters located in Austin, Texas and an all-star team committed to building an exceptional and consistent end-consumer experience. Velofix is continuing to evolve its innovation and technology platform and brings a fresh take on lifestyle franchise opportunity for its partners. We also talk about the momentum behind brand relationships like the velofix/Canyon Bicycles partnership and the incredible opportunity for cycling technicians who want to run their own business.

Talking to Chris for this episode of Channel Mastery sparked a think bigger mentality for me. He and his team are continually looking one step ahead in everything they do.

Chris Guillemet is CEO and Co-Founder of velofix. Chris brought over 20 years of business experience to Velofix. His Senior Management experience includes growing a company to $90 million and a successful IPO, launching an Internet startup that has raised $45 million in financing and driving growth at a $30 billion dollar consumer packaged goods company. Chris is also a graduate of the SFU Executive Management program. Chris is a 2x Ironman Canada finisher, ran a 2.54 at the Boston Marathon in 2010 and returned to Triathlons by winning his age group at Ironman 70.3 Oceanside in 2019.

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I’ve got a great guest to share with you on this episode of the Channel Mastery podcast; you’re going to meet Frank Ledwell, founder, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief at OutdoorX4 (pronounced “Outdoor by 4”).

His title is an adventure lifestyle publication that caters to people who access adventure with their vehicles. Wait, isn’t that all of us? Well, yes and no. And that’s why I thought it would be so great to host Frank on the Channel Mastery podcast!

Verde has a lot of clients who are hoping to genuinely serve people who classify themselves as “overland” fans, or more accurately, according to Frank, people who love to access adventure with their vehicles.

Let’s be honest - we ALL access adventure with our vehicles, or have at some point. But for some reason, the communities are separate. I see that changing, as does Frank, and that’s what we explore in this episode. What’s more, you’ll get to discover the best channels to genuinely tap into the vehicle-supported adventure community, learn how and why they congregate and most important? Why the DIY-community is so powerful in this space.

To Frank, “overlanding” is the blend between a road trip and backpacking. I couldn’t agree more.

We would have been remiss not to touch on the rise of the electric vehicle and how it’s growing the vehicle-supported space in a huge way. This is a great show and I know it will give you the nudge you need to expand your community more intentionally to those who call themselves ‘overlanders.’

GUEST PROFILE:

Frank Ledwell is the Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of OutdoorX4. In 2006, he co-founded, published and was Editor-in-Chief of JPFreek Adventure Magazine, and was involved with the publications through mid-2012. In 2016 and 2017, he was named a recipient of the “Excellence in Craft” award for magazine writing and photography, awarded annually by the Texas Auto Writers Association, for articles he wrote on traveling in Big Bend National Park as well as his review of the all-new Land Rover Discovery. He is a member of the Texas Auto Writers Association, the Texas Motor Press Association and the Texas Outdoor Writers Association. His articles on the off-highway travel, adventure destinations and product/vehicle reviews have been featured in numerous publications.

Ledwell is an avid explorer, adventurer and advocate of responsible outdoor recreation and off-highway travel. He resides in Texas with his family.

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Annelise Loevlie, CEO at Icelantic Skis - This episode co-produced by Verde Brand Communications and the Snowsports Industries of America (SIA)

Unless you’ve been happily living under a rock, if you’re in the outdoor recreation industries, you’ve heard about specialty brand leader, Annelise Loevlie. She’s the beloved CEO of Icelantic Skis, a brand that’s figured out how to be concurrently established, yet also, new and young. Icelantic Skis are designed and manufactured in Colorado, and the brand is well known for changing it up in terms of distribution, events and brand activations. That’s what we’re here to talk about today; how Icelantic leverages a continually refreshed channel strategy. She and the team are constantly hacking what works with their channels to be where their brand fans and consumers want them to be. It focuses on wholesale partners, their own sell direct channel, and is driven by an innovative mix of content marketing, social media and good, old-fashioned embedding with their community in-person. How many CEO’s do you know who work a promotional sale with retail, in person, over the long Labor Day holiday - every single year?

Back in 2006, Icelantic Skis won ISPO’s “Best Hardgood for the Year,” in Munich, Germany, which launched them in the ski industry world-wide. The team at Icelantic Skis has not stopped making headlines or catalyzing the conversation online since.

In this episode, you’ll hear first-hand how Annalisa has led a direct-first brand through continual evolution of a multiple channel strategy driven by what their target consumer wants from them. Their strategies include unique approaches to the festival scene, innovative artistic partnerships, video content, consistent relationships with key brick and mortar shops, showcasing of product at resorts, online sales and more. Icelantic’s success is community-inspired and that can only work with an independent, yet nimble brand within the outdoor recreation industries.

Annelise Loevlie is CEO at Icelantic Skis, an award-winning and internationally recognized ski brand with a stalwart and highly engaged following. The company prides itself on American craftmanship, top of the line materials and cutting edge graphic art.

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This episode of the Channel Mastery podcast is jointly produced by Verde Brand Communications and SNEWSnet.com.

Well, we’re in it - welcome to Holiday, 2019 Channel Masters!

It’s not just around the corner, it’s literally here. My inbox has been flooded already (as of this writing in mid-November) with ‘door-buster’ deals and so many subject lines about Black Friday that I’m afraid to open my email. Cyber Monday promos are on their way, this I’m sure of. Holiday 2019 will be telling, that’s for sure. As a Channel Mastery listener, you’ve been ready for this time of year for some time now. But no matter how ready you are, there are always things to jockey, monitor and care-take while you’re in it with your teams. That’s where my guest on today’s show, Peter Kearns of 180 Commerce, comes in. Peter’s slipped us a cheat sheet of sorts in this episode, with the top four areas of focus every specialty brand leader must care take before, during and after the make-or-break business window that is the Holidays. Peter serves as the Vice President of Business Development at 180Commerce and actively works daily with specialty businesses and brands to hone in on their direct to consumer (DTC) strategies. And you’re getting a bit of free advice today - actually, quite a lot of it! I hope you get a ton out of this episode as I know how much is at stake in your business at this time of year.

As a quick aside, Peter found in a 2019 study from Feedvisor, that 74% of consumers are now heading straight to Amazon when they have a product in mind. This figure is absolutely mind blowing and as a specialty retailer, you can't afford to ignore it. It was an honor and pleasure to yet again speak with Peter and hear his expertise on the subject. Listen to the episode and chime in with your thoughts on my Linkedin Page. This episode is co-produced by Verde Brand Communications and SNEWS.com.

Peter Kearns is an Amazon brand expert spending nearly four years on Amazon’s Seller Services team working in the sports & outdoors and consumables categories. He’s helped hundreds of brands ranging from global IR-100s to small DTC start-ups make $500+ million in gross merchant sales. He’s now the Vice President of Business Development for 180Commerce, a brand management and advising agency specializing in helping brands succeed on Amazon.

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In this Channel Mastery episode, I had the opportunity to speak with Kristi Mohn and Gabbi Adams, two of the women leading the charge in expanding and developing Gravel Racing across America. The team at Life Time behind the Dirty Kanza gravel race held annually in Emporia, KS have announced their next project - Big Sugar, a 107-mile gravel race winding through the hillsides and waterways of Bentonville, Arkansas. There’s also a shorter option, called the Little Sugar (50 miles).

In our conversation, Kristi Mohn, Business Development and marketing leader at Life Time, and Gabbi Adams, Big Sugar Co-Race Director, share their Dirty Kanza race experiences and the impact and growth of the gravel race scene in North America. We also talk about the path-burning leadership of Kristi Mohn, as she was one of the founding members of the team that grew the DK to an event that literally draws thousands of people to ride through the Flint Hills surrounding Emporia, Kansas. In so many ways, Mohn is handing the baton to Adams in the Big Sugar event - not only in bringing the DK team’s dream of bringing a DK-esque experience to other amazing event venues (the first of which is Bentonville in the Big Sugar), but also, as a ‘second generation’ female race director taking the helm of an event that’s destined to be a staple and classic on the U.S. gravel race calendar. Learn how Mohn and her DK colleagues grew that iconic event and the vision for gravel’s future through the eyes of one of its key founders.

This is a very inspiring episode that literally showcases the heart and soul of gravel through the journeys of Mohn and Adams, and the intersection of that journey in the Big Sugar event.

Registration for the Big and Little Sugar inaugural races opens Friday, Nov. 15, and cyclists of all disciplines and experiences are welcome to experience this incredible course and surrounding community of Bentonville. If you’re interested in the evolution of the hottest niche of cycling right now - gravel cycling - this is one episode you will not want to miss.

Kristi Mohn is a founding member of the Dirty Kanza event team, and a life-long Emporian (resident of Emporia, Kansas). Since selling the DK to Life Time earlier this year (in 2019), Mohn has expanded her role to that of Business Development and Marketing leader at Life Time, Inc. Mohn is a visionary and a pioneering female leader in cycling. She believes strongly in the power of community and inclusivity - two foundational pillars that helped grow the DK into the global leader in gravel. Mohn has witnessed first hand how cycling can empower and change people and communities for the better, and continues to work tirelessly to bring more people into the sport, on their own terms.

Gabbi Adams has been on the racing and riding side of gravel for years, but is now stepping in to race directing with Big Sugar. She’s a winner of the DK in the single-speed category and is a lifer with her gravel community. Adams loves the inclusiveness and community that is gravel, and is wholly committed to delivering a great experience for every individual at the Big Sugar. We can’t wait to see how Gabbi’s leadership takes shape in this exciting new venue, and in the global community of gravel.

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On this episode of the Channel Mastery podcast, co-produced by Bicycle Retailer & Industry News, I’m honored to pay a big tribute to Ed Zink, the owner of the award-winning specialty bike store, the Mountain Bike Specialists.

Zink, a Durango native and longtime resident, unexpectedly passed away on October 11, 2019 of complications from cardiac arrest. He would have turned 72 on November 13th. He was a founder of Durango’s iconic road race, the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic, which turns 49 in 2020. Ed also was the visionary behind Durango’s hosting of the 1990 World Mountain Bike Championships. Many would say with confidence that Ed Zink put Durango on the global “map” as a global mountain bike destination.

He also was a critical supporter of building, advocating for and protecting Durango’s incredible trail network through Trails 2000, an incredible non-profit organization led today by visionary Mary Monroe-Brown.

Ed was an absolute leader as an IBD, but he was also a renaissance man, a great visionary, innovator and icon in the cycling world. Most important, however, is how he viewed community - both in his hometown of Durango, Colo., and in the global cycling community. In this episode, you’ll hear first-hand how Ed based that vision out of his bike shop.

The story of Ed is told by Gaige Sippy of the Mountain Bike Specialists and Ned Overend, renowned mountain bike world champion. Both call Durango home, both have had a life shaped by the bike, and both were mentoried by Ed Zink.

Before the internet and social media, viral videos and online marketing, Ed Zink was able to create world class events and experiences that were open for all who were interested in cycling. He was a pioneer of inclusivity and focusing on the consumer experience. While the Mountain Bike Specialists served and supported the top cycling athletes in the world (and continues to), it’s also equally prioritized riders of every age, ability level and discipline.

This show is also a tribute to the power of the IBD. For five decades, the Mountain Bike Specialists has been the hub for Ed’s vision in cycling and with the outdoor recreation economy. Through his store, Ed supported trail development and advocacy, community development through clean industry, inclusivity of men, women and kids of all walks of life, and a heart-centered approach to building the infrastructure of an incredible region through the bike. This man’s shoes cannot be filled. All we can do is try to live like he did - service to others first.

Through events like the Iron Horse, World Championships and even some cycling time trials that raced through the interiors of Durango’s historic main street shops, one key facet of Zink’s life work was in connecting and building community through cycling. For anyone who knew Ed, they were touched by Ed’s vision. In this show, you’ll get to hear first hand how Ed mentored and impacted both Gaige Sippy and Ned Overend.

Ed’s legacy in the Animas Valley and the cycling community will continue to live on through the relationships he created and nurtured over his lifetime.

Ned Overend is a world-champion mountain bike racer, and continues to serve the cycling community in many roles, one of which is as a member of the marketing team at Specialized Bicycles. When Ned met Ed Zink, he was a car mechanic who wanted to race bikes, back in the early 1980’s. Ed took Ned under his wing, and he became an employee of Zink’s when Mountain Bike Specialists was named Outdoorsmen. Ned was a mechanic in the small bike shop located in the back of the store. He considered Ed to be one of his closest friends and credits him with much of the success of his cycling career. Overend resides in Durango, CO.

Gaige Sippy, also a former employee of Ed Zink’s at the Mountain Bike Specialists, is the Director of Durango’s iconic Memorial Day road race and cycling celebration, the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic. Sippy and Zink first met in the early 90’s in Durango, and for the past twenty-plus years, Gaige has worked with Zink to grow cycling in and around Durango.

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Ryan Atkinson returns to Channel Mastery after a wide reaching webinar with the National Bicycle Dealers Association (NBDA). He is President and Co-Owner of SmartEtailing and talks to us about the importance of evolving when it comes to how consumers purchase not only bicycles, but other products as well. Click and Collect shopping iis on the incline and Ryan and his team at SmartEtailing are helping specialty bike shops keep sales within their communities, ensure consumer accessibility to the products, and help the “shop local” movements for Independent Bicycle Dealers across the country through an online presence. If you’re a specialty business leader getting ready to head into Holiday 2019, this is an episode you won’t want to miss!

Ryan is passionate about enhancing marketing for independent bicycle dealers. With more than 20 years of related experience, Ryan has worked in almost every aspect of the bicycle retail distribution network, from turning wrenches at the local bike shop to launching new products for Trek Bicycle Corporation. Before joining SmartEtailing, Ryan founded Harvest Retail Marketing, a leader in marketing solutions for the independent bike dealer. His diverse background has engendered a deep understanding about the challenges facing independent retailers and the importance of implementing marketing and technology solutions to grow those businesses.

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This episode is the first of an entire season of Channel Mastery podcasts co-produced by our friends at the Snowsports Industries of America (SIA). Jen Gurecki joins me on this episode and after sharing the mic with her, I have to say, she just embodies the word entrepreneur. She is Co-founder and CEO of Coalition Snow, a women’s-specific ski hardgoods company, Editor-in-Chief of Sisu Magazine, and as of Oct. 14, 2019, a specialty brick-and-mortar retailer (Truckee, Calif.). Jen knows a thing or two about breaking the barriers and building channels where her followers expect her to with Coalition Snow. She’s a die-hard advocate for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, and is seemingly unafraid to stand up for things many, many other brands are fearful to stand up for. We need more Jen Gurecki’s in our world, IMO.

Jen’s background in the outdoor industry is unlike the traditional path many CEO’s in the snowsports communities have taken. When some were sales reps, she was founding a company in rural Kenya. How hard could it be, then, to start a women’s ski hardgoods brand? She set about to find out with Coalition Snow, a company that makes skis for women by women.

Her drive, desire to push boundaries and willingness to try new strategies in a male-dominated battlefield sets her and the Coalition Snow team apart from their competitors, but beyond that, they’re creating a sense of community and inclusiveness where it’s needed and using a creative and ever-evolving mix of brand and sales channels to connect with loyal fans and followers.

Jen’s episode underscores the importance of being nimble, and testing and learning - concepts that are tough for longstanding, established brands to emulate. There’s a ton to learn from Jen’s instinct and her challenges and successes. Check out the show and give it a share today!

Jen Gurecki is the CEO of Coalition Snow & Editor of Sisu Magazine.

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We’re excited to welcome back Friend of the Channel Mastery Podcast, Larry Pluimer of Indigitous.com, an Amazon advertising and services agency that provides brands with strategies, services and intelligence to maximize sales and marketing opportunities with Amazon. Many of you know Larry as the first person to build an outdoor-lifestyle specific market on Amazon over a decade ago.

Larry and his team make it their business to monitor and translate the many changes happening on the Amazon marketplace. Kristin and Larry spend this Expert Spotlight episode discussing the Patagonia lawsuit that made headlines in September, the environmental efforts and changes Amazon has committed to over the next 20 years and the updates to Amazon going into effect for Holiday, 2019. You do not want to miss this episode!

Guest Profile: Larry Pluimer, a Channel Mastery VIP, is an Amazon Strategy Expert at Indigitous. The agency offers advertising and services that provide select brands and their investors with the strategies, services and intelligence necessary to maximize sales and marketing opportunities with Amazon.

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On this episode of Channel Mastery, Specialty Retailer and Outdoor Industry Icon, Wes Allen, and I discuss the evolving equation of retail math. Retail success can come down to having the right time, all the time, especially since today’s connected consumer is always expecting just that. We dive into how measuring your Gross Margin Return on Investment (GMROI) is essential for keeping your business thriving and how other channels play a role in this always changing equation.

Wes Allen is a VIP friend of the Channel Mastery podcast, founder of Argot Agency, principal of Sunlight Sports, industry speaker and adventure retail expert.

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On today’s episode, we dive into the world of software as a service (SaaS) with the co-founder of one of my personal favorite apps and podcasts: TrainerRoad. Digital businesses may have an edge over analog when it comes to data access and agility, but what this discussion demonstrates is that there are SO many other lessons and crossovers that ALL businesses can learn from the tech culture.

My guest, Nate Pearson, is incredibly generous and forthcoming in sharing the ins and outs of his company’s weekly meeting, data interpretations and strategies, and the evolution of brand partnerships. We talk about bringing your personality into your brand, digital ads, team dynamics and how every brand should always be aiming to be 10 times better than their competition.

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SOLOCAST: Kristin Carpenter, Channel Mastery Host and CEO of Verde Brand Communications

The marketing director in both legacy and direct-first brands do not have an easy path today. They literally hold the keys to the end-consumer relationship, and are charged to manage and ‘catch’ all things marketing. It can be tough to know the metrics to report to executive colleagues as the targets and goals keep changing. And setting a budget is probably the most challenging - especially for legacy brand leaders - as it’s nearly impossible to know what’s going to be needed in three months, let alone 12. Interestingly, the challenges faced by this incredibly important - I would even go as far to say ‘lynchpin’ team member - in a consumer-first business are largely unknown by his or her executive colleagues.

This episode is intended to change that. In this show, you’ll learn about the challenges and how to actually use them as a leadership team to get closer to your target end consumer on the channels of their preference. You’ll also learn that the plight of the legacy and direct-first brand managers are actually far more similar than you’d think. And in true Channel Mastery form, you’ll be the first to learn more about a new resource being offered to specialty brands by Channel Mastery.

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I’m SO stoked to speak with Mark Satkieweicz, co-founder of SBT GRVL (pronounced Steamboat Gravel), in this episode. About a year ago, Mark and his three partners called my agency, Verde Brand Communications, about promoting a gravel grinder in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. (Full disclosure: SBT GRVL is a Verde client.) Here’s the thing: The race didn’t exist yet.

Not only did Mark and his partners create a brand new gravel event from scratch in about 10 months, it sold out within six days. SIX DAYS!!! We’re talking over 1,000 competitors and three courses. It is arguably one of the most successful cycling event launches of all time.

And now, after the inaugural SBT GRVL race took place on Aug. 18, 2019, we can officially report that not only did the team nail the launch, they nailed the event, too. The courses were incredible; the racers were happy; the cycling community is taking notice. For the record, that's not the PR-pro in me speaking; that’s spoken as an avid cyclist and racer, who competed on the long course.

Today, we talk about what made this event so exceptional right out of the gate, and the questions every event director and promoter should ask to ensure success. For Mark and his team, it was all about creating an accessible community. The focus was on the full experience - from registration to crossing the finish line - and ensuring that every touch point reinforced the spirit of inclusivity and support. The race itself was built on beauty and challenge, but the vibe was one of parity, breaking down barriers and encouraging everyone with an interest.

GUEST PROFILE: Mark Satkiewicz, the co-founder of SBT GRVL, in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. He is the former CEO of Smartwool and held executive positions at TOMS, Keebler and Nike. Mark is an avid endurance athlete and cyclist.

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EPISODE PREVIEW: Welcome to Channel Mastery’s 100th Episode!!! It’s been two years of love and commitment to driving success for specialty…and we’re just getting started.

To celebrate this milestone, I’ve invited a very special guest from a very special crossover of my personal life and my professional life. This year, I competed in my second Leadville 100 MTB, and it’s official: I’m a lifer. My guest for Episode 100 is Kimo Seymour, a fellow lifer. Kimo has not only raced in 12 (!!) Leadville 100 races, he’s also served as race director and now oversees all of events and media for Leadville’s parent company, Life Time.

We cover a lot of ground in this episode, from event marketing to community building, and from content to strategic brand partnerships. The essence of our discussion revolves around a challenge that all specialty businesses face: how do we focus on profitability without losing the authenticity and the passion that brought us to this field in the first place? Can corporate entities co-exist with homegrown events?

The answer is heck yeah. Not only can they co-exist, but together, the opportunities to have a positive impact (on local economy, on the experience, on the growth of a sport) grow exponentially. It requires caretaking and listening and genuine connection with the people who are the heart and soul of any event. It requires thoughtful and strategic brand partnerships. Ultimately, to build a community through shared experiences and values, it requires that we put the humans first.

GUEST PROFILE: Kimo Seymour is Senior Vice President of Operations for the Athletic Events Division at Life Time. Following a 15-year career in real estate development, Kimo purchased the Red Rock Company, (events production) in 2008, which has since been acquired by Life Time. He joined Life Time in 2011 as the brand director for the Leadville race series. Currently, Kimo oversees the Events and Media business across the complete Life Time portfolio.

Kimo is also an active endurance athlete, having completed eleven Ironman’s (six in Kona), 12 Leadville Trail 100 mountain bike races, 24-hour mountain bike races and multiple marathons. He is a father of a 23-year old daughter, Makena, and a 21-year old son, Kai. Kimo and his wife Julie remain very active in the racing community, participating in many Life Time events annually.

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In July 2019, a report [link is below] came out that squarely pointed the finger at private equity and Wall Street for the loss of 600,000 retail jobs and 1.3 million jobs overall during great retail correction (that we’re still in, btw). Many analysts agreed with the report. My guest today, Richard Kestenbaum, does not.

 Richard is in mergers and acquisitions, and is a fan and professional follower of active outdoor markets. He is the perfect person to walk us through today’s investment landscape and how that may or may not be in influencing the health of retail. He sees the bigger retail picture, and can tie it right back to our specialty markets.

 In this episode, we dig down into the cause of why start-ups are able to scratch away at legacy retailers grip on sales, and why legacy brands seem to be the ones going bankrupt more frequently. Richard analyzes this specifically through the lens of private equity and through the competitive advantages of specialty.

 But what if your business is looking for funding? Is there still money for capital investment? You betcha. But it’s time for new metrics to capture the new retail reality, which in large part will be a measurement of how well a brand is meeting customer expectations.

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There are a ton of people who want to raise their hands and belong to cycling…if they’re given a chance and welcomed in. My guest today is doing just that, and there are lessons for all of us in the methods.

Through the National Interscholastic Cycling Association (NICA), Steve Matous and his team are not only introducing mountain biking to tens of thousands of teenagers, they’re also developing lifelong cyclists and outdoor enthusiasts.

The organization is growing like mad, with more communities asking for a “league” (aka a “chapter”) than NICA has the resources to serve. Every non-profit (and heck…every commercial business) wants to see growth like NICA is experiencing. How are they doing it?

Much of the success can be attributed to Matous’ strategy to build a broader foundation of participants than the traditional cycling demographics. With objective and subjective strategies toward increasing inclusivity and gender equity, as well as providing tools (ahem…bikes and access!) for underserved and non-affluent communities, NICA is leveling the playing field for every kid who wants to be involved.

GUEST PROFILE: Steve Matous is president of the National Interscholastic Cycling Association (NICA). He comes to NICA from a broad-reaching and successful career in the outdoor industry from both the commercial and not-for-profit side, having led Outward Bound, Entre-Prises Climbing Walls, and the American Alpine Club, among other organizations. He is a strong advocate for youth participation and developing lifelong outdoor enthusiasts.

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I’m so happy to offer you an absolute FIRST on Channel Mastery today. We cover a lot of angles to specialty retail here, and today we’re diving into the absolute foundation of brick and mortar: the real estate.

Location, style, size, co-tenants: these are the FIRST things you think about when it comes to opening a physical store. These are things that can make or break your success. Today, I speak with Mark Falcone, a retail real estate development expert, to hear what’s working today.

Mark is founder and CEO of Continuum Partners, based in Denver. For Outdoor Retailer attendees, you’ll recognize Continuum’s work as master developers of the Union Station neighborhood.

Continuum takes a holistic approach to development that starts with the human (and natural) ecology of a location, and assesses how the built environment can foster a desirable habitat. If it sounds lofty, it is. Continuum is steadfast in its values and principles that guide each of its projects. But it’s also a very human approach. It’s the same way we create our interior retail spaces to evoke an emotional connection, like a sense of belonging or excitement or peace.

Today, I ask Mark how retail real estate is changing, what tenants and developers are valuing, and what does the future look like for brick and mortar. We also discuss Continuum’s latest project, Basecamp at Market Station, the first real estate development (that we know of!) based entirely around outdoor recreation.

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Continual evolution is now table-stakes for multi-channel marketing. But thankfully, no matter what the channel, two things continue to fuel specialty marketing success:

First, you have to have strong narrative brand storytelling that’s completely capable of evoking an emotional connection. And second? Use it to enable your target consumer to believe something they want to about themselves. In specialty, both are critical. As I’ve said many times before, our consumers use our brands as identity pieces.

Brand marketing experience goes a long way both fronts. It’s tough to find a seasoned pro with decades of experience, a vested interest in what they’re marketing (passion), and, who also has a very nimble mindset and a strong sense of continual curiosity about how things are changing and why.

I found one for you today, Channel Masters. My guest today is Bob Rogers, director of marketing for Lance Camper.

Bob is enthusiastically – and boldly – setting up a 54-year-old legacy brand for discovery, engagement and conversion. He’s committed to not only evolving the brand and how it reaches and engages people today, he’s committed to doing so for the next two generations of outdoor enthusiasts. One of the best facets of this conversation is how Bob is taking the page out of his playbooks of old (in the automotive industry, for one example) and putting them in the game in a fresh new way. You’ll love what he shares about cross-promotional marketing in this episode.

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Today I present a NOT TO BE MISSED episode that delivers a dual short cut on two of the most important channels we work with as specialty brands – social media and online marketplaces (okay, THE online marketplace, Amazon).

I feature two guests, Larry Plumier, founder and CEO of Indigitous, an Amazon consultancy and marketing agency, and Akvile DeFazio, my new (and favorite) expert specializing in helping her clients stand out amidst the noise of social media using paid strategies, Akvile DeFazio.

Larry’s segment is first, and he’ll be joining me on the podcast once a month going forward. We touch on the latest Amazon headlines in this quick-hit segment, enabling you to understand how Amazon is evolving (there has been a TON of news lately on Amazon, not to mention Prime Day, July, 2019, which is the day Larry and I recorded his segment).

Akvile's segment is not just a 30,000-foot view on paid social media strategies or the state of key social platforms. She and I really dive in and the result? You get a down and dirty examination of what’s working and how you can use Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Pinterest to your brand’s strongest advantage. Akvila shares specifics, tactics and recommendations on how to move the ball forward toward your social media advertising goals.

Amazon, and social media, social media advertising and shoppable social are in a constant state of evolution. Today you’ll learn how these channels are evolving. Akvila’s segment will also give you implementable tools to help you utilize key social channels to get inside your consumer’s head and create a visual experience that engages and converts. Akvila also takes some of the stage fright out of executing a strategy; she’s all about progress over perfection.

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As any specialty retailer knows, this is not a decision that’s made lightly. In a two-part series, I’ll be interviewing Kimberly Grogan, co-owner of Dash-Sports, to document the expansion. In this first episode, we drop in on the reasoning behind their decision to expand, why the time is now, and what strategies she and her partner/husband are employing to up the odds for success. The second will be about how the Grogans worked with their key brand partners to make a rolling, month-long grand opening a success.

The Grogans have complete focus on serving their target consumer and this show is a case study of how one specialty retailer was literally pushed by its devoted community for an expansion.

Dash-Sports (currently transitioning from its former name, Gear for Multisport) is also an excellent example of a retailer activating multiple channels toward a single goal: to engage and to be of service to its customer. Every decision they make is oriented toward providing a better experience for their consumer, and supporting and encouraging their consumers’ active lifestyles. Dash-Sports turns customer lifetime value into a guiding philosophy, not just a metric.

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Used gear is huge right now. In the apparel sector, alone, ThredUp estimates the resale industry will be worth $41 billion by 2022. To call pre-owned gear a trend risks diminishing the social, environmental and fiscal values in this type of circular economy.

Nick Martin understands this because he was one of the pioneers in the used sector. As founder and CEO of The Pro’s Closet (TPC), he studied eBay to learn consumer behaviors around re-sale gear. To say he learned well is an understatement. TPC launched in 2006. Recently, it’s been consistently growing 120 percent year over year.

The keys to the e-commerce company’s success can be traced to Nick’s background as a pro cyclist, a stroke of amazing luck with six Colnago Futura frames, a strong team, and a boatload of work. Today TPC is managing the near impossible by figuring out how to navigate tricky world of bike retail (resale) without stepping on toes.

The used market is about experiences, sustainability, price and encouraging participation growth by allowing customers to upgrade within their means. So many lessons and so many stories to tell. I hope you enjoy my conversation with Nick Martin.

Nick Martin was a pro cyclist living in a 1962 VW bus, when he decided to sell everything he owned except for his bike and bus in order to keep living his dream of riding professionally. The experience sparked the idea for The Pro’s Closet (TPC), the largest, pre-owned bike shop in the world.

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How many brands from the 1930s are you looking to for social media and content marketing leadership? Not many, I would think. But Airstream, the iconic brand that never seems to go out of style, is not typical in any way. And it is leveraging its loyal fan base and driving content and training like few others!

Airstream is a legacy, consumer-centric brand – a description many would consider to be an oxymoron. In testament to both the quality of workmanship and the devotion of Airstream owners, 75-80 percent of all Airstream trailers ever made are still on the road. But don’t let “legacy” and “iconic” and “1930s” lead you to assumptions about their customer. There’s a wide range of demographics and consumer profiles in the Airstream owner community.

Today I speak with Bob Wheeler, president and CEO of Airstream. For all the vintage aesthetics and nostalgia in the Airstream universe, this company is demonstrating leadership in training, digital marketing, content creation and marketing, leveraging user-generated content, events…the list goes on. The brand also works with a network of independent dealers, which presents its own set of challenges and bonuses.

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My guest today, Jonathan Ellsworth, dropped some hardcore philosophy references from his background in academia. When he quoted Spinoza, I’m not gonna lie, I just rolled with it like I hadn’t ditched the majority of my Phil 101 class at UC Davis to ride.

Jonathan Ellsworth is founder and CEO of Blister, the online gear review site whose mission is to offer the most in-depth and honest review possible. Blister is fanatical about gear and the activities our gear allows us to do. This passion has been recognized (and rewarded) by a global audience of consumers that are equally enthusiastic about their gear, their sports, and the honesty they’ve come to rely on from Blister.

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I have the pleasure today of speaking with one of the absolute best in the business, Dana Caraway, founder of Caraway & Co. Dana and her team are redefining the value equation of what sales reps provide to brands and retailers today – across all channels.

What’s particularly compelling about Caraway & Co.’s approach is its long-term view of the specialty markets and the people that give them such vibrancy. Numbers matter. Sell-through is crucial. But Dana’s approach to fostering the joy and dedication to these markets is really what sets her and her team apart.

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Specialty businesses and brands have the HUGE advantage of having strong relationships with our consumers. It’s person-to-person, hand-to-hand combat, ‘bedside manner.’ It’s not bots, data procurement, algorithms and digital personalization.

There’s a reason people by from WHO they like, not what they like.

Mark Schaefer is a one-man master class in consumer connection. You’re about to experience 30+ minutes of ideas, examples and total persuasion around how businesses that support their customers and maintain their humanity are winning the battle for attention and market share.

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On today's episode of Channel Mastery, we are joined by Blair Clark—President of Canyon Bicycles.

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I am SO thrilled to talk with Christian Schauf today. He is the founder and CEO of Uncharted Supply Co., which is a dear and appreciated client of Verde (full disclosure). Uncharted Supply Co. is a leading, direct-to-consumer brand innovating – and disrupting – the preparedness space.

In addition to what may be the most AMAZING backstory for any human and brand, Christian also is driven by huge vision, creativity and a willingness to take risks. He doesn’t walk; he sprints toward innovation.

Today, we talk about how Uncharted launched with the ultimate expression of consumer connectedness: crowdsourcing. This digitally-native brand is now taking the leap into the wholesale channel. We’ll discuss how content, the right team, a lot of hustle, and an unending drive to connect with your customer combine for success.

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Today, I’m joined by Ashley Korenblat, the founder of OuterBike (and a host of other VERY impressive titles). The first OuterBike was a relatively radical idea: Instead of giving consumers the opportunity to demo a bike in a few circles around the parking lot, bring the bikes to iconic trails the consumer wants to ride.

For the first Outerbike, Ashley called in all sorts of personal favors and connections to get brands to bring their fleets to Moab, Utah, on their way home from Interbike. A decade later, Outerbike has expanded to four incredible riding destinations and is a pilgrimage for thousands of enthusiast cycling consumers.

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The purpose of this “Shifting Channels” series is to provide a line of sight on where things are going with channel evolution in the specialty bike community and industry. We’ve covered e-commerce options, case studies in product launches, and adoption in practice by shop owners trying, adapting and thriving.

Today, we’re covering software as a service (SaaS) for bike. Before my technophobe friends shutdown, I encourage you to evaluate this type of technology through the service lens. The SaaS we explore today is leading the charge with a user-friendly, online option to create friction-free experiences for your customers, and a headache-free experience for bike shops.

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This episode is the third in a special Channel Mastery podcast series, co-produced by Bicycle Retailer and Verde Brand Communications, titled: Shifting Channels in the Specialty Bicycle Market.

What happens when the world’s largest sporting goods retailer, Decathlon, enters the U.S. market, armed with capital, smart leadership and an entire assortment of house branded bike, and other gear?

The story of Decathlon USA is one that’s still unfolding, but there’s SO much to learn about the why, how and when behind this major retail expansion centered in Northern California’s Bay Area.

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Today, we get to hear from Erik Saltvold, founder and owner of Erik’s Bike, Board and Ski, a very successful specialty retailer, and leader in the active outdoor lifestyle markets. Erik is a friend of the Channel Mastery podcast and this is his second interview.

Channel Mastery: Recent Episodes

Kristin Carpenter & Verde Brand Communications