Creating a Path for the Great Outdoors

The Outdoor Industry Association (OIA) is the voice of the outdoor recreation industry, serving more than 1,200 manufacturers (Timberland, Patagonia), retailers (Cabela’s, REI), nonprofits (Boy Scouts of America, The Nature Conservancy) and outdoor enthusiasts. Even Spawn Ideas is a member! They not only advocate for the industry, but also aim to inspire people to get outside and have some fun.

A View into the Audience

The OIA knows a lot about their audiences – in 2015, the organization published ConsumerVue, a series of reports and infographics that bring to life the unique segments of the outdoor consumer. These resources are designed to help members identify the segment that are most relevant to their core businesses, and to provide practical applications to inform and enhance members’ business strategies.

ConsumerVue classified outdoor enthusiasts into 7 different segments:

• The Achiever
• The Outdoor Native
• The Urban Athlete
• The Aspirational Core
• The Athleisurist
• The Sideliner
• The Complacent

But they wanted to take these insights even further and make them more actionable for retailers. And that’s where Spawn came in.

Making a Plan

Inspired by a 2016 presentation our Hooligan team had made on Millennial Moms at the world’s leading business-to-business outdoor sports show, OIA approached our innovation practice looking for a Path to Purchase (P2P) guide for each distinct customer segment, as well as a strategy for marketing to—and winning—each audience at important points in their journeys.

The approach would be based on understanding the various steps customers take both psychologically and physically on their way to purchase, and the different modes that each segment “gets into,” and their distinct outdoor attitudes and behaviors.

This would allow OIA’s members to more effectively market to those segments along the path and, ultimately, convert to sales.

The Trail to Success

Two months of secondary research by Hooligan produced the following key findings:

• The path to purchase is fractured and is more dynamic than previously thought.
• Brands need to be flexible in how they respond to people, taking into consideration their modes and where they are in their journey.
• Consumers are really in the driver’s seat when it comes to the path to purchase, which runs counter to brands attempting to funnel consumers where the brands want them to go.
• No matter the segment, every consumer is looking for dynamic brand engagement and a good experience.

Spawn Ideas packaged a written report of our findings and made a presentation at the Outdoor Retailer show in 2017.

The Boulevard to Buying

By mapping out a customer’s path to purchase, we can begin to gain insights into pain points along their journey, as well as opportunities for innovations. OIA continues to learn more about their audience and how to interact with them every step of the way.