(00:02)

Welcome back to this episode of the Fireside Chats. Today we're gonna talk about another fun topic. I feel like I say that every time, but it's true. These are things that I love. These are things I think about constantly. Today we're gonna be talking about the role of storytelling in the future of the outdoor industry. This is something I think about a lot. I mean, this is, you know, I really believe that great marketing is great storytelling.

I didn't realize it at the time, but that's in part one of the reasons why we started this podcast is because great marketing is great storytelling. And as storytellers on the production side of the work that we do for clients, we also realized we needed to understand the marketing side of the storytelling in order to make compelling stories. And so I don't see those two, I don't see those things as mutually exclusive. I see them as one in the same. Obviously, the world in which I operate is very much of the production, the video medium. But I say this all the time, telling stories doesn't have to be done through that medium. There are so many other ways to tell stories. And so I think about this a lot. This is something we talk about on the show with other guests. You've probably noticed this is a question I will often ask, but it's like, what is the role of story in the future of our industry? What role does it play? What problems can help solve? You know, is it obsolete? Is it more important than ever? And I have my own biases. I love storytelling. And so I, you know, I try to be non biased in some of my research and my fact finding missions. But I've been trying to put together a list and look at what are the really big forces at play in our industry? What are the real

the cruxes that we have to overcome as an industry. And is storytelling a means, is it a solution, is it a tool to help overcome some of those large tectonic forces? And so that's what I wanna talk about today. I wanna go through this list of problems I see in our industry and ways that storytelling could be a tool to help brands overcome these problems.

Now, what do I mean when I say the word story? Because I'm going to use this word a lot and I want to define it before we get into it. There's a lot of different ways. Story is a structure. Story could be a guideline. For me, story is a message that resonates. It's a message that has an emotional connection with the intended audience. It makes someone feel something and it's simplest form.

That's what I think a story is. It doesn't have to follow three -act structure. It's something that makes some, it's feeling. And I also think that story gets this bad rap because story is viewed as this kind of nebulous, ambiguous, emotional feeling. And in the world of digital marketing, we want facts, we want numbers, we want data.

And sometimes people see those as mutually exclusive and I don't I think the data and the facts should support the stories that you're telling But I also think that there was kind of this heyday of brand storytelling back in the day It was kind of before my time I wish I wish we were in business then because it sounds like it was a lot of fun But so many brands would just go out and tell stories, you know make short documentaries Kind of follow the Yeti style if you will

and they would hit publish and they just kind of assumed like, okay, we're building brands, we're telling stories. And that is not at all what I mean when I say the word story in today's episode. I feel like that is such a huge missed opportunity. I think so many brands back in the day and even today assume that telling the story is the work. Telling the story is only 50 % of the work.

The other 50 % of the work is getting people to see the thing that you've just made. And so when I use the word story in today's message, I mean things, I mean messages that make people feel something. I also mean stories that are well backed by strategy. They have a strong distribution, they have a plan. These aren't just one off things that are shipped off into the wind, but these are, you know, these are pieces of, these are mediums of content that.

have been well designed and well crafted with intentionality. It's a combination of science and art. And so that's what I mean when I say the word story in this episode. Okay, so let's dive in. What are some of these big tectonic forces at play and what role does story play in some of these? So number one, the outdoor industry is a sea of sameness. I have talked about this before. I've written articles about this.

but everything looks alike, everything functions alike. So many of our products, our products are all the same. What's one bike from another? What's one set of skis from another, a jacket from another? Technically, we all make really good products, but they're all the same. They might not be made in the exact same factory, but I bet those factories are adjacent and they probably follow very similar design patterns and rules.

Well, what does that mean for brands? Well, it means you can't just differentiate your brand. There's no distinct flavor with your product. You have to differentiate and you have to find a distinct brand flavor that is you. And I see, and I think the industry does a pretty decent job at this. I think we've realized this, but you have to tell stories in order to stand out, you know?

What's the difference between Patagonia and Arc'teryx? The product is the same. It's all about the story that they tell around the product. That's the only difference. I realize there's nuance, but I'm making broad statements here. Okay, second point. This idea came to me from an episode I did with Jordan Williams earlier this year. We talked about patience and marketing. And he said that digital marketing, the digital marketing era, wasn't everything that...

that we were told it would be. The ability to target consumers, get messages in front of them, maybe wasn't as good as we thought. And soon after we realized the potential with digital marketing, then did privacy laws start to crack down on some of that stuff, iOS 14, cookie laws. And I think because we got used to...

Being able to throw an ad on Meta and put a bunch of money behind it and claim that we were reaching a target audience meant that we got lazy as marketers. I'm going off script here. This is no longer Jordan's theory, but I'm putting it in my own words. So if you disagree, it's not him disagree with me. But I think we've gotten lazy with our creativity in the ads and the stories that we're telling. I think.

We have assumed that if we can just put enough money behind something, if we can hit someone over the head enough times and follow them around the internet with pop -up ads, that eventually they will convert. And there might be truth to that, I'm sure there is. But I think we have forgotten what it means to have really good creative behind your ad. I think digital marketing is evolving. And I think we're realizing that we need to kind of go back to the basics.

And we need to really understand who our audience is, we need to understand insights about that audience and then develop really strong creative to target and connect to that audience. And telling stories and deriving insights around those stories to better inform the stories that we're telling seems like a no -brainer. Okay, we're gonna talk about another, the third topic here. Generation Z is the most depressed generation.

They're the most connected yet unconnected generation out there. And there's data to back this up. And I've heard from some marketers on this show, this episode hasn't been released yet, but I did an episode with Kyle Duford from The Brand Leader. His theory is that brands are kind of the last hope, as sad as it sounds, brands are the last hope for Generation Z to find meaningful connection. Brands could play so much more of a role in someone's life.

than just being the logo that you wear or the bike that you ride. Brands might, I don't wanna say they weren't gonna take the place of friendships and family. I think that could be unfortunate, but they could play so much more of a role in a generation that is seeking connection. And how do you build connection with someone you tell stories?

Okay, let's talk about AI. This is point number four, as you look around at all the AI tools that are surfacing and are going to be revolutionizing, you know, obviously the film industry, but the marketing industry as well, we're already seeing it. I think it's safe to say that the barrier to entry, the barrier to create, with every year it gets less and less, but exceptionally so now with AI tools.

The technical barrier to creating has become easier. At some point in the future, all you're gonna have to do to make a commercial is just type it into a box. Supposedly. But what does that mean? Well, it means that I think the internet is gonna be filled with even more stuff. There's gonna be more noise uploaded to the internet than even now, which if you can believe that, because the barrier to create is less. And so I wonder and I theorize if there's going to be a point where it's no longer about quantity, it's about quality. And it's less about making, I think it's very realistic for, you know, small brands in the future with AI to be able to create Super Bowl commercials. If you're creating a commercial that isn't rooted in any sort of real world environment, if everything is staged, there's a lot of visual effects, I think that's gonna be accessible to everyone in the next few years.

So, If everyone can do it, if having the cash to do it is no longer a barrier, well then what stands out? Well, what stands out are the stories that you're telling. Just because you have the technical ability doesn't mean you have the ability to actually tell a story. So I think we're gonna see this huge influx of content and just stuff and junk appear on the internet. And it's going to be the high quality stories and creative, that are the cream of the crop and stand above. Side note, I also think that there has to be some blue check mark equivalent for real video work that isn't AI produced in order to differentiate amongst it. That could be a reason also that real video documentaries, stories rooted in real people, maybe get an extra algorithm bump of some sort.

Okay, last idea And this is a problem that our industry is facing today. It's something we've talked a lot about recently on the show. I'd recommend going and checking out Matt Powell's episode and Josh Weichhand's episode. And if it has come out by this point, Niclas Bornling's episode about the tectonic forces and the changes that are happening in our industry. The industry is in a decline. Here's the spark notes. Industry is in decline. I think the industry has lost track of who its audience is, there is massive potential for new customers, new people to join the ranks of brands and become loyal fans. If the outdoor industry could just get beyond its own echo chamber, stop producing products, stop telling stories that only resonate with the core and get beyond the core. And I'm taking a page from Yeti's playbook.

But YETI created YETI Presents to help the brand reach markets that it wasn't playing in. They needed a way to reach the surf community, the rodeo community, the rock climbing community. And one of the reasons why they started YETI Presents was to organically make their way into those industries. And so I don't see that, I see that as it's clearly been a strong playbook, it's worked well. And what's to say we can't use that same strategy, but use it to reach other demographics. So maybe we're not breaking into a surf or the snowboarding community, but it's not sport defined, it's people defined. Maybe we're trying to reach a very different, maybe we're trying to reach a very different audience member.

And if we can tell stories that resonate with that individual, those are great ways to welcome and extend an open hand for people to join the ranks of your brand. And so storytelling is such a potent, powerful way to do that. And I think that could be the most valuable way that storytelling could be used in the future for the outdoor industry, not only to help it.

really to help it survive. I think this is a much bigger topic. So those are five predictions, if you will. I'd love to hear your thoughts. I could be very wrong. I understand. I am biased. Some of these ideas are my own. Some of them have been gleaned from other experts, but I'd love to hear your thoughts. Are there any other problems that you think storytelling can help solve? Do you disagree with any of these?

I'd love to be challenged on some of this stuff. So please shoot me a note, find me on LinkedIn, send me an email,  So thanks for listening to this episode. I'd love to hear your thoughts, but remember, get out there, tell great stories, and in doing so, you will be a better marketer.

‍

‍