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The Teva Mountain Games, the nation’s largest exposition of mountain recreational activities and high-country culture, appeals to outdoor industry enthusiasts across the board. The event features six sports and 12 different disciplines, including kayaking, rafting, adventure racing, rock climbing, mountain biking and trail running. Approximately 1000 professional and amateur athletes gather in Vail, Colorado in June annually to participate in the competitions.
Historically, Teva was an incredibly high-tech, whitewater sandal company with an extremely loyal following. Teva reached a business point where growth became somewhat limited given this heritage. To maintain, but still grow beyond its whitewater heritage, Teva had to appeal to outdoor industry enthusiasts across the board by showing it had moved on-shore and up-range, and understood the associated lifestyles.
Business Challenge
In this environment where proving that your association to a particular lifestyle is legitimate, creating emotional brand values through experience is critical. “We recognized that Teva had to create an experience for customers to believe our growth into other lifestyles,” said Adam Druckman, Director of Sports Marketing for Teva. “We knew it was not about smiling faces in advertising. Or, putting up a retail store in which people feel good because it’s got such a wonderful atmosphere. Teva needed a legitimate, emotional connection to lifestyles other than whitewater created through a legitimate experience.”
Solution
Druckman contracted Untraditional Marketing to create an outdoor-focused lifestyle event. “I had worked with the Untraditional Marketing team before, and I knew I wanted them for the job,” said Druckman. To accomplish Teva’s objectives, Untraditional Marketing created the annually occurring Teva Mountain Games in Vail, Colorado. More than just a series of outdoor competitions, the Teva Mountain Games was also intended to represent Teva’s overall outdoor cultural components and brand lifestyle essence. Whitewater competitions were created as the anchor events in the Mountain Games‘ to reflect Teva’s heritage, and several other niche events, such as trail running, climbing, adventure racing and mountain biking, were added. Untraditional Marketing generated national exposure for Teva by partnering with key media outlets such as Fox Sports Television and Sports Illustrated.
Payoff
Today, Teva is at the center of the nation’s largest outdoor event, and the Teva Mountain Games has enabled the Teva brand to grow beyond its heritage and to have legitimate brand meaning to outdoor enthusiasts across the board. “The Mountain Games‘ created an environment that highlights Teva products at their best moments,” said Druckman. “And, that has allowed Teva to reach, and grow beyond, its business objectives. As a outdoor manufacturer, you can’t ask for anything better than that!”
Additionally, Teva now entertains their top 25 customers, such as REI and Galyans, at the Mountain Games‘. “This event has helped us build deeper, more meaningful relationships with our partners in addition to developing new partnerships, again, over a broader scope of outdoor lifestyle.”
The Mountain Games‘ has also proved to be a success for Teva because it has put Teva on a national advertising platform, through partners like Fox Sports Net and Sports Illustrated, for the first time in the history of the company. Further, Teva has generated significant numbers of media impressions in mainstream national lifestyle publications like Men’s Journal, Travel and Leisure, National Geographic Outdoor, in addition to several niche publications such as Rock and Ice and Trail Runner. These media impressions continue to reinforce the Teva outdoor lifestyle brand.
“The Mountain Games‘ is an event our organization focuses on and looks forward to all year. It has become a cultural rallying point within that stems from the immense pride that Teva employees feel about the event. This event has absolutely surpassed my expectations and brought Teva so much value in so many ways.”
For additional information on Untraditional Marketing and/or its
business successes, please visit www.untraditional.com or contact
Joel Heath at 970.926.4799.
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