The Show Goes Online
By Amelia Arvesen
Talking hockey with friends and colleagues at Outdoor Retailer happy hours is one of Tom Hathaway’s favorite parts of the Show and a part he thought he’d have to miss when the physical event was canceled this spring. This year, Hathaway and the team at GSI Outdoors improvised. As an exhibitor at Outdoor Retailer Online (ORO), the company hosted a virtual happy hour on Tuesday themed—Stanley Cup Smack Talk Smackdown Sip & Celly—as an homage to the banter that normally goes on at the booth.
From Tuesday through Thursday last week, ORO featured the traditional Conservation Alliance breakfast, Camber Outdoors breakfast, and Outdoor Industry Association lunches, as well as gear demos, panels, meetings between sales reps and retailers, and exclusive show discounts—all done over a digital platform. For those who missed the three-day Show, take note that the ORO dashboard will remain open until Aug. 31, complete with recordings of events, brand videos and assets, and the ability to request meetings.
Amelia Leme, founder of Mana Threads, was skeptical at first, but the virtual format made it especially accessible for the small brand. “It was hard to find Mana at the OR show, but with virtual OR, we are listed right beside other brands and we saw over 500 people visiting our booth on the first day—much higher than last year in person!” she says. Another bonus: “No sore feet.”
Hathaway, director of sales at GSI Outdoors, says, compared to the $50,000 the brand spends to attend the show, it only spent a little more than $2,500. He also says his sales reps liked not having to travel and enjoyed meeting with smaller retailers they normally wouldn’t have. “[COVID-19] may be with us for a while, and this could end up being a supplement to the physical shows, so hopefully everyone will give it a serious try,” Hathaway says.
While there’s nothing quite like finding a seat in a conference hall packed with familiar faces and getting stoked after a talk about the outdoor industry, even the Conservation Alliance made do during a web presentation on Day 2. The turnout happily surprised Kirsten Blackburn, speaker and advocacy program manager at the nonprofit.
“Such a turnout underscores how much we all crave community during such a tumultuous time,” Blackburn says. “While we would have much preferred to see everyone’s smiling faces in person, that wasn’t a reality, and we were grateful for the opportunity to feel connected for a little bit via Zoom.”
Knowing the face-to-face time is greatly missed, David Karstad, Polartec’s VP of marketing and creative director, says his team concentrated on making the booth interactive and conducive to conversing. “It’s important for the industry to keep our annual efforts at connectivity,” he says.
Emerald Stocker, who does PR for Polartec, adds that the online summer show demonstrates there is still a way to bring the outdoor community together and establish a semblance of normalcy, even during a pandemic. “With increasing reliance on technol- ogy, especially now, for health and safety reasons, I’ve seen a lot of articles asking what the future of trade shows will look like,” Stocker says. “I think it will be interesting to see how programs develop and advance over the next few years.”
Of course, attendees also had constructive criticism, such as wishing for more time to put together an online booth and wanting to see more competitors in attendance
Karstad says, “All shows are going through a 1.0 period of seeing what works and what doesn’t. OR is no different from other shows in that way.” He says he’s already looking forward to the 2.0 version. “Its experience will be light years ahead of what’s being done now. And for all the uncertainty, that’s one thing we can count on—better and more digital experiences.”