• by Sarah Mahoney , Staff Writer @mahoney_sarah, Yesterday

Academy Sports + Outdoors, the fast-expanding sporting goods chain now in 21 states, is shaking up the balance between brand and performance spending with a new campaign to remind people that nothing matters more than having fun. Chad Fox, Academy’s chief customer officer, explains why he thinks the new “Fun can’t lose” ads –  a sharp departure from the win-at-all-costs cliches in the category – will help differentiate it.

Interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Retail Insider: Why lead with fun?

Chad Fox: At one point, we did a word cloud with our team members, and “fun” was huge in the middle of that cloud. And yes, we want to find the fun in everything. Kids’ sports today are different than what we grew up with. I mean, we wanted to win, too. But I don't remember the tears and the anger. We spent so much time talking to customers, who repeatedly told us, “Life is short, and we want to spend time with our families and have fun doing it.”
“Fun can’t lose” is just three words, and when we saw that tagline, we knew it was magical. It felt like such a powerful statement like we're putting a flag in the ground.

Retail Insider: What made now the right time for a shift in strategy?

Fox: Academy is 87 years old, and it is one of those brands that is a Texas treasure. One side of the store is team sports; the other is outdoor – fishing, hunting, camping, and cooking. It is a unique and differentiated shopping experience, and our net promoter scores are much higher than competitors like Bass Pro Cabela’s and Dick’s. Customers who know us have a strong emotional connection to the brand.

But with so many new people moving into our markets – the Texas triangle is the fastest growing geography in the country – they don’t know who we are. When you combine that influx of newcomers, our expansion and too little brand marketing, you lose a little over time.

Then there’s the performance marketing phenomena – like many marketers, we’ve gotten scientific and stopped nurturing the brand.

Retail insider: Who are you competing with?

Fox: Other retailers, but also an epidemic in society. We need to inspire people to get off their devices and the couch to go outside and have fun with friends, families and loved ones. That requires a recommitment to a different type of marketing that is heavy in sight, sound and motion. We need to be that magnet. People want to teach their kids to fish, camp, and play catch.

The great thing was that we didn’t need to manufacture any of that – it was already there. We just needed McGarrah Jessee, our new agency, to amplify it as we expand.

Retail insider: What advantage does Academy have over other retailers?  

Fox: Our advantage is accessibility. We democratize these sports because we have that broad assortment and offer a value that no one in our category offers. We make it more acceptable for people to try something new. So many of these things are intimidating if you've never done it before. What if you buy all this fishing gear and don’t like it and never use it again? 

Retail insider: Many marketers say convincing their CEOs to spend more on brand marketing is hard because performance provides more measurable results. Was it a hard sell for you?

Fox: This is an and conversation – it’s not like we want to pick one or the other. It’s just that we had gone too far in one direction and weren't working the full funnel. Looking at top-of-mind brand awareness, we saw that we had dropped nearly 900 basis points over three years. That’s a problem. Part of the issue is that, during COVID, when everyone was trying to get outdoors and exercise, there was a lot of demand, and we wanted to get good at capturing demand as efficiently as possible. And it works. You feel like a genius, efficiently capturing fish in what feels like an ocean. Then it’s a lake. Then it’s a barrel, and you’ve depleted all the fish. No new customers are coming in, and it will cost high CPMs to start over, prospecting and bringing new people to the franchise.

Reach does matter. Penetration of your addressable audience matters, especially if you need to inspire people to create these occasions. To generate demand, you have to work the full funnel. That hasn't changed in 25 years, even though we marketers try to convince ourselves that it has. 

Retail insider: Is brand awareness your primary goal?

Fox: Yes, and also brand preference, NPS and market share. We also look at traffic share very closely. Beyond that, I’m closely watching the differences between new customers, retained customers, and those who have reactivated.

Retail insider: How else are you different?

Fox: Some of our competitors are building great destination stores, like Dick’s House of Sports or Scheels, which has a Ferris wheel. They're like amusement parks, and people enjoy them. That's not something Academy will ever be or aspire to. For us, it's about locational convenience. It’s a place to stop on your way to Wednesday night soccer practice when one of your kids loses a mouthpiece or a shin guard. And with DoorDash, we can even have that mouthguard delivered right to the field.

Retail insider: You’ve been at Walmart and Dollar General. How does that help at Academy?

Fox: It's the same customer. I've enjoyed serving this value-driven customer the bulk of my career, whether they're value-driven out of necessity or out of principle.