Outdoor Retailer to go to New York City

It can be hard to pull city folk out of urban life, even for a day outside. So this year, Outdoor Retailer is bringing the brands – and the outdoors – to New York City for two days, to meet consumer media right where they are.

June 8 and 9, Outdoor Retailer will host Get Outdoors-NYC right in the city. It will serve as an intimate open house for select brands and top consumer media that don’t make it to Utah for OR every year. Other consumer media events Outdoor Retailer has held have been based outside the city, and so this new venture aims to offer media a convenient way to pop in and out to accommodate their busy schedules said Kate Lowery, director of PR and communications for Outdoor Retailer.

New York City is a mecca for consumer media, and Outdoor Retailer will major national news outlets including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and Good Morning America.

“It definitely is a different format from Outdoor Retailer where there’s so much hustle and bustle and so much going on,” Lowery said. “For us, it’s really more than just saying, here’s space, go for it. It’s about us providing a platform for relationships to be built between brands and media.”

The event will include a select group of 35 brands, which will get a 10 x 10 show space for $4,500, and will essentially be an open house for New York-based media.

“It’s all about the story and getting the outdoor industry out into the mainstream press,” Lowery said. “We want to build deep relationships between brands and journalists.”

Outdoor Retailer plans to wrangle journalists from all kinds of platforms to come to the show, like television, print magazines, newspapers and well-known blogs with massive followings.

Confirmed outdoor brands include Kamik, Hobie Cat, Kelty, Mountain Khakis and 3M. A few spaces are left, and interested companies should contact Krista Dill, director of Outdoor Retailer’s sales team.

The goal is to push the importance of the great outdoors on publications that might normally brush off the industry as something that’s not for their audience. Readers of consumer magazines travel with their families and want to spend time visiting national parks, even if what they’re reading is a family- or parenting-oriented publication.

“We’re involved because we want to work together on broadening the overall mission of getting more people outside, more often,” said Laura Sands, marketing manager of Kelty.

Kelty recently confirmed its attendance, Sands said, and is currently planning out its approach. They’ll likely leave behind their more hard-core packs and tents in favor of showcasing lifestyle pieces and products geared more toward family camping and travel.

“The definition of ‘outdoors’ is evolving to be more inclusive of all types of activities, like local parks and outdoor festivals,” Sands said. “Readers want to hear these stories. Even if they’re not bagging Everest, they still want to be outside.”

Brands interested in participating in Get Outdoors-NYC can contact Krista Dill, Outdoor Retailer sales director, at 949-226-5728 or via email at krista.dill@outdoorretailer.com. Media interested in attending can contact Kristen Bujold at CGPR at kristenb@cgprpublicrelations.com or 517-404-7539.