Category Archives: Case Study

On July 30th, the day before the start of the Outdoor Retailer show, Backbone hosted its first-ever Big Idea Day (BID). The concept behind BID was simple—bring together the most influential media outlets in the active lifestyle space and ask them to present their lens into the future of media, the outdoors and adventure. In a marathon of seven, one-hour sessions, Backbone met with Outside Magazine, Men’s Journal, National Geographic, GearJunkie, Active Interest Media (Climbing, Backpacker, Ski, Skiing, etc), the Competitor Group (Velo, Triathlete, etc) and Mountain Magazine.

Backbone isn’t stopping there, and we already have plans to follow the same format with partners like Wired, ESPN, The Atlantic, Rodale, Demand Media, Google, Sports Illustrated and On the Snow to name a few. Below is a summary of what we learned. 

Partnerships

• Without question, publishers are eager and open to partner with brands in new and creative ways. Almost every media partner now offers video production capabilities. Many are building slick, customized branded content for big and small brands alike.
• For example:
  • Men’s Journal + Land Rover
  • Men’s Journal + Porsche
  • GearJunkie + Yakima
• Brands used to rely on media to deliver audience and scale. Now, through social media, many brands have their own audience that rivals the reach of many media outlets. The unique value proposition media offers today is engaging content with third-party validation.
• A buzzword for 2013, Native advertising is advertising that is done in a style or format that is indistinguishable from editorial. This means greater collaboration between brands and media.
• Regardless of whether it’s the brand or the media partner delivering content must be authentic in order to be valued.

Content

• While short stories, slide shows and lists like Buzzfeed delivers are driving a lot of digital content, there is still a demand for long-format journalism, especially if it incorporates multi-media elements and a beautiful presentation. For example this 5,500 word story on Outside.com is one of the most popular on the site right now. 

Urban, Fitness, Technology

• Obstacle racing, Cross-Fit and exercise in general continues to be a major U.S. trend. In many cities, people are using social media to schedule large scale fitness meet ups – or fitness flash mobs.
• Marketers need to point their ideas beyond the outdoor niche. Consumers are becoming more urban. How can we engage and excite this segment? Whether it’s running, yoga, or SUP—there are many urban adventures to be had. Several media partners offer popular urban outdoor events.
• Bike commuting is exploding in the U.S. Cargo bikes are everywhere. Ally cat races, gran fondos and gravel grinders are proving to be popular alternatives to traditional road racing.
• Half marathons continue to be the fastest growing race segment but the explosion of fad runs (color runs, rave runs, neon runs, zombie runs, etc.) is unmistakable.
• No longer is it a debate of whether technology belongs outdoors. Fitness is changing along side technology with the introduction and increased usage of mobile apps like Strava and Map My Run.

Social — bridging the social conversation to reality 

• Use and create local events to create a 1 to 1 relationship with consumers. Bring people with common interest together for an afternoon run, happy hour, scavenger hunt — something that fits your brand’s voice.
• Scalability: Don’t cross your fingers and hope that people attending actually capture the moment with the right hashtag. Instead, make sure you have the right people and partners on the ground to capture the moment and distribute your branded content beyond the event.

Thank you for your interest in our Big Ideas. For more information please check out these posts:

• Backbone Big Idea Day and Rolling Stone’s Chris McLoughlin
• Active Interest Media’s Jon Dorn talks about multi media content and remote journalism
• Active Lifestyle Media Trends with Outside Mag’s Michael Roberts