Disruptive marketing: How the outdoor industry is mastering change

• Disruptive marketing
• Outdoor Foresight
• Success stories from the industry
• Marketing meets AI
• Marketing & collective intelligence
• Sourcing as a marketing database
• Anti-greenwashing kit

Outdoor Sport Valley's Explore Day, which was dedicated to disruptive marketing, was held at Sidas' Basecamp Academy. Topics such as digital foresight and changing consumer expectations took center stage as the outdoor industry came together to discuss approaches for global transformation.

In every industry, technology is rewriting the rules of the game. Consumers have become better informed and more demanding, value chains more transparent and distribution channels more competitive. Traditional marketing strategies are reaching their limits.

At its fifth edition, OSV Explore offered deep insights into the redefinition of marketing. To meet the new needs of consumers, marketing is evolving beyond the basic principles of supply and demand. It places customers at the center of strategies, simplifies offers and sharpens messages to the essentials.

From co-creation to eco-design, profound transformations of business models, artificial intelligence, immersive storytelling and influencer marketing, this day brought together over 20 experts to share the latest developments in their fields.

Disruptive marketing is defined as a bold, creative and minimalist approach to attracting and retaining an increasingly selective audience. According to digital marketing expert Grégory Pouy, who was interviewed independently of the event:
"Disruptive marketing means harnessing the power of AI to create more time to build relationships. It makes it possible to use advertising to convey new ideas of success. Success through accumulation was a 20th century idea. Today, we want fresh air, clean water, time - and above all, to make our lives a work of art."

The day particularly highlighted the rise of technology and eco-friendly practices as powerful differentiating factors in the outdoor industry. However, sustainability as a marketing strategy is bound by clear rules to avoid misleading claims. This change affects trend research, research and development as well as marketing and sourcing. Inspiration was provided on the day by companies such as Google™, Veja™, Chilowé™ and Outside™.

Foresight means recognizing and understanding weak signals in order to anticipate trends. It reflects the polarization of societies and industries. Between ultra-expertise, the search for meaning, regulatory constraints and information overload... For some target groups, the trend has shifted from FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) to ROMO (Relief of Missing Out).

How do you reach this target group? How do you anticipate the change in your own areas of work? What role does a brand play today? Sourcing and impact management must fulfill specific requirements and go beyond their original tasks. Innovation and products serve to better communicate a brand's identity, know-how and uniqueness.

The Code Zéro™ agency, which works with Decathlon, Salomon, Petzl and Snowleader, shared its vision of interpreting the future and embedding it in a company's mission.

François Duvillard, CEO of Sidas, talked about the history of the company, which specializes in custom-made and thermoformed insoles. Today, the brand offers a wide range of accessories for trail running, cross-country skiing and more. Special products have been developed in collaboration with brand ambassadors such as Jonathan Albon and the UTMB® team.

Damien Pommeret from Woolmark™ highlighted the environmental impact of synthetic materials. His presentation, which introduced the "Wear Wool, Not Waste" campaign, criticized disposable fashion, which is heavily influenced by cheap synthetic fabrics.

Chilowé™ and OutDoor Media™ addressed microadventures, accessibility, responsible outdoor activities and community practices. The Chilowé community prioritizes criteria such as disconnection, destination, accessibility and activity when traveling.

Jean Pourrat from Veja presented the success story of the sneaker brand, which gained over a million organic Instagram followers without advertising. Their long-term strategy is based on product and production coherence, customer service and a gradual development into the sports market.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is seen as the driving force behind disruption. It is revolutionizing marketing strategies through personalized customer experiences and automated content. Nicolas Durand from Google France showed how AI is not only changing marketing rules, but also redefining their foundations.

Deep learning enables precise data analysis to better understand customers. According to Google, 87% of consumers expect personalized offers. In e-commerce, long-tail search queries (with more than five words) are increasing rapidly, as is interest in second-hand products (+65% in three years).

Approaches for future-oriented, collaborative marketing were developed in interactive workshops. Topics included

• Sustainability as a design coreCOSE 361 led a workshop on integrating physical and emotional sustainability into product development.
• Olympia 2030Manon Jacob from the Organizing Committee of the 2024 Olympic Games discussed internal and external strategies for the outdoor industry.
• Generative AI in the brand strategySmart Polygone™ showed how AI can be used for creative campaigns.
• Premium brand strategySupair™ explained how they revolutionized paragliding through innovation and a holistic approach.

Sustainable sourcing is becoming a key component of outdoor marketing. Florian Auger (Outercraft) and Baptiste Arribe (The New Materialist) discussed how linear supply chains can be transformed into circular ecosystems.

Their approaches combine design, science and ecology to develop innovative materials. Sourcing thus becomes the core of storytelling - an element that shapes marketing strategies and makes them authentic.

Disruptive marketing must prevent greenwashing. Some key ideas:

• Train marketing and retail teams in sustainability.
• Work with agencies that understand value chains and certifications.
• Use scientifically based terms such as "eco-responsible" correctly.
• Make employer branding transparent - for teams and customers.

This inspiring day showed how important it is to combine dual competencies in sustainability and AI. Marketing teams thus become ambassadors of OutDoor values and responsible communication.