#!markdown
You are raising a couple of very valid points, Bagheera (and there is exactly
no lack of English on your part). I think Amanda has done some clarifying, and
we've all learned that for this discussion to be clear, clarity is pretty damn
important. She also likely (I'm assuming - tell me I'm wrong if so, AB) had a
few specific cases in mind, which isn't to say that there aren't several out
there. In fact, the blog post that her words were drawn from led off with a
very specific case. On the other hand, I can point to a half dozen
'ambassadorship' programs that fall into the category she's targeting, and
very easily make a case for both why they deliver great ROI, and why they also
do a good job of supporting the sport and encouraging positive participation.
So, for your first point, I absolutely agree. For your second point, I would
say "spot on, sir".
And as for your side note, I have known of brands in the past who specifically
target guides for the exact reason you lay out. Sure, they may not get the
media exposure, but when you consider that in any outdoor sport, guides are
the ones who both exemplify a certain type of excellence and experience, rely
on their gear more than most, and have daily contact with the people who are
generally the most likely consumers of high end gear (namely, those that can
afford to travel and pay to be shown where to go and how to get there), well,
maybe a follow-up question should be: why aren't more brands pursuing
sponsorships of guiding outfits more aggressively?
Oct. 4, 2016, 3:17 p.m. - Pete Roggeman
#!markdown You are raising a couple of very valid points, Bagheera (and there is exactly no lack of English on your part). I think Amanda has done some clarifying, and we've all learned that for this discussion to be clear, clarity is pretty damn important. She also likely (I'm assuming - tell me I'm wrong if so, AB) had a few specific cases in mind, which isn't to say that there aren't several out there. In fact, the blog post that her words were drawn from led off with a very specific case. On the other hand, I can point to a half dozen 'ambassadorship' programs that fall into the category she's targeting, and very easily make a case for both why they deliver great ROI, and why they also do a good job of supporting the sport and encouraging positive participation. So, for your first point, I absolutely agree. For your second point, I would say "spot on, sir". And as for your side note, I have known of brands in the past who specifically target guides for the exact reason you lay out. Sure, they may not get the media exposure, but when you consider that in any outdoor sport, guides are the ones who both exemplify a certain type of excellence and experience, rely on their gear more than most, and have daily contact with the people who are generally the most likely consumers of high end gear (namely, those that can afford to travel and pay to be shown where to go and how to get there), well, maybe a follow-up question should be: why aren't more brands pursuing sponsorships of guiding outfits more aggressively?