Redefining The Outdoorsman (And woman)

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Companies such as Patagonia, Colombia, and Simms have spent years competing with each other over making the best gear.  Constant campaigning to be the king of the hill, however, proved to be a disadvantage for everyone in the mix.  After years and years of competition, all the outdoor gear companies lost sight of what was most important: the customer.

The problem they all have is that they failed to cater to the future customer that would be buying all of their gear.  As the years went by, the baby boomer demographic slowly but surely phased its way out of the market.  While there is a segment left for these customers, the majority of the market is the tail-end of generation-x and even more importantly millennials.  Baby boomers wanted gear such as a world-class hiking equipment or a 4-piece, 2 weight fly fishing rod with fine-tuned tapers, 100% increase in tip-impact strength, and costs so much it should do your laundry.  What the younger generation really wants is multi-use, versatile products that look good.

Although Simms may have a light-weight winter jacket that will keep you warm in the coldest of temperatures, millennials won’t wear it unless it looks good.

This leads me to a bigger problem in that these companies don’t know what this segment of customers wants.  Retailers that produce outdoor gear failed to take a look into and analyze the newer market.  They are trying to recycle ways that worked in the past but none of it is catching on and these people aren’t interested.  They need to look at the way customers are living and what they want in an outdoor jacket, for example.

The solution is that while the younger generation loves the outdoors and wants to take part in activities such as hiking, fly fishing, and camping, there’s nothing engaging to interest them.  It was easy for baby boomers since all they did was have fun outside when they were younger.  As they got older, they still did the same activities, just with more expensive and better equipment.  Younger generations need guidance in performing these activities while still catering to their lifestyle.  There’s still an opportunity to inspire.  While purist outdoorsman sees the outdoors as a landscape to be conquered with a machete and some tinder and flint (maybe a little bit of exaggeration), millennials want to simply enjoy being outside with others, portable music, and not so hardcore gear.  The experience isn’t about hiking the tallest mountain or white water rafting in the harshest of rivers but simply being outside and enjoying the experience with others.  That’s essentially what social media has done: bringing people together.  They still want to be together.  Just in a comfortable setting with their peers.

What else do you think outdoor gear companies should do to engage the new, emerging market?

 

No cable? No problem, sports fans

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Just like many of you, I have stopped paying my ridiculous cable bill since I don’t watch 75% of the channels.  Furthermore, I am not going to pay the full bill for only watching 25% of the channels.  In regard to sports, this applies to all of us fans because we obviously have no outlet to watch events such as the Stanley Cup, NBA Final, or even the Superbowl.

To make the matter more of a problem than it is, we have no source to find day-to-day information of our favorite team or breaking news in general.  But don’t worry, I have a couple solutions that will help you keep up with any trade deadline, player injuries, or major trade that happens in the league as well as where to watch the game.

Streaming

Streaming is the best answer for your gameday problem when trying to watch the game.  In the United States, 85% of Millenials (born in 1981-1996) have a smartphone so it would make sense that there would be some sort of app made to resolve this problem.  Well I’m here to tell you there is and you should be using it.  Most, if not all, NFL games are broadcasted on NBC, CBS, and FOX networks.  All of these media outlets provide an app with a monthly purchase that lets you legally stream any game.  The NHL provides the same service in the NHL-tv and you are able to watch any game in the league during the season. Both of these options are far cheaper than having cable.

Applications

While your problem of watching the game itself is solved as I stated above, there is still the problem of keeping up with statistics, injury updates, scheduling, roster changes, and any breaking news that happens in the league.  My #1 suggestion would be to make an account and download the Bleacher Report app.  Through this app, you can follow any major news in the league or with a specific team.  WHy you should make an account is for the reason of following specific teams.  You can follow any and every team in any league from the NFL to rugby teams overseas.  Even better, you can receive notifications for just about all aspects of sports.  When a game will be played, in-game scoring, updated minute-by-minute gameplay and much more are all things Bleacher Report can do.  And to top it all off, everything is free.

How do you feel about cable? Do you feel the same as I do and want a cheaper approach? Do applications like Bleacher Report or cable networks satisfy all your sports needs? Let me know in the comments.