By: Lisa Slagle I’ve noticed a recent trend in the outdoor industry—ranging all the way from local clients to massive brands like The North Face and Burton—and it’s something I’m actually super stoked about.
Brands have upped their photo game. The outdoor industry specifically is so extraordinarily visual (mountains, sunsets, ski shots, parking lot tailgate parties!) that companies who hire professional photographers or videographers look infinitely more professional, legitimate, and purchase-inspiring than companies who take a few shred shots with their phones on a Saturday afternoon and use these low-res, unedited files for their websites and marketing.
1 Comment
By: Lisa Slagle I read THIS article by Jeff Welch at MercuryCSC about how not everyone in the outdoor industry is an "ER" (Surfer, Climber, Snowboarder, etc.), and I thought about it all weekend. Welch states that not everyone is an "er." Some people would be more aptly described with an "ing" suffix. Like someone who lives in Texas may go snowboarding one or two days a year on vacation, but they would never buy a board, book a heli trip, or end the season with a goggle tan etched deeply enough into their pores to identify with the word snowboarder. They enjoy snowboarding without having to call themselves a snowboarder.
Interesting, right? I'm an ER. In just about every facet of my life, I'm a 100% all in, ER. Snowboarder. Mountain Biker. Business Owner. Designer. Writer. Rapidly turning back into a filmmaker. The difference between the ER and the ING suffix is a level of commitment, passion, and a willingness to completely absorb the mini culture associated with whatever noun-ing you're into. I think my creative philosophy has a lot to do with this mindset of er-ing, and these are the traits I look for in my creative team, too. By: Lisa Slagle Sometimes, I write these things on Sunday morning over a cup of coffee right before I send them out. Today, I'm writing this one ahead of time. It's Friday, and I'm sitting at my desk, kind of hiding in the corner behind my mega iMac, hoping no one comes near me.
So far so good. The truth is, I smell kinda gnarly today. By: Lisa Slagle I have a very vivid memory of being 23 years old and rallying my little, red Subaru up I-15 in Salt Lake City. It was six in the morning, and the sun was just peeking out over the skyline, and I desperately wanted to continue driving North instead of turning onto 2100 South to head to my job as an image editor for a large, online store in the outdoor industry.
It wasn't that I didn't like my job-- my co-workers were hilarious and supportive, and I loved talking to them while we edited photographs of gear and clothing. I got to work in Photoshop all day, perfecting photos of bike gear, outerwear, and snowboards, which was pretty great, and I got very good at editing product photos. All in all, it was a cool job for a young designer, and I was grateful to work at a fun company with like-minded people. It was just that every single day I went to that job, something was missing. By: Lisa Slagle I've noticed a common theme with small business owners. They care immensely about their companies. They LOVE their companies. I do, too, and I see what makes them special and unique and exciting. But a lot of small business owners struggle at writing content that reflects who they are as a company and why they do what they do. They want punchy or cute copy, but they struggle with writing content that is authentic to their voice while also motivating their customers.
Before you sit down to write any content, do the following two things: By: Lisa Slagle (I know it's July, but Logan Pass just opened, so in the spirit of that, here is a post with a lot of snowboarding references.) One of my favorite feelings in the world is when I'm strapped into my snowboard, standing on top of a cliff, getting ready to launch off of it.
I'm comfortable in exposure like that, but I'm also just a little bit scared, and it's exciting. I'm about to let gravity and velocity take over, and all I can do is set myself up to clear any rocks in the landing, point it, enjoy the ride, and try to land on my feet, or as my brocabulary would call it: stomp it. If I stand there too long, thinking, worrying, analyzing, psyching myself out, I almost always chicken out and don't hit the cliff, or I ride too stiffly and crash. Conversely, if I don't pay attention to what I'm doing, I almost always misjudge the landing and hit rocks or crash, tomahawking down the mountain, hoping there aren't any trees in my path of destruction. I love steep terrain. You get to see what you're made of. Here's the thing-- I work with a lot of business owners. They put their hearts into their businesses, and I love working with them because of it. The funny thing is, a lot of times, they seem to be waiting for the perfect moment, standing at the top of a cliff, waiting for the clouds to open up, the sun to come out, and the snow to be perfectly bottomless. Let me explain. I frequently hear things such as, "Let's launch the website when the time is exactly right" or "I want to offer the perfect packages. They have to be perfect." Or my personal favorite, "I'm coming up with something no one has ever done before. When it's perfect, we can design the marketing and put it out there." Let go of perfection. By: Lisa Slagle A few weeks ago, I was drinking coffee with a friend, laughing and bullshitting on the rooftop patio of my office, when she said, "Hold on--You run a business, teach at the community college, and play outside all the time. Now you joined a gym? Seriously, do you ever sleep? How do you find time for all this?"
I chuckled and shrugged, recalling the chaos of the late nights at the office, bike crashes, and deadlines of the past few days. Then a realization hit me, and I answered, "I show up." By: Lisa Slagle Want to know something kind of embarrassing to put on the internet? When I mountain bike, I pretend I'm in a scene out of The Hunger Games or LOST, and I pedal as fast as I can. It might look like normal trail riding, but in my head, I am launching off of boulders over imaginary alligator pits, escaping from villains, and leading Scout up and over ridge lines to safety. Oh, and making it to my truck in time to drive away from the massive, slow-motion explosion that happens in every other scene in Die Hard 4.
Want to know why my brain works like this? The Adventure Entrepreneur: Why Our Businesses Need it to Rain By: Lisa Slagle It's raining hard today, or at least enough to get me to stay inside and finally sit down and work on the Wheelie Creative Portfolio. It's months overdue. It's Saturday, so normally I'd be snowboarding, skinning, or mountain biking, but the rain talked me into actually focusing on my own business stuff. The work week is spent creating client work, and I've had a lot to catch up on with my own branding, so it feels good to dig into that.
I sifted through thousands of files today, and was shocked by the volume of work I've produced over the last two years. It made me feel kind of good, actually, and those little, silent moments of victory are welcome surprises when they happen. All it took was some rain. |
Wheelie Deep ThoughtsThis is where we showcase fun stuff-- new work, case studies, weekly updates, job openings, and general awesomeness from members of the Wheelie Crew. Read Posts About:
All
BRAND STORIES:
Glacier Park Conservancy Spencer Trail Signs Glacier Park Inc. Explore Glacier Whitefish Trail Signs Notice Snowboards The North Fork Dream Adaptive The Montana Scene Logos We've Made Archives
August 2020
|