Backcountry Marketing

The Relevance Project is underway! 15 brands have applied to be considered. If you want to apply, reach out to us and submit your application by June 26th. About: This podcast is produced by Port Side, a content strategy studio that helps outdoor brands become relevant, recognized, and build an audience. Want to learn more about how we can help? Enjoy this episode and discover other resources below: Slack Community | Tired of brainstorming with ChatGPT? Join us! Insight Deck | Want 20 of our favorite insights shared on the show? LinkedIn | Join the conversation and share ideas with other industry peers. Apple Podcast | Want to help us out? Leave us a review on Apple. Guest List | Have a Guest in Mind? Share them with us here.

Laura Jastram-Wrend joins Cole live at the HikeExpo to discuss what most outdoor brands are still getting wrong about the power of social. Laura breaks down why social should no longer be treated like an afterthought, how creator ecosystems outperform one-off influencer activations, and why "edutainment" is the new standard for outdoor content. About: This podcast is produced by Port Side, a creative production studio creating content strategy + production for outdoor brands, rooted in emotion. Want to learn more about how we can help? Enjoy this episode and discover other resources below: Slack Community | Tired of brainstorming with ChatGPT? Join us! Insight Deck | Want 20 of our favorite insights shared on the show? LinkedIn | Join the conversation and share ideas with other industry peers. Apple Podcast | Want to help us out? Leave us a review on Apple. Guest List | Have a Guest in Mind? Share them with us here.

Daniel Groh, Chief Brand Officer at SATISFY, breaks down how the brand builds an emotion-first running world that turns casual observers into true fans. He explains why Satisfy treats people as guests, not customers, and how speaking to "people who run" opens the door to more honest, human storytelling. Daniel shares how they use emotional athlete content, localized community runs, and shock-and-awe moments at events like UTMB and Cocodona to create loyalty in a world where loyalty is fragile. He also unpacks their 80/20 creative approach, content "drips and drops," and why the moment a brand gets lazy, whether in product, content, or experiences, its audience will drop them. About: This podcast is produced by Port Side, a creative production studio creating content strategy + production for active brands, rooted in emotion. Enjoy this episode and discover other resources below: Slack Community | Tired of brainstorming with ChatGPT? Join us! Insight Deck | Want 20 of our favorite insights shared on the show? Booklist | Here's our curated list of recommended books over the years. LinkedIn | Join the conversation and share ideas with other industry peers. Apple Podcast | Want to help us out? Leave us a review on Apple. Guest List | Have a Guest in Mind? Share them with us here.

In this episode, Cole sits down with Chris Whitten, Senior Production Manager at Red Bull, to unpack what separates irreplaceable creatives from the rest. Chris shares lessons from his journey through agency and brand-side production, spanning roles at Saatchi & Saatchi and now Red Bull, and offers candid advice for photographers, filmmakers, and producers who want to build long-term client relationships. The episode explores how mindset impacts success, why outreach is a creative act, and how to stay top-of-mind in an oversaturated industry. Chris shares practical frameworks for follow-up, positioning, and pitching that make hiring you a no-brainer rather than a gamble. About: This podcast is produced by Port Side, a creative production studio creating content strategy + production for active brands, rooted in emotion. Enjoy this episode and discover other resources below: Slack Community | Tired of brainstorming with ChatGPT? Join us! Insight Deck | Want 20 of our favorite insights shared on the show? Booklist | Here's our curated list of recommended books over the years. LinkedIn | Join the conversation and share ideas with other industry peers. Apple Podcast | Want to help us out? Leave us a review on Apple. Guest List | Have a Guest in Mind? Share them with us here.

Some brands treat branded content and campaigns as separate things, one emotional or value-driven, and the other transactional. But what happens when they work together? In this episode, Trent Marsh, Marketing Director at Riton Optics, joins me to unpack what he calls the marketer's trap, when teams invest in strategies they wouldn't engage with themselves. Trent shares how to break that cycle by pairing campaigns and content to serve the same purpose, building trust, emotion, and results simultaneously. We discuss how data has given leadership "ammo to kill branding," why every channel deserves a role in your mix, and how omnichannel marketing makes small budgets feel bigger. You'll also hear why brand coherence matters more than novelty, how to find and keep the right on-camera personality, and why every strong brand needs both campaigns that convert and content that connects. About: This podcast is produced by Port Side, a creative production studio creating video strategy + production for active brands, rooted in emotion. Enjoy this episode and discover other resources below: Insight Deck | Want 20 of our favorite insights shared on the show? Booklist | Here's our curated list of recommended books over the years. LinkedIn | Join the conversation and share ideas with other industry peers. Apple Podcast | Want to help us out? Leave us a review on Apple. Guest List | Have a Guest in Mind? Share them with us here.

Altra's Head of Marketing, Reyna Alishio, and Backbone Media's Senior Director of Strategy, Andy Ralston, take us behind the brand's seasonal campaign, Experience a New High. We unpack the core insight tying mental wellbeing, social connection, and running to a younger audience; how a one-two punch of broad digital reach plus in-person activation moved awareness and consideration; and why the medium is part of the message when your pop-up is a Dopamine Dispensary. We also get into what went right, what needed rethinking, and how to decide when a big campaign makes sense versus always-on content. About: This podcast is produced by Port Side, a creative production studio creating video strategy + production for active brands, rooted in emotion. Enjoy this episode and discover other resources below: Insight Deck | Want 20 of our favorite insights shared on the show? Booklist | Here's our curated list of recommended books over the years. LinkedIn | Join the conversation and share ideas with other industry peers. Apple Podcast | Want to help us out? Leave us a review on Apple. Guest List | Have a Guest in Mind? Share them with us here. Patreon | Want to support us financially?

In this solo episode, Cole Heilborn unpacks the reality of digital fatigue and what it means for marketers. With endless competition for attention, from Netflix to Reddit to YouTube, your audience is already exhausted. They don't want to be disrupted. They want content that feels valuable, entertaining, and emotionally resonant. Cole challenges brands to stop creating just to "show up" and start designing campaigns that genuinely add something to people's lives. About: This podcast is produced by Port Side, a creative production studio. We help brands that move, create strategy-led, emotionally charged video campaigns Enjoy this episode and discover other resources below: Insight Deck | Want 20 of our favorite insights shared on the show? Booklist | Here's our curated list of recommended books over the years. LinkedIn | Join the conversation and share ideas with other industry peers. Apple Podcast | Want to help us out? Leave us a review on Apple. Guest List | Have a Guest in Mind? Share them with us here. Patreon | Want to support us financially?