Outdoor Industry Association (OIA) and Outdoor Retailer (OR) are expanding their partnership to offer more Outdoor University educational sessions at Outdoor Retailer trade shows. Outdoor Retailer Summer Market, which takes place in early August in Salt Lake City, will feature an expanded curriculum designed to help the outdoor industry stay ahead of the curve on critical business topics.
As part of the partnership, OIA’s Outdoor University will work hand in hand with Outdoor Retailer to program the education curriculum at each OR trade show, with Outdoor Retailer contributing to the education, and coordinating sponsorships and brand opportunities that tie in with the education platform. This will create a cohesive business education program at the trade show and increase the educational offerings to enhance attendee value.
“It's the goal of both Outdoor Retailer and OIA to provide the best educational opportunities to our stakeholders,” said Liz Crawford, senior marketing director for Outdoor Retailer. “We're excited to be teaming up in a much more comprehensive way to deliver high quality content for retailers and attendees at the show.”
“Outdoor University provides sought-after expertise and education year-round,” said LaRae Marsik, vice president of business intelligence for OIA. “Working with OR to unify the education curriculum allows us to serve broader needs of outdoor businesses at the show. We are also offering substantially more sessions than in shows past.”
There are already 25 Outdoor University sessions planned for OR Summer Market, with more in development. The total is expected to be 50 percent more than at past shows.
Also new this year, Outdoor University sessions begin the day before the trade show, concurrent with Summer Market Open Air Demo, on Aug. 1. They continue through Saturday, Aug. 4.
Sessions will cover a variety of topics, including e-commerce, mobile technologies, experiential retail success, consumer trends, fair labor practices, hub manufacturing strategies, indexing product sustainability, business succession planning, free trade agreements, growth markets, advocacy, social media and more. The curriculum includes subject matter relevant to both retailers and manufacturers.
All OR Summer Market Outdoor University sessions are free and open to OR attendees.
Outdoor University (OU) is OIA's education platform, providing live, online and on-demand programming throughout the year. OIA member companies and their employees have access to online OU sessions and the full on-demand OU library free of charge as part of their OIA membership. Non-members can access OU sessions for a nominal fee.
To see the listing of Outdoor University sessions at OR, go to outdoorindustry.org/ouator.
For OR Outdoor University sponsorship opportunities, please contact Marisa Nicholson at Outdoor Retailer: marisa.nicholson@nielsen.com or 949-226-5760.
Based in Boulder, Colo., with offices in Washington, D.C., Outdoor Industry Association (OIA) is the leading trade association for the outdoor industry and the title sponsor of Outdoor Retailer. OIA supports the growth and success of more than 4,000 manufacturers, distributors, suppliers, sales representatives and retailers of outdoor recreation apparel, footwear, equipment and services. For more information, go to outdoorindustry.org or call 303.444.3353.
Outdoor Retailer (OR) brings together retailers, manufacturers, industry advocates and media to conduct the business of outdoor recreation through tradeshows, product demo events and web-based business solutions. Produced by Nielsen Expositions and based in San Juan Capistrano, Calif., Outdoor Retailer also provides and promotes retailer education, advocacy, responsibility and critical face-to-face business initiatives within the outdoor industry.
Now celebrating more than 30 years, Outdoor Retailer (www.outdoorretailer.com) connects approximately 46,000 attendees on a semi-annual basis for its Summer and Winter Market shows, and thousands more through its year-round online resources and platforms.
