Michael Wood of TRU to Speak at OIA Industry Breakfast

At each Outdoor Retailer tradeshow, the Outdoor Industry Association (OIA) Industry Breakfast brings together all types of outdoor businesses to explore a prominent issue relevant to the direction of our industry. This winter’s keynote speaker, Michael Wood, Vice President, Director of Syndicated Research at Teen Research Unlimited (TRU), will speak at the OIA Industry Breakfast on “The Babied Boom and Beyond: How to Connect with Today’s Teens.”

According to Wood, teens are a consumer group that cannot be ignored by the outdoor industry. Their size and spending power alone make them a highly desirable group. However, cautions Wood, today’s young people have more options than ever before for how to spend their leisure time. In order to be successful with teens, especially for the long term, outdoor industry marketers need to connect with them now. The industry clearly will have to court them.

Michael will unveil several key themes to help attendees better understand young people today, where they’re headed, and how to make a connection, including: “Babied Boom,” “Shameless-mess,” and “Mediation Nation.” The audience will learn from TRU’s groundbreaking research tracking teen trends, lifestyles, media, brands, attitudes, etc. These findings are guaranteed to inform, immerse, and inspire!

Michael is a sought-after public speaker and teen expert. At TRU, he directs the company’s syndicated division, where he is responsible for the twice-a-year TRU Study® – a key tracking and segmentation study on which more than 150 of the world’s leading youth-oriented brands rely. Michael presents to and consults with many of TRU’s syndicated clients, including Abercrombie & Fitch, Coca-Cola, Disney, ESPN, Gap, Hewlett Packard, Microsoft, MTV, Neutrogena, Nike, Nordstrom, Pepsi, Seventeen, and Target. Michael has been widely quoted on teen-marketing issues, appearing in USA Today, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, Time, Business Week, Newsweek, Forbes, Fortune, Advertising Age and on CBS, CNN, CNBC, NPR, as well as countless more publications and electronic media.

Before coming to TRU, Michael worked in market research at Levi Strauss & Company in Brussels. Joining TRU in 1997 marked a return for Michael to the world of youth marketing. Michael previously was employed by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in Paris. He has a Masters degree in International Marketing from Boston University and a BS degree in Marketing from the University of Alabama.

TRU is a pioneer in the field of youth research – tweens, teens, and twenty-somethings. Last year, TRU conducted more than 1,000 qualitative-research sessions and many quantitative studies. TRU is a part of Research International, the world’s largest custom-research firm, with offices in more than 50 countries. Today, The TRU Study®, which covers the worlds of teens and twenty-somethings, is the world’s most-subscribed-to syndicated youth research program.

TRU also regularly applies its expertise to the “un-marketing” of high-risk youth behaviors. As an advocate for young people, TRU has worked on a number of critical social-marketing issues including anti-tobacco and drug use, driver safety, sexual assault, crisis management, relationship abuse, internet safety, and pregnancy prevention.

Presented by SmartWool and sponsored by W. L. Gore, the OIA Industry breakfast will be held on Wednesday, January 23 at 7 a.m. at the downtown Marriott in conjunction with the Outdoor Retailer Winter Market in Salt Lake City, Utah. Space is limited, and online registration is required. Please visit the events section at www.outdoorindustry.org to RSVP.

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About Outdoor Industry Association
Outdoor Industry Association® (OIA) is a national trade association whose mission is to ensure the growth and success of the outdoor industry. The outdoor recreation economy contributes to approximately $730 billion annually to the U.S. economy. A wide spectrum of leading manufacturers, distributors, suppliers, and retailers of outdoor recreation equipment and services, as well as other related business entities make up OIA member base. OIA programs include representation in government/legislative affairs, cutting edge market research, member cost saving benefits and outreach initiatives to grow participation in outdoor activities and promote healthier lifestyles. Outdoor Industry Association is the exclusive endorser of the Outdoor Retailer tradeshow. For more information go to www.outdoorindustry.org or call 303.444.3353.