Watauga’s latest research, “Surveying the Outdoors: the 2024 Customer Growth Report,” is a game-changer for marketing leaders for outdoor brands across camping, fishing, hunting, hiking, biking, watersports, RV’s, and other products. With findings derived from an extensive consumer attitudinal research study involving 1,578 participants, the report dives deep into the minds of outdoor recreation participants. This article summarizes one of the many key takeaways uncovered in the research.
How Outdoor Lovers Discover New Activities and Products
Understanding the mindsets of outdoor participants is the first step toward developing marketing strategies to activate, engage and grow your audience of customers. For marketing leaders in the outdoor industry, it’s imperative to pinpoint and target the most passionate group of outdoor participants (“Lovers”); those who engage in multiple outdoor activities and/or have high rates of participation.
A key marketing insight uncovered in our study revealed that Lovers first discover new outdoor activities through credible industry sources, such as company websites and books or magazine articles. Prioritizing high-performance website content, developing authentic marketing collaborations, and utilizing paid native advertising will foster greater levels of brand discovery and ultimately higher sales for your company among this important audience of new and repeat outdoor customers.
Understanding Participant Mindsets and Customer Lenses
Our research study unveiled four distinct mindsets of outdoor participants:
Adventurous participants who embrace challenge with passion.
Practical participants who are methodical and budget-friendly.
Aspiring participants who seek tranquility amid life’s chaos.
Conventional participants who prefer familiarity and fear the unknown.
Watauga also applied three separate customer lenses named “Seekers”, “Doers,”, and “Lovers” to closely analyze the research data:
Seekers are individuals who have not participated in outdoor activities but express interest in doing so.
Doers are those who enjoy the outdoors and are casual participants in one or more outdoor activity.
Lovers are avid enthusiasts and participants in at least one outdoor activity.
Become a Trusted Source for Discovery Using High-Quality Content
As we have shared, outdoor Lovers seek credible sources as they research and discover new outdoor activities. To drive brand awareness and engagement with Lovers, outdoor brands need to prioritize sharing valuable, accurate, and easily accessible content on their website. This will position your brand as a valuable and trusted source during the Lovers’ discovery process for new outdoor activities and products. Your company website should also feature a variety of content types, including well-researched articles, engaging videos and high-quality images to capture and hold their attention. Make sure your content is also regularly updated and optimized for search engines to further enhance your brand visibility and reach. By consistently providing interesting and valuable content that supports a Lover’s discovery needs surrounding new outdoor activities and products, you will build a deeper connection with these individuals and ultimately drive greater brand awareness and sales for your company.
Where LOVERS first learn about outdoor activities
These top points of discovery resonate most among Adventurous and Aspiring mindsets who are more likely to actively seek information and be resourceful in their quest for new experiences.
Build Credibility and Sales through Authentic Collaborations
Creating authentic marketing collaborations and endorsements with product experts and influencers is a powerful marketing strategy that will boost your brand’s affinity and credibility among outdoor Lovers. Leveraging expert authority will create a genuine and authentic connection between your brand and this important group of new and repeat customers. By allowing product and activity influencers to provide valuable insights, reviews and recommendations your outdoor brand will resonate with Lovers, who are always looking for trusted advice and inspiration. This approach not only builds your brand’s visibility during the outdoor Lover’s discovery process, but it also fosters a sense of community and trust, leading to stronger brand engagement and sales.
Maximize Brand Awareness and Authority with Native Advertising
Amplify your brand’s category authority by using native advertising to convey content created specifically for Lover discovery. Native advertising allows your brand’s message to blend seamlessly into online and digital publishing environments where Lovers spend their time discovering new outdoor activities, ensuring the content feels organic and relevant. With this form of advertising, you can precisely target Lovers and deliver high-quality content that aligns with their needs for learning and discovery, reinforcing your outdoor brand’s category expertise. Native advertising not only drives brand awareness, but it will drive Lovers to your website in search of additional content, fostering greater sales for your brand.
Conclusion:
Our research shows that outdoor Lovers are deeply engaged in their pursuit of credible information from trusted sources. They rely on company websites, books, and magazine articles to learn about and discover new outdoor activities and products. Your outdoor brand can capitalize on these Lover behaviors and preferences by developing high-quality website content tailored towards their interests, creating authentic marketing partnerships with trusted influencers, and integrating native advertising into your marketing strategy. These marketing efforts will maximize brand discovery and long-term customer engagement among Lovers which leads to lasting sales growth.
To download a complimentary copy of Surveying the Outdoors: Customer Growth Report 2024 and view an interactive visualization of the research data, please visit https://wataugagroup.com/outdoor-customer-growth-report/.
