Snowsports Industries America (SIA), the non-profit trade association for the winter sports industry, and Outdoor Industry Association (OIA), the non-profit trade association for the outdoor industry, released the Outdoor Retailer + Snow Show Industry + Intelligence schedule and the Outdoor University education schedule.Industry + Intelligence is the day you can’t afford to miss at the show, filled with education, seminars, and this year’s keynote speaker, Rob Katz, CEO of Vail Resorts. SIA will be providing lunch for all attendees of the keynote in the Capitol Ballroom. Held the day prior to the start of the show, January 24, 2018, at the Hyatt at the Colorado Convention Center, the sessions are geared toward innovation in helping the winter sports and outdoor industries thrive and creating better business opportunities with topics on climate change, participation, the retail environment, best SEO and customer acquisition practices, and more.

“For the fourth straight year, SIA’s Industry + Intelligence day will be a must-attend event for manufacturers, retailers, and anyone involved in the winter sports and outdoor industries,” says Nick Sargent, president of SIA. “When we created this focused day, our goal was to provide both our industries with the opportunity to come together to learn about key topics as well as provide a base of knowledge that will aid them and their business to be more successful.”

Key Industry + Intelligence education tracks include:

  • Keynote, Rob Katz, CEO Vail Resorts
    Changing the Game by Changing the Rules: Creating a Culture of Leadership to Drive Innovation
    Lunch provided by SIA for all attendees.
  • Filling the Void: Taking on Global Warming When Our Country Isn’t Learn about how climate change impacts the industry, what companies are doing to fight global warming through mitigation and advocacy, and learn about a menu of options and resources to help you take action today.
  • Why Research Is Important to Your Bottom Line
    We are a data-driven society; understand why it is important to your business and what you need to know. Including what is going on in the current market, future trends, and how data can affect your business.
  • The State of the Retail Ecosystem in 2018
    Specialty, online, direct to consumer, and changing consumer-buying habits. What does it mean for our industries? Is there room for everyone?
  • The Higg Index: Assessing, Measuring, and Communicating Sustainability in the Supply Chain
    Participation and Why it Is Everyone’s Responsibility
    How do we define participation? How can we grow the pie? How do we become more invitational and speak to new potential participants? How can we get the demographics of our sports to reflect the demographics of the United States?

In addition, SIA will be providing a number of smaller break-out sessions aimed at providing attendees with more tactical knowledge, including: Creating Authentic Brand Experiences for the Outdoor Consumer, Content Strategy for the New Outdoor Era, and Location Based Advertising through GeoFencing, just to name a few.

SIA Industry + Intelligence tracks will be in both the Capitol and Mineral Ballrooms at the Hyatt at the Colorado Convention Center on Thursday, January 24th. For more sessions, times and information, visit SIA’s Industry & Intelligence page here.

Education at Outdoor Retailer + Snow Show continues on Days 1–3, January 25–27, with OIA Outdoor University (OU). OU provides showgoers with three days of curated educational sessions designed to help industry professionals gain insight into public policy, sustainable business solutions, and outdoor participation, as well as trends and tools they need to run successful and thriving businesses. OU will be at the Le Méridien Hotel on Day 1 and the Hyatt at the Colorado Convention Center on Days 2 and 3.

“The outdoor and winter sports industries will gather in Denver for the first-ever combined Outdoor Retailer + Snow Show to do business, collaborate, and catch up with friends, old and new. The tradeshow also presents a valuable opportunity to learn from peers, industry leaders, and experts about business trends and priority issues facing our community,” said Amy Roberts, OIA’s executive director. “OIA encourages show-goers to take advantage of Outdoor University and Industry & Intelligence sessions at the show in January.”

OIA also announced programming for its Industry Lunches, open to all show attendees, on Days 1–3 from 12–1:30 p.m.:

Day 1, Thursday, January 25

State of the Rockies and Conservation in the West: A Discussion of Bipartisan Issues and Opinions in the Rocky Mountain West
Join OIA, The Colorado College, the Center for Western Priorities, and two of the nation’s leading pollsters for the release of the renowned 2018 Conservation in the West Poll and a discussion of the evolving opinions and priorities in the land-management conversation in the West. Click here for full details.

Day 2, Friday, January 26

Spring/Summer 2020 trends: The Collective Consciousness and “Multi-Use”
This session will cover social trends, style trends, and color issues that are influencing products that are multi-seasonal, multi-functional, and multi-generational, for people living multi-hyphenated lives—with sustainability top-of-mind. Click here for full details.

Day 3, Saturday, January 27

The Next Wave of Outdoorists: The Importance of Growing Outdoor Communities on College Campuses

Join us for a meaningful discussion centered on the importance of the outdoors and its contribution to a healthy campus community that ultimately supports the health of outdoor industry businesses. Click here for full details.

Click here to see the full lineup of Outdoor University.