Channel Mastery

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! 

“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.

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.

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.  

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.

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.

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.

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 [email protected]. 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.

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. 

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.