The Tailgate Podcast: Marketing for Hunting and Angling Brands

Soraya Smith is President of Backpacker’s Pantry. A legendary brand that creates some of the healthiest and tastiest meals to help us thrive in the outdoors. 

We discuss everything from the quality of food to the reverence of the animals we pursue and our chosen way of life. Soraya and her talented team are continually innovating in the MRE space and they’re doing it with real ingredients that taste like real food. Something we can all appreciate when spending weeks in the backcountry. 

Backpacker’s Pantry is committed to conservation, our heritage of hunting, regenerative agriculture, and wild food. We couldn’t more excited to showcase brands we don’t normally associate with hunting but are every bit as important as camo clothing, rifles, or packs. 

Learn more about our mission at thetailgatepodcast.com

Joe Genzel is a fresh voice for Outdoor Life, one of the most venerable publications in the world of hunting and angling. With his talented editorial team, Joe is working to evolve traditional hunting and angling narratives and reshape them for today’s modern audience. 

Joe shares his take on our industry, influencers, marketing, the role Outdoor Life plays in our world, and other forces shaping the future of hunting and angling for generations to come. 

Learn more about our mission at thetailgatepodcast.com

Given the recent events in America, it’s time to address the issue of acceptance, inclusion, and openness within the hunting and angling industry. 

We have to accept new talent and new voices in the hunting and angling industry if we’re ever going to accept and grow with new consumers and new audiences. 

We already have a litany of rules and do’s and don’ts posted at every trailhead. So let’s not create any more when it comes to the outdoors. 

Nicole Qualtieri of Gear Junkie is a new, strong, articulate, and well-spoken voice that brings a fresh perspective. Not only for her readers, but the industry at large. Her efforts to bring more women into the mix, foster more inclusivity and diversity, and open our industry’s aperture to see outside of our small bubble are nothing short of inspiring. 

We’re honored to sit down with Nicole to hear more about her background, how she broke into the industry, and her thoughts on the current state of things. 

Learn more about our mission at thetailgatepodcast.com

Hunting and angling brands create some of the most innovative products in the world. Yet many brands still follow a fairly traditional marketing playbook. 

One brand that’s harnessing new ad technology in more inventive ways is Gunner Kennels. Sure, they make what is arguably the best dog kennel out there. But they also use augmented reality, inventive SEO/SEM strategies, and other progressive marketing tools to get the job done. And their results speak for themselves. 

The Tailgate Podcast aims to inspire brand leaders to explore new ideas and strategies to re-inspire their core while winning the hearts and minds of new audiences. 

Learn more about our mission at thetailgatepodcast.com

Word on the street is that one of the strongest leaders across all marketing disciplines in our industry is Andrew Gritzbaugh, Senior Vice President and General Manager at Gerber. 

Andy and I luckily had a small window to sit down with Andrew to hear more about what he’s building at Gerber. And it’s pretty clear that he has a strong command of how modern advertising is structured, how to tie it all together at all levels inside an organization, and how to turn his team loose to develop some of the most memorable creative out there.

The Tailgate Podcast aims to inspire brand leaders to explore new ideas and strategies to re-inspire their core while winning the hearts and minds of new audiences. 

Learn more about our mission at thetailgatepodcast.com

Editors are some of the most powerful voices shaping our industry. Their far-reaching media platforms wield a strong influence on how we think, talk, look, and behave. That includes how brands show up in the world. Yet new voices that challenge entrenched beliefs and industry party line are often met with hostility. 

One editor who isn’t afraid to court controversy with strong, often contrarian opinions is Wes Siler, Editor of Indefinitely Wild for Outside Magazine. 

We recently sat down with Wes to discuss his unapologetic take on the rhetoric, marketing, influencers, and many other elements dominating our industry. Wes doesn’t pull punches, he speaks his mind, and he’s certainly one of our more controversial guests to date. Whether you agree with him or not, you sure as hell can’t ignore him. 

Note: This is our least family-friendly show. This episode has profanity and some “adult situations” as they say in TV land. 

The Tailgate Podcast aims to inspire brand leaders to explore new ideas and strategies to re-inspire their core while winning the hearts and minds of new audiences. 

Learn more about our mission at thetailgatepodcast.com

There’s a deluge of new hunting and angling brands bursting onto the scene. Most fall either on the hunting side or the angling side and few bridge that stubborn gap between the two to win the hearts and minds of both. Let alone do it well.

One brand that does gets it right is Duck Camp. A truly modern, direct-to-consumer brand out there on the racetrack.

We recently sat down with the talented minds behind Duck Camp at their headquarters in Austin, TX and covered a lot of ground. Sim Whatley, founder, and James Elledge, partner and head of marketing, took us through the entire Duck Camp who, what, where, and why. 

After listening to their passion for new outdoor voices and ideas, innovative thinking, and belief in more boots-on-ground, personable marketing, you’ll see why. They’re the brand you want to have a beer with. 

Learn more about our mission at thetailgatepodcast.com

Hunting and angling brands are putting out a lot of soulful, overly poetic work that turns every moment in the outdoors into a life-changing event. While we love a great emotional power-ballad now and then, it seems like our industry is losing a bit of the fun. 

Thankfully, there’s Howler Brothers. An antidote to the self-important and super-serious vibe found in a lot of outdoor brands. Andy and I recently visited Howler at their headquarters in Austin, TX to get to the bottom of how this great lifestyle brand does its thing. With beers in hand, we sat down with Howler’s Chase Heard, Founder and Design Lead, and Rick Wittenbraker, Chief Marketing Officer. While it may appear as if they operate on island time, their intensity and intentionality behind their progressive design and marketing is meticulously thought through and executed with real craftsmanship. How they blend fly fishing, surfing, travel, adventure and coastal pursuits is the result of hard work and unbridled passion. Yet they manage to keep things light and remind us that we all live our best life with good friends, good tequila and limes, and fly rod in hand. 

Learn more about our mission at thetailgatepodcast.com

Outside of magazines and celebrity hunters and anglers, high-performance apparel brands are some of the most influential voices in the industry. Few show up with unwavering conviction and sense of purpose like First Lite. We recently sat down with Ross Copperman, President, and Kevin Harlander, Community Manager and Brand Partnership Lead, to get an inside look at the company and brand. 

In this special edition of The Tailgate Podcast, we’re coming to you from First Lite’s backyard in beautiful Sun Valley, Idaho. Their remarkable brand is the sum of their talented people and evolves with each new hire. Their deep knowledge bench about the true needs of hunters is reflected in every inch of the brand experience. From the products they make, the people they hire, their creative work in the marketplace – right down to their customer service on a live webchat. If you’re not a rabid fan of this brand already, you will be after hearing their story. 

Learn more about our mission at thetailgatepodcast.com

Simms is a legendary brand that not only reinvented waders, their talented team gave professional guides and hardcore anglers the bomber gear needed to go further, stay out longer, in the toughest weather Mother Nature can dish out. They added more days to an angler’s season. Yet they’re a brand that means far more than the products they make. And today we hear that story. 

In this episode, we sit down with K.C. Walsh, Simms owner and Executive Chairman, to hear more about his company’s culture, values, conservation efforts, talented team, and how those important company elements are the starting points for their brand marketing. 

Learn more about our mission at thetailgatepodcast.com

Outdoor retail is at an inflection point. Some retailers are locked in a race to the bottom on price while others are investing heavily in customer experience in-store and online. Sportsman’s Warehouse is a case study in the good that comes with staying true to yourself while putting the customer and the local community first. 

Today we are honored to sit down with Jason Dyer who leads all content marketing at Sportsman’s Warehouse. On this episode, we talk about what makes Sportsman’s so successful while learning more about some of the ambitious areas Jason is exploring for the company’s future. 

The Tailgate Podcast aims to inspire brand leaders to explore new ideas and strategies to re-inspire their core while winning the hearts and minds of new audiences. 

Learn more about our mission at thetailgatepodcast.com

Chances are that Tom Rosenbauer and his work at Orvis had a strong hand in shaping the angler and marketer you are today. His legendary 43-year career with Orvis touched on just about every inch of the brand. Tom is a school instructor, copywriter, public relations director, merchandise manager, and was editor of The Orvis News for 10 years. He is currently Marketing Director for Orvis Rod and Tackle. As merchandise manager, web merchandiser, and catalog director, the titles under his direction have won numerous Gold Medals in the Annual Catalog Age Awards. 

We sit down to talk about how to get your audience to take your brand seriously, his successful podcast, the always-controversial topic of influencers and authenticity, and our mutual love of guides and independent fly shops. 

Tom has ten fly fishing books in print, including The Orvis Fly-Fishing Guide, Reading Trout Streams, Prospecting for Trout, Casting Illusions, Fly-Fishing in America, Approach and Presentation, Trout Foods and Their Imitations, Nymphing Techniques, Leaders, Knots, and Tippets, The Orvis Guide to Dry-Fly Techniques, and The Orvis Fly-Tying Guide, which won a 2001 National Outdoor Book Award. He has also been published in Field & Stream, Outdoor Life, Catalog Age, Fly Fisherman, Gray’s Sporting Journal, Sporting Classics, Fly Rod & Reel, Audubon, and others. He lives in southern Vermont on the banks of his favorite trout stream. 

If you’ve wondered how Orvis does it so well across every category, you don’t want to miss this episode. 

Learn more about our mission at thetailgatepodcast.com

You make great products. Your audience knows you make great products. But how do you make the brave leap to become a true lifestyle brand? One that’s meaningful and authentic? On this episode, we’re joined by Jamie Reilly, VP Global Creative at Vans® to compare notes, share ideas on reaching the elusive youth audience, and hear more about what he’s building at Vans®. One of the most legendary lifestyle brands out there. 

If you’re looking to make the jump into more lifestyle-centric marketing, this is a good one to listen to with a hot cup of coffee, a pen and some paper. 

Learn more about our mission at thetailgatepodcast.com

The hunting and angling industry is a wild ride these days. New brands, new voices, and new ideas are elbowing their way toward the forefront of consumers’ hearts and minds. The first step in taking advantage of all the opportunities this new era provides? Take a step back and truly understand the current size and state of our industry. And know the specific reasons for any and all shifts, good or otherwise. Is our hunting audience shrinking while our angler audience is skyrocketing? Who are some new audiences we can talk to so we can grow our reach and revenue streams? We sit down with Matt Evans, 30-year consumer and product researcher inside the outdoor industry, to lay it all for us in crayon-simple terms.  

Matt Evans is a professional market researcher who has over 30 years of experience focusing on retail and market environments.  He specializes in outdoor, athletic apparel and footwear markets and has worked for major brands such as Pearl Izumi, Descente Athletic and Crocs.

*All research data referenced is in the public domain and not proprietary to any one brand. For obvious legal and confidential reasons. 

Why are we doing this whole Tailgate Podcast thing? Learn more at thetailgatepodcast.com

Andy and Bill sit down with novelist, screenwriter, and angler Tom McGuane to reverse-engineer the elements of a great story. Where do you start? How can you find those deeper insights that land on a more emotional level with your audience? How do you craft a compelling narrative around a kickass idea? Who better to send us in the right direction than one of the greatest living storytellers and legendary voice of past and present outdoor generations? Tom even shares his candid and thoughtful take on our industry. If you’re looking to bring the next great brand story to life, grab a pen and paper.

Learn more about our mission at thetailgatepodcast.com

Every brand is on the hook to promote conservation. Yet throwing money behind the "hunting is conservation" angle isn't landing as hard as it used to. What are some less-expected thought-starters brands can dig into that no one can ignore? 

Andy and Bill sit down with Simon Roosevelt to explore glaring truths and courageous narratives brands could adopt to motivate, instigate and agitate. So our industry can mobilize the next generation of rabid conservationists and ethical hunters. 

Simon is the great-great grandson of Theodore Roosevelt. Hunter. Lawyer. Brand ambassador. Chairman of the Scenic Hudson Land Trust. State Parks Commissioner of New York City. And a regular member of the Boone & Crockett Club. He is also Vice Chairman of the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation. 

Simon Roosevelt walks the conservation walk. Are you a brand wrestling with the challenge to do the same? This tailgate chat is a great place to start.

Learn more about our mission at thetailgatepodcast.com