Doug Thielen | The 120 year old startup | Filson

The outdoor industry is good at its craft. Maybe a little too good. Every brand is producing products that are tougher, lighter, and more effective than ever before. Our industry has done such a great job of pushing each other to constantly improve that it’s all starting to look, feel, and perform the same. 

This is a good problem to have because it brings out the best in everyone. But in a sea of sameness, how do companies stand out if their product alone isn’t discernible? Price point certainly is a factor as are availability, sizing, and colorways but at the end of the day, the only thing that separates a company from their competition is its brand.

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These Fireside Chats are short discussions where we'll delve into the heart of storytelling and its pivotal role in today's marketing landscape.  In these short episodes, we'll explore the art of storytelling, and uncover the insights to help you craft narratives that captivate, resonate, and leave a lasting impact on your brand.

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Curious how your brand’s storytelling efforts stack up? Take this 9-question quiz to evaluate the health of your brand storytelling.

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This podcast is produced by Port Side Productions. We’re a video production outfit that believes stories inspire and move people through the power of emotion. We work with brands and agencies in the outdoor industry to tell stories that help

Sakeus Bankson is the Snow and Mountain Bike Catagory Editor at Patagonia, with past roles at The Ski Journal and Freehub Mountain Bike Magazine. 

In this episode, Sakeus and Cole discuss:

• Why mountain biking is such a tough category

• The difference between extraction and appreciation

• How to tell stories as a brand

• Thoughts on e-bikes

• How to fight for the places we love to recreate in

And much, much more!

If you like what you’re hearing, feel free to leave us a review on Apple or Spotify. It helps more people like you find the show. Let’s help everyone learn together.

This podcast is produced by Port Side Productions. We’re a video production outfit that believes stories inspire and move people through the power of emotion. We work with brands and agencies in the outdoor industry to tell stories that help brands engage, inspire, and build brand affinity with their customers. We tell stories from the wild.

Lindsay Yaw Rogers is the founder of Raw Strategy, an agency that works with high level athletes and leaders throughout the industry on positioning and messaging. She works with the Olympic and paralympic athletes as well as the North Face athlete team.

In this episode, Cole and Lindsay discuss:

• How brands could better work with and equip their athletes

• The differences between influencers, ambassadors, and athletes

• Empowering athletes and employees to be brand ambassadors

• Her hopes for the future of athlete programs in the outdoor industry and beyond

You can catch up with Lindsay here and learn more about Raw Strategy here. 

If you’re liking what you’re hearing, feel free to leave us a review on Apple or Spotify. It helps more people like you find the show. Let’s help everyone learn together.

This podcast is produced by Port Side Productions. We’re a video production outfit that believes stories inspire and move people through the power of emotion. We work with brands and agencies in the outdoor industry to tell stories that help brands engage, inspire, and build brand affinity with their customers. We tell stories from the wild.

It's been a long time in the works, but we're excited to announce the launch of our first mini-series. 

These Fireside Chats are short discussions where we'll delve into the heart of storytelling and its pivotal role in today's marketing landscape.  In these short episodes, we'll explore the art of storytelling, and uncover the insights to help you craft narratives that captivate, resonate, and leave a lasting impact on your brand.

“Why should I care about this story?” This question is the crux that every story must answer to capture the attention and curiosity of the audience

Many outdoor brands tend to tell stories that prioritize physical accomplishment over the human experience, resulting in narratives that lack relatability and emotional resonance. This oversight can leave audiences feeling detached and unengaged, impacting the effectiveness of the storytelling.

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Curious how your brand’s storytelling efforts stack up? Take this 9-question quiz to evaluate the health of your brand storytelling.

Helpful Links:

• More storytelling insights
• Sign up for our email newsletter to receive insights like this delivered to your inbox

This podcast is produced by Port Side Productions. We’re a video production outfit that believes stories inspire and move people through the power of emotion. We work with brands and agencies in the outdoor industry to tell stories that help brands engage, inspire, and build brand affinity with their customers.  If you need help bringing a video project to life shoot us an email.

Should we still care about print media? What does the future hold for print?

Zapata (“Zap”) Espinoza has spent his entire life on two-wheels, with stints as a pro-class BMX and motocross racer, started working as the editor of Mountain Bike Action and Motocross Action Magazines in 1986. He’s been a prominent voice in bike media ever since.

In this episode, Cole and Zap discuss:

• The evolution of print media

• What the future holds for print

• How print can transport you to other worlds

• Why print is still a beautiful medium

And much more!

Check out more about Zap and his work here.

If you’re liking what you’re hearing, feel free to leave us a review on Apple or Spotify. It helps more people like you find the show. Let’s help everyone learn together.

This podcast is produced by Port Side Productions. We’re a video production outfit that believes stories inspire and move people through the power of emotion. We work with brands and agencies in the outdoor industry to tell stories that help brands engage, inspire, and build brand affinity with their customers. We tell stories from the wild.

Patience. According to Jordan Williams, patience is the most undervalued tool in marketing.

Our guest for this episode has a pretty impressive resume in the outdoor industry. From Smartwool, to Vail Resorts, to REI, to Red Bull, Jordan Williams has been working in marketing for outdoor businesses for years. He’s here to share his expertise across Marketing, Brand, eCommerce, and Retail.

Jordan joins Cole on this episode to discuss:

• Why marketing requires a lot of patience

• What modern marketing actually is

• Standing something amidst a landscape of uncertainty and chaos

• The importance of getting consumers involved in product development 

• Their thoughts on delayed gratification

You can catch up with Jordan over on LinkedIn.

If you’re liking what you’re hearing, feel free to leave us a review on Apple or Spotify. It helps more people like you find the show. Let’s help everyone learn together.

This podcast is produced by Port Side Productions. We’re a video production outfit that believes stories inspire and move people through the power of emotion. We work with brands and agencies in the outdoor industry to tell stories that help brands engage, inspire, and build brand affinity with their customers. We tell stories from the wild.

2023 has been an incredible year of deep conversations and new ideas. We've got a few updates for you as we move into 2024. Thank you for continuing to support the show and we'll see you in the New Year!

-Cole, Emily, Joseph and Angie

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Anik Champoux is the Programs and Marketing Director for Protect Our Winters (POW) Canada. An avid skier, Anik had the privilege of being a ‘ski bum’ early in her career, which led her to take a marketing job at Whistler Blackcomb, staying on through the eventual sale of Whistler to Vail Resorts. After a bit of time with Vail Resorts, she craved more meaning and purpose in her work, which led her to POW Canada. 

At POW Canada, Anik focuses on building programming and marketing strategy through the next growth phase of the organization in Canada, enabling them to have maximum impact. 

In this conversation, Cole and Anik discuss:

• Protect Our Winters and fighting climate change

• Lessons learned at Whistler Blackcomb and applying them to POW

• What success will look like in a future focused on sustainability 

• Progress over perfection

• The role passion plays in marketing

• Building campaigns that get remembered

You can catch up with POW Canada here. And connect with Anik here.

If you’re liking what you’re hearing, feel free to leave us a review on Apple or Spotify. It helps more people like you find the show. Let’s help everyone learn together.

This podcast is produced by Port Side Productions. We’re a video production outfit that believes stories inspire and move people through the power of emotion. We work with brands and agencies in the outdoor industry to tell stories that help brands engage, inspire, and build brand affinity with their customers. We tell stories from the wild.

Building a team is one of the most important aspects of succeeding in marketing, and really, business in general. How do you make sure you have the right people and the right culture to perform successfully?

Our guest on this episode, Sarah Harper Burke, knows a thing or two about building teams. She’s spent her entire career, as she says it, “supporting people to get outside,” holding roles in Sales, Marketing, Operations and more. What really fills her up is creating highly effective marketing teams that can really impact revenue.

In this episode, Sarah and Cole discuss:

• The steps to building a great team

• How to reflect on leadership mishaps you may have made

• How to recognize skill sets and characteristics in your team

• Sarah’s take on the philosophy behind leadership

You can connect more with Sarah on LinkedIn here.

If you’re liking what you’re hearing, feel free to leave us a review on Apple or Spotify. It helps more people like you find the show. Let’s help everyone learn together.

This podcast is produced by Port Side Productions. We’re a video production outfit that believes stories inspire and move people through the power of emotion. We work with brands and agencies in the outdoor industry to tell stories that help brands engage, inspire, and build brand affinity with their customers. We tell stories from the wild.

What do Deuter, Ortovox, Clif, onX, and Salomon all have in common? They have all had the pleasure of having this episode’s guest as an employee. 

In this episode, we’re hearing from one of our favorite past guests, Becky Marcelliano, but from a different perspective. Becky currently works at onX as their Senior Access & Stewardship Marketing Manager. In her role, she works across all three verticals of onX (Hunt, Offroad, and Backcountry) to lead program development and promotional efforts of the brand’s access and stewardship initiatives. 

In this episode, Cole and Becky discuss:

• How words make the difference between a brand landing or not

• Why language is so critical for messaging your brand

• How language can unite us

• The power of words connecting with our customers

And much more!

Catch up with Becky on Instagram or LinkedIn.

This podcast is brought to you by Port Side Productions. If you work at a brand or agency in the outdoor industry that needs help bringing a video project to life, head over to portsidepro.com and send us an email. We’d love to help!