Outdoor Brands Keep Ignoring City Dwellers.
It’s Embarrassing.
By: Erica Zazo
Photo credit: Ryan Calacsan and Osprey
ur·ban ad·ven·ture / (UR-bun ad-VEN-chur) n. Outdoor recreation and exploration rooted in city life rather than remote wilderness. “Erica’s urban adventure started at her local neighborhood park, not at the mountain.”
Photo credit: Ryan Calacsan and Osprey
I wish I could shout it from the top of the Sears Tower: “HEY, OUTDOOR INDUSTRY, WHEN THE $#@% ARE YOU GOING TO PAY ATTENTION TO URBAN ADVENTURERS?!”
Over the last decade of my freelance career, I’ve built a reputation as an urban-based freelance writer. Every chance I get, I target editors with pitches about urban hiking trails, close-to-town nature spots worth visiting, and adventures most people would never think to take in and around a metropolis. Like that time I paddled nine hours down the Chicago River to the heart of the city or camped with my 15-month-old in one of Chicago’s local campgrounds (yes, they exist).
I’ve written about the topic of urban adventure quite a few times. Some of my favorite published stories include this micro trails story in Backpacker Magazine (in which they turned my headline into a drug reference), my once-per-month column in Outside Magazine that focuses on gear I use in the city, and a three-part blog series I wrote for Osprey last summer/fall, which included narratives like a peek at my favorite Chicago birding spot and how I’m raising my daughter to love the outdoors, even in a big city.
Trust me, though – none of these opportunities came without hard work: hours spent on pitches, drawn-out conversations arguing my case, and tag-teaming with other creatives (like my talented photographer friend Ryan) to capture amazing assets to support the storytelling.
It’s embarrassing, to be honest, when I bring up the concept of urban adventure in conversation with a brand. Most ask, “What’s that?” A wild response for something so self-explanatory. Others tell me I’m “onto something,” as they then swiftly move on to filling me in on their latest, greatest marketing campaign centered around a hiking shoe built for the most rugged trail environments – “not urban trails.”
Don’t even get me started on the “Trail to Town” craze. Can you name one brand with creative showing an actual city skyline behind their product? I’ll answer for you: No.
Photo credit: Ryan Calacsan and Osprey
Sure, I can think of a few brands that have leaned into urban settings in their marketing or product launches. But that’s mostly with a streetwear slant or some generic city scene that doesn’t even root the viewer in a sense of place. A connection to an actual city.
One example is the Arc’teryx System_A collection. That’s more about the fashion of it all than it is about personal storytelling around urban adventure. Then there’s Mammut, which launched its “Not a Streetwear Brand” campaign in London a couple of years back. It was more of a guerrilla marketing tactic than a long-term investment. While it certainly made a splash, it was short-lived. More recently, Merrell announced its “Outside in the City” initiative in New York City, partnering with urban artists to do… honestly, I have no idea what. Their website is non-descript and bare, and the “Experience ‘Get Outside’ in Union Square →” link halfway down the page leads you to a random Google Maps location. I asked the brand PR rep to connect me with their CMO (the “mind behind the campaign”), and they declined a phone interview. Frustrating, to say the least.
Anyway, I rest my case. Simply put: It’s remarkable how little attention the industry pays to city dwellers.
I believe, down to my core, that this needs to change. Here’s why.
Urban dwellers make up the lion’s share of outdoor enthusiasts.
The numbers are hard to argue: 80% of Americans live in cities. Pair that with the fact that the Outdoor Industry Association has reported in several past reports that a vast majority of outdoor participants live in urban and suburban areas. So why does every brand campaign, product launch, and social media post center around messaging and visuals in out-of-reach places?
Outdoor enthusiasts based in cities aren’t checking into the ranger station for their backcountry permit. They’re literally running out of their front door onto urban trails with friends. They’re tuning up their bike at local shops and hitting the path for a bikepacking adventure. They’re heading out (in massive numbers) to hike local trails or sleep under the stars at a local campground with their kids during summer break. These aren’t people who wish they could get outside. They already are… on their own terms, in the place where they actually live.
This blind spot of the industry is not only a cultural failure, but a business one.
This massive goldmine of potential customers is hidden in plain sight in every metro area of the country. Brands that keep centering their marketing, product promotion, and storytelling on remote peaks and hidden trailheads aren’t just missing the point – they’re missing the sale.
In my opinion, storytelling is an even more important opportunity than a money-making moment.
Build the relationship, and the loyalty will follow.
Photo credit: Ryan Calacsan
Local media is loving urban adventure. Why not you?
I’ve been writing outdoor event roundups and adventure stories for our local neighborhood news site, Block Club Chicago, for three years and counting. I hear time after time from my editors that this is one of the most widely-read recurring columns in their publication by a landslide.
Folks are eagerly waiting for the 1st of the month to hit to check out what outdoor meet-ups, community events, and gatherings are happening in forests, on trails, along the river, and at urban parks near them. And I can’t tell you how many people I’ve met that I’ve told I write this column, and they say, “Holy shit, that’s you?! I read that every month in Block Club.”
Every month, I scour Instagram and the internet to find outdoor groups organizing meet-ups, community outings, and adventures all over Chicago. The reality is, Chicago isn’t alone. Major urban hubs like New York City, Boston, Seattle, and under-the-radar urban outdoor cities like Detroit and Bentonville are booming with opportunities for urban dwellers to connect with each other outdoors. The missing piece of the puzzle? Brand moments IRL.
A massive opportunity lies in experiential, field, and event marketing in cities.
Chicago alone averages 18-20 organized outdoor meetups every single month – and that’s just what I can find on Instagram. Scale that across every major metro in the country and you’re looking at thousands of ready-made opportunities for brands to show up, put product in people’s hands, and build the kind of community loyalty that no campaign shoot in the backcountry can buy. Heck, you can even partner with these organizations (duh!) to send them product and capture the experience of using it in an urban setting. The audience is already there, the events are already happening, all that’s missing are the brands.
So, here’s my final plea: Urban adventurers aren’t a fad. It’s not a trend. It’s not a niche, and it’s not a subculture.
This is your most diverse, most accessible, and arguably, most passionate audience waiting for you to pay attention. Stop spending your marketing budget (or PR budget or media budget) on the mountains.
Show up where the majority of us already live. We’ll be here waiting.