For several weeks, we promoted the party around town and garnered a ton of support, both locally and from our out-of-town friends. After the event, Beth did a write-up for the Summit for Someone blog: How to Throw an SFS Fund Raising Event.

You can still sponsor our climb, as we have until the end of May to raise the rest of our money. All donations can be made online at http://www.summitforsomeone.org/main.php?page=4&climber=6034, and directly benefit Big City Mountaineers. Thanks for your continued support.

Tanya Goodman, of Prestige Magazine in South Africa, is planning a short piece on the site and the efforts behind it, for inclusion in an article she is writing on the Volvo Ocean Race. Stay tuned for excerpts as they become available.

The Outdoor Perspective

While many of us spend copious amounts of time worrying about what we should be doing, those who love the outdoors spend more time time thinking about what they could be doing. For these intrepid folks, life is an adventure and something to be enjoyed. The outdoors is where they find pleasure, and when they aren’t outside, chances are they are thinking about what they could be doing outside, or what they could be doing to preserve it.

This particular world view doesn’t confine itself to a particular age group, but there are some common personality traits:

• generally laid back
• enjoy life as it comes
• favorite activities are viewed as calming
• focused on fun, adventure
• less educated as a whole with some highly educated subsets
• lower incomes than indoor types and/or frugal
• group-oriented
• eco-concious

Planet = Playground

Naturally outdoor-oriented individuals seek the outdoors, but lets take a closer look:

• favorite activities - hiking, camping, boating, fishing, paddling
• approach life as an adventure and as something to be enjoyed, preferably with others
• likely to do an activity simply to get outside
• education is important, but most consider the great outdoors to be the best education
• less wealthy than others, but not broke (average income between $35K and $50K)
• prefer doing activities with friends
• being outdoors is their #1 motivation for being outdoors

Insights

Tailoring a Marketing Message

Outdoor-oriented people are more likely to respond to messaging that address their sense of adventure. They typically value others, and want to know what others think, and more importantly what they are doing. They value communities and are willing to join the crowd. They don’t like to be told what to do, but they do want to hear about what others are doing.

The outdoor-oriented are more likely to seek product advice from family and friends. Yet, word-of-mouth from trusted advisors is also an important resource.

Marketing Channels

The outdoor-oriented do use the Web, as you might expect, to seek out product information, but there are other marketing channels to consider. In order of importance:

• Word-of-mouth
• Websites, particularly advisory, activity-specific sites
• TV shows
• Online retailers
• Manufacturer sites

Purchasing Channel’s

Quality and price are important priorities with a slight skew towards price. High quality with large price tags, the “Patagucci” syndrome, is a big deterrent. Most outdoor-oriented people shop at discount stores, with higher income outdoor enthusiasts shopping at specialty retailers.

A typical scenario

Bob, and avid backpacker, has a friend who swears by the Wild Things Andinista pack. This alone may be enough for Bob to look at making a purchase. However, Bob may hit Backpacker Magazine, a trusted advisor, to see what they recommend in the annual gear guide. Bob reads good things about the Andinista pack, and then proceeds to pursue making a purchase. At this point, he may visit the Wild Things site to see what the company is about and learn more about the pack. From here, Bob begins looking for the best price, hitting his short-list of online retailers or local gear shop. If ALL these touch points are aligned, the sale is in the bag, so to speak.

In conclusion

The outdoor oriented person tends to surf the waves that life kicks up. They tend to be “pack animals” and value the opinions and actions of the pack. The pack will influence not only destination but purchasing decisions. When making an appeal to the outdoor-oriented audience, consider adventure, the pack, and word-of-mouth marketing channels.

Summit for Someone

In July, we will be participating in a benefit climb of Mt. Langley to raise money for Big City Mountaineers, a 501(c)(3) non-profit which provides outdoor wilderness mentoring programs for urban youth. Any pledges to our climb will be donated directly to Big City Mountaineers to help teens from across the nation participate in one of their mentoring trips.

We have until the end of May to raise $6,000, and all of this money will go directly to Summit for Someone. We are covering our own travel expenses.

Think of it this way

• $50 supports one teen for one day.
• $100 supports two teens for a day
• $250 supports an entire youth group for one day
• $400 supports one teen for an entire trip
• $2000 supports an entire group for the entire trip

Basically, our goal is to support 3 groups for this upcoming summer with money that we raise. Here’s how:

1. We’re going to donate a portion of all Michael Boardman Design profits
2. We’re going to ask for direct donations

All donations can be made online at www.summitforsomeone.org/main.php?page=4 Choose to sponsor Michael Boardman or my wife Beth Holland. It all goes to the same place. Thanks for your help and support.

Inc. Magazine announced its annual listing of the Fastest Growing Private Companies in America, and Ceteris was honored to be among those recognized.

As stated by Inc. Magazine “The Inc 5000 list is the most comprehensive look at the most important segment of the economy – America’s independent-minded entrepreneurs. Taken as a whole, these companies represent the backbone of the U.S. economy.”

I’m always happy when my clients are doing well. I designed the corporate website at www.ceterisgroup.com

Interested in learning more? Read the Ceteris profile on the inc.com website:www.inc.com

Learning at the Extreme is a Volvo Ocean Race education Website sponsored by Sail Newport and St. Michael’s Country Day School. Through this Website, middle school students and teachers can virtually race around the world with seven Volvo Ocean Race teams as they circumnavigate the globe. 

Developed on the Joomla CMS platform, this site allows administrators to update content on-the-fly, integrate video and audio podcasts, broadcast via RSS feeds, and add new pages.

For 37,000 miles, students and teachers can track the Volvo Ocean Race teams while learning Geography, Marine Science, Math, History, Physical Science, and much more. This site will be updated regularly throughout the 08-09 school year.