The Winter Olympics is around the corner and with it, the most important event in the history of Extreme Sports. Ever.
Ok, I kid, but snowboarding and the Olympics are a big deal. It may not be “core” or whatever the hot word of the moment is that describes core, but it will put snowboarding, for better or for worse, in front of gazillions quntillions zebrillions… a lot of eyeballs.
Former BBPR collaborator and eyewear marketing ninja, Liz “Bill, You Ride Too Slow” Randall forwarded me this piece from the NY Times about snowboarding progression and the Olympics. Here’s a quick snippet if you don’t want to click the link:
What we found really interesting was this call to action:
Love it or hate it, it’s an interesting way for the NYT to try to capture a younger audience. The paper is no stranger to running stories about extreme athletes snow-skaters radical dudes people who ride boards for a living, but this effort may bring an interesting mix of user generated content into the mix and possibly a new audience for the New York Times.
From our own experiences on this end, sourcing quality videos for a user generated video campaign is less than easy, so we’ll be interested to see how many videos are uploaded/entered into this. The reach of the times is massive, so anything (or nothing) is possible.
Side Rant:
Like many who make their living in the world of action sports, I have mixed feelings when it comes to how the riders and activities are portrayed in the mass media. I’ve worked on the non-endemic side of snow-shredding since 1997 (as a part of Burton’s Cohn & Wolfe PR team – thanks again Ann!) and as a rider and marketer, I’ve seen some interesting things go down.
While it’s common place to rag on contests we think are kooky or riders who may have a more jock than rock image, think about this: If the only people who bought <<insert your favorite brand>> products were hardcore <<insert your favorite activity>>, we’d have a lot fewer jobs in this industry.
We need to find a balance between posers fans and what we consider the core consumer, and then market to both. Not everyone who wears a Yankees hat plays baseball and not everyone who watched the Super Bowl last Sunday actually plays the game. Non-endemic brands are almost a necessity to keep this industry going. Turn on a baseball game and count the number of Rawlings or Wilson banners in stadiums and 30 second spots vs. how many come from baseball’s non-endemic sponsors.
Tags: olympics, snowboarding, super bowl marketing
