It was a couple posts back, but I had mentioned earlier how there really are just a few brands that beat the drum when it comes to online innovation in this market.  North Face ( via Factory Labs ) and Columbia ( via in house and BSSP ).

So yeah, it comes down to huge budgets, a whole agency of talented folks working for you and lots of planning ahead.  But that shouldn't stop the small brand from learning ( or borrowing ) any idea that these agencies come up with.

Case in point.  So Columbia has this new technology coming out called Omni- Heat.  I remember the RFP from I think early in Feb or March of this year from BSSP.  Anyway, Columbia is all about getting the word out on this, so they were looking well beyond online media to find ways of hitting the consumer head on, direct one-to-one. 

So I wake up yesterday and my Meet-Up group notifications are all lit up.  Many of the local outdoor groups ( mainly with a hiking focus ) were all sending admin level messages to their groups noting that they have accepted a sponsorship from Columbia.  Here is an example:

from XXXX X <XXXX.XXXX@gmail.com>reply-toXXXX@meetup.com
toXXX - announce@meetup.com
dateSat, Oct 2, 2010 at 1:21 AMsubject[hiking] Columbia Sportswear Sponsorshipmailing list<XXXXX-list.meetup.com> Filter messages from this mailing listmailed-bymeetup.comsigned-bymeetup.comunsubscribeUnsubscribe from this mailing-listhide details Oct 2 (1 day ago)

Hey All,

Wanted to reach out and let everyone know that I have accepted a sponsorship for XXXXXXX from Columbia Sportswear, it's only a 3 month sponsorship but should supply us with a little fundage to continue paying for the group.

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And it wasn't just this one group, but a whole bunch of them.  For those of you out there living under a digital rock, Meet Up is like Facebook but less chat and more action.  You can register at Meet Up, decide on what type of group you would like to form, and then Meet Up runs behind the scenes to advertise for you, maintain registrations, and most importantly help schedule events.  For the groups I'm involved with, its mostly ACTIVE and ELITE outdoor enthusiasts doing things like day hikes, overnights, AT trips, rafting trips, skydiving, big mountain bike excursions...etc..etc.

So Columbia beat most of the world to the punch on this.  It was super cheap for them to sponsor the groups, and in effect what they've done is captured 100% mind share with active outdoor enthusiasts in New England. I'm going to assume BSSP hit the entire country with this one idea. 

If everyone has been paying attention, you will remember that the elite and super active outdoor type is super hard to nail down on the internet and super expensive to find.  Not only that, but on average if these Omni Socks work ( I'm assuming we get samples or something ) then on average each enthusiast will tell about 10-15 other people about the product.  Win Win for Columbia and they spent a tiny amount of money on this.

I'm not sure what the sponsorships on MeetUp are worth, but I can't think they are more than $50 - $100.  For this amount, the outdoor brand is capturing a huge share of outdoor enthusiasts.  So take note.  Its only for three months, and then it looks like the slot opens up again.  I would assume that based on the feedback to BSSP, Columbia will either buy out all these slots or let them expire.

Stay tuned!