57 Hours is a business that connects customers with local guides for adventures. Viktor Marohnic, the Founder and CEO, joins me on the podcast to discuss the challenges they have faced in streamlining their customer acquisition pipeline. For many businesses that sell "big-ticket items" or services that require lots of planning a simple social media ad isn't enough to convert a customer. This challenge is experienced throughout the travel industry as many of the purchase decisions are based on logistics. Viktor shares the strategy he and his team have developed to ease customers into their pipeline and provide value along the way.

Follow 57 Hours: @57hours_app

Produced by: @portsideproductions @backcountrymarketing @coleheilborn

In 2021 the most valuable commodity is attention. As marketers, we all seek to earn the attention of our audience. But how often do we consider our own focus while on the job? Are those trips to the water cooler really helping our creativity? Does keeping your email tab open or closed help or hinder communication? In this episode, Jeremy Jensen joins me to discuss flow. Many of us are probably familiar with the concept of flow. "Being in the zone" or "runners high" are common names for this neurologic effect happening inside our brain. In flow, we become focused, more creative, and increase productivity. In fact, studies have found that productivity can be increased 500% when in flow. Most of us probably experience this effect while we're skiing, mountain biking or chasing some adrenaline high. But what if we could trick our brains into a flow state so that we could get more done? What if we could do a full day's work in half a day? Jeremy is here to tell us that this is possible. Flow state can be triggered with 22 different triggers. Each of which can launch us into sessions of deep, quality, focused work. Follow Jeremy: @jeremyrjensen Produced by: @portsideproductions @backcountrymarketing @coleheilborn

Al Perkinson, the CEO of Bajio Sunglasses, joins me on the podcast for Part 2 of this series. We pick up the conversation where we left off in Part 1 of episode 77. Creating and building a community is all the rage. As marketers, we want to build companies that are surrounded by loving, supportive, passionate community members. But how does one go about creating these communities? In this episode, Al shares his 5 steps to create a community. Follow Bajio: @bajiosunglasses Produced by: @portsideproductions @backcountrymarketing @coleheilborn

Are creativity and structure inherently at odds with each other? Jonathan Ronzio is the CMO at Trainual, a filmmaker, and host of the Stokecast. Any creative undertaking as an individual or a solopreneur can be daunting in itself. But as soon as you start to grow, you inevitably add more people to the mix. However, without a clear process, these people will create more work for each other and spend more time focusing on how to do the task rather than the task at hand. This issue is often felt in creative circles where the idea is that creativity and process don't mix. In this episode, Jonathan shares his perspective on the creative process, operations, and how the two can actually work together, symbiotically to create better ideas. Follow Jonathan: @jonathanronzio Produced by: @portsideproductions @backcountrymarketing @coleheilborn

Of all the industries to get hammered the most during COVID, the events industry has been hit hard. Forced to cancel, post-pone, shutter doors, and limit capacities. Events around the world have been struggling to operate with the restrictions. To make matters more challenging, many events have had to come up with creative ways to continue to provide value to sponsors even if their signature events have changed considerably. Darren Kinnaird, the Managing Director of Crankworx, shares how he and his team have adapted, expanded their service offerings, and created an entirely new event for the summer of 2020 in response to the shutdown. Through all of this, Darren and his team have remained positive, and have adopted the mindset of: 'Everything has changed, but nothing has changed." Follow Darren and Crankworx @dwkinnaird @crankworx

Produced by:

@portsideproductions

@backcountrymarketing

@coleheilborn

Rick Saez is an industry veteran when it comes to podcasting. With over 300 episodes published of his Outdoor Biz Podcast, he's been in the game a long time. During that time, he's noticed that many brands have yet to fully harness the power of the podcast. In this episode, we discuss the future of the podcast platform, sponsorships, the opportunity for brands, and we even help you get started by jamming on some ideas for shows! Follow Rick and the Outdoor Biz Podcast @ricksaez @outdoorbizpod Produced by: @portsideproductions @backcountrymarketing @coleheilborn

Licensing rights can be very overwhelming to a lot of photographers. How do licenses work? How much do they cost? What is work for hire? Ian Coble is a photographer who has shot photos commercially since his early 20's. He's shot for brands like Salomon, K2, Helly Hansen, and many others. In this episode, he breaks down licensing rights and how to navigate them as a photographer. Follow Ian: @iancoble Produced by: @portsideproductions @backcountrymarketing @coleheilborn

These days many companies are losing trust with their consumers and are looking for ways to rebuild that trust. The outdoor industry has always had a staple of "authentic brands" in its ranks, however, what does being an authentic brand mean? How does a brand achieve this status?

In this two-part episode, Al Perkinson from Bajio Sunglasses breaks down the 5 steps required to build an authentic brand. As an industry veteran with two decades of experience, Al has started to notice trends that all authentic brands do in order to earn that designation.  The five steps are relatively simple, but require an immense amount of intentionality and effort to maintain. Al breaks down a common marketing buzzword into actionable, and digestable steps.

1. Creation story

2. Higher calling

3. Performance

4. True to your core

5. Design as a weapon

This is Part 1 of a 2 Part Series where we explore authenticity and community building with Al.

Follow Bajio

@bajiosunglasses

Produced by:

@portsideproductions

@backcountrymarketing

@coleheilborn

Jack Wolfskin is a major German outdoor company. Headquartered in Idstein, they were founded in 1981 and are now one of the biggest suppliers of outdoor goods in Germany.

After a couple of previous attempts to enter the North American market, Jack Wolfskin has recently started the journey of trying again. Roberto Guiterrez recently took on the Director of Marketing role and discusses the intricacies of bringing a heritage brand to a new market.

We discuss cultural differences, implications, and unique approaches to storytelling.

Follow Jack Wolfskin @jackwolfskin_na

Produced by: @portsideproductions @backcountrymarketing @coleheilborn

With massive amounts of content rolling out every day, it's easy to let pieces of content slip by that don't align with your brand strategy. In the day-to-day, this might not seem like a big deal. However, the downstream effects of this can be consequential. 

Evan Poitras, the Content Marketing Manager from Norco Bicycles, says that when a guest views your content for either the first time or one-hundredth time, it's crucial that each piece of content ladders up to support the overall brand strategy. 

Evan shares some real-world scenarios where he's seen this work and where it hasn't.  Every piece of content that gets put out helps build trust with a community. That trust can take a while to build or can come crumbling down in one post.

Follow Evan and Norco:

@norcobicycles

Produced by:

@portsideproductions

@backcountrymarketing

@coleheilborn