Outside is 'in,' as budget-conscious consumers look for cheaper thrills

Consumers are spending more on outdoor living items, giving a much-needed boost to category retailers and marketers this year, according to Research and Markets' "Outdoor Living Trend Report 2009," released Sept. 1. Spending on outdoor living items rose 22.6 percent from 2007 to 2008. Continued strong demand for home improvements to outdoor living areas in the first quarter 2009 boosted spending by 33 percent from first quarter
2008. This makes outdoor living a particularly strong category in an otherwise dismal consumer market, according to the report.

Shoppers are turning more frequently to the Internet and other direct-to-consumer retailers like TV and mail order for outdoor products. Spending on outdoor living goods through the Internet and other direct channels more than doubled from first quarter 2008 to same period 2009, according to the report.

Playing It Moosey-Goosey
Outdoor gear and apparel retailer L.L.Bean is inviting consumers to have some "moosey fun" via its first iPhone application. "Moosentration," created by Maine software company Blue Ox Technologies, is a twist on the classic Concentration memory card game.

Gamers test their memory skills by matching images that are hiding behind L.L.Bean-branded card tiles. Images include l.l.Bean and Maine iconic items such as Bean Boots, lighthouses and critters. The mobile app is being promoted on social network sites as well as in an email blast to customers, says L.L.Bean spokesperson Laurie Brooks.

"It's about sharing the brand with L.L.Bean customers in a new and fun way," she says. "We like that the game is ageless - it appeals to a broad audience." The application is not the Freeport, Maine-based company's first venture into social media, Brooks says. "We have a presence on Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, YouTube, FriendFeed and Delicious. We also have social media sharing Chiclets on the product pages at llbean.com."

Snow Blind
Outdoor equipment manufacturer Oakley has tapped Appssavvy for several efforts, including a mobile advertising campaign within the Ridertech Snow Reports iPhone application to promote its ski and snowboard goggles.

The campaign was aimed at generating awareness of Oakley AFA snowboard and ski gear and brand equity associated with Oakley and the action sports lifestyle. Appssavvy identified Ridertech Snow Reports as an application that Oakley's target audience frequently uses, and created a custom integration using Oakley's sponsored athlete videos, athlete profiles and AFA products. The average click-through rate of Oakley's sponsorship elements was 0.1 percent. The campaign generated 957 Oakley video views with a 91 percent completion rate.

The most recent program that Appssavvy developed for Oakley focused on helping the brand establish an emotional connection with its core audience of men ages 15 to 28. The resulting app was a product integration with the game Rock Legends which let people dress their avatars in Oakley gear. In the Rock Legends game, Facebook users can form bands with friends and play gigs to earn virtual money, which they can use to buy equipment and clothing - including 14 Oakley products. As they win battles of the bands, they move up in ranking until they get to compete against a "branded" band made up of Oakley's athlete spokespeople.

The resulting metrics included more than 638,000 custom Oakley products purchased within the game with a 0.25 percent CTR to purchase products and a 0.32 percent CTR to purchase during the first three weeks of the game. There were more than 821,000 unique users performing gigs and more than 1.7 million gigs performed against a fully branded Oakley band. In all, the Rock Legends Oakley campaign delivered 3.5 million paid and 129 million unpaid impressions, Cunningham says.

While 2008 was the year of Facebook apps, the buzz in 2009 was more about mobile apps, says Chris Cunnngham, founder and CEO of Appssavvy, New York.

"Our core business is still the Facebook apps but mobile will continue to be important next year," Cunningham told OMMA. "We don't necessarily as an industry have another shiny new toy to play with year after year. I think there's still a lot to be done with mobile. And I think we're going to see some unique advertising opportunities on Twitter."

Marketers are finding more efficiencies in creating holisitc, multi-platform campaigns that integrate all social media into one unified message. "Every marketer we are talking to is 'what is my 2010 social strategy,'" Cunningham says. "The one-offs are quite frankly, silly. It's not an efficient way of marketing....With social, it should be looked at as an ongoing conversation. You want to drive users from mobile to Facebook, etc."

Cross Training
Outdoor clothing and equipment manufacturer Timberland Co. already had cross-channel training in mind this year as they launched an integrated marketing campaign with the goal of creating a dialogue with young city dwellers around the world. The campaign, which launched in mid-September, includes mobile iPhone and BlackBerry applications and games, interactive billboards, branded videos and commercials on Hulu, customizable Pandora radio stations, reverse sidewalk graffiti. "station domination" out-of-home advertising, in-store promotions and retail windows and public relations targeting blogs and magazines.

Mediahub from Mullen and Ansible Mobile created "Expedition Timberland," a mobile iPhone and BlackBerry application that enables outdoor enthusiasts to get out of their backyard and discover adventures, even in the city. The app guides users to hiking trails, neighborhood walks, secret spots for relaxing and the best city views, among other outdoor-oriented activities. Although it was Timberland's first mobile application, "we plan to update the app with new products and expeditions seasonally throughout the year," says Vivian Lefebvre, Timberland, senior manager for North American marketing.

Additional creative elements for the application include a game for the iPhone called "Timber Trail" that invites players to select the appropriate Timberland gear in order to overcome various obstacles, a music component for the iPhone that creates an adventurous playlist and updates with fresh music selections each week, a gear section that provides product information and a WAP site with a full Timberland product catalog featuring mapping and search functionality. Both the application and WAP site have click-to-call functionality for consumers to buy Timberland product and locate stores.

Timberland partnered with UK-based creative agency Leagas Delaney to create TV, print and out-of-home. The TV spot, titled "Bait," shows a trail runner being chased by dangerous animals on a run through the forest. The hero is seen successfully outrunning a wild boar, a pack of wolves and a bear across difficult terrain, aided by his Timberland Mountain Athletics footwear. The chase ends with the tag-line, "If you're not fast, you're food."