New outdoor and lifestyle marketing agency off to winning start
The former managing director of LOVE, Chris Conlan, has teamed up with award-winning creative director Ian Hogg to launch Outsiders, a specialist outdoor and lifestyle marketing agency.
The business, based at WeWork on St Peter’s Square in Manchester, has got off to a flying start winning work from British running brand Ronhill, outdoor brands Mountain Equipment and TOG24 and The Mountain Rescue in Holmes Valley.
Chris and Ian have combined their love of the outdoors with 20-plus years each in the marketing and creative industries working for the likes of Nike, Adidas, Asics, Rohan, Alpkit and Icebreaker.
In addition to LOVE, their agency experience includes TBWA, Joe Public, McCann, JWT and BJL.
Chris said: “When outdoor brands go to more traditional agencies for assistance, we have often seen knowledge gaps and a mismatch of expectations, capabilities and industry understanding.
“Outsiders exists to bridge that gap, with us both having extensive knowledge and experience of the outdoor sector and its challenges, as well as a proven track record in the wider marketing industry.
“People are choosing to enjoy the outdoors more and more, so the associated sector is enjoying a period of growth and its use of marketing is evolving.
“We have developed a range of services designed specifically to enhance the marketing output of growing businesses in the category, which we can deliver in a flexible way best suited to the needs of individual clients.”
The name Outsiders is a reflection of their approach, according to Ian: “Re-orienting your perspective of your brand from ‘inside looking out’ to ‘outside looking in’ is one of the most vital things a marketer can do. We’ll bring an outsider’s view to brands, helping to unearth insights it can be difficult to see at close quarters.”
Calling themselves a collective, Outsiders will create bespoke teams for each client with Chris and Ian at the core supported by a network of trusted specialists.
This approach ensures the best people working on each project and helps to minimise the cost to the client as they only pay for the expertise they need.
