Add strategic vision & vigour
to your marketing.
Creative intelligence for outdoor brands and tourism destinations.
We craft strategy that elevates brands to the forefront of outdoor culture.
Our brand and marketing strategy services are designed to be nimble, efficient & bespoke to work with teams and budgets of all sizes, from startups and solopreneurs to established market leaders.
Our extensive network of industry experts allows us to assemble the best team for the job, so you only pay for the services you need without the typical agency overhead.
Strategy Services
01 / Business & growth strategy
02 / Brand strategy
03 / Marketing strategy
04 / Campaign development
05 / Content strategy
06 / Social & influencer strategy
07 / Distribution strategy
08 / Execution guidance
“Andy is a strong, collaborative partner. His strategic planning process, paired with the market insights he brought to the table, provided invaluable guidance to our internal team and external creative partners and helped us focus our marketing efforts. ”
Marshall Rutman, VP Marketing
Fox Factory / Race Face
How We Work
When we think of marketing, our minds jump to the creative we see as consumers, but it’s often the behind-the-scenes work you don’t see that makes brands truly resonate.
Our strategy work is the foundation behind some of the most exciting brands and campaigns in outdoor and tourism. We collaborate with clients and creative partners throughout the marketing journey, from envisioning the potential, to delivering the exceptional.
3 Levels of Collaboration:
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We facilitate a variety of bespoke envisioning workshops designed to encourage creative thinking, and bring together brand leaders and stakeholders to imagine the opportunities the future holds.
Examples:
Brand envisioning & articulation
Audience profile development
Market positioning
1/3/5 year business vision
Desired outcomes, goals & KPIs
Stakeholder listening & engagement
Visionary Focus
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For clients with existing goals or specific hurdles they're looking to overcome, we employ our strategic planning process to identify how the tools of branding, marketing and storytelling can achieve tangible, metric-driven solutions.
Deliverables include
strategic marketing plans
customer journey mapping
campaign planning & development
go-to-market strategy
content & social strategy
comms & media planning
Strategic Focus
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We know different clients have different levels of internal and external resources at their disposal:
For organizations with in-house marketing teams and/or existing creative partners, we can provide fractional marketing direction and leadership to keep everybody delivering on strategy and on brief.
For organizations with limited or maxed-out resources, we can build an external execution team from our network of industry experts, from creative directors to content creators and digital marketers to media buyers.
Execution Focus
"Our work with Andy, on our overall destination brand strategy and targeted mountain bike and fishing campaigns, has been a critical part of our marketing over the past few years.
His combination of tourism marketing expertise and connections in the outdoor industry is truly unique .”
Erik Fisher, CEO
Tourism Kamloops
Meet the Founder
Andrew Bethune
Black Ram Consulting was founded by outdoor industry veteran, Andy Bethune. Andy’s prior work experience includes developing brand platforms and strategic marketing plans for a who’s who of alpha outdoor brands and world-class tourism destinations.
With decades of experience in the industry, Andy brings deep vertical expertise, an inherent understanding of outdoor and travel consumers, and an extensive network of industry experts and content creators.
Endemic Expertise
Andy’s prior work experience includes brand development, marketing strategy, and campaign planning for major brands in the following verticals:
01 / SNOW
Arc’teryx
Salomon
OnX Backcountry
Outdoor Research
Korua Snowboards
02 / BIKE
Rocky Mountain Bicycles
We Are One Components
Fox Factory / RaceFace
Mountain Biking BC
Sun Peaks Bike Park
03 / HUNT & FISH
Mystery Ranch
L.L.Bean
Eat Wild
Fishing BC
05 / MOUNTAIN RESORTS
Whistler Blackcomb
Squaw Valley
Taos Ski Valley
Park City Resort
Breckenridge Resort
04 / SURF & WAKE
Endless Surf
MasterCraft Boats
06 / DESTINATIONS
Tourism Whistler
Tourism Kamloops
Visit Sun Valley
Tourism Squamish
State of Vermont
**Includes work performed with or for other agencies**
Talking Strategy
Listen to Andy share his perspective on the following podcasts:
“Andy's industry experience, insight, and strategic feedback was hugely helpful in our brand vision workshop.
He's a great brand partner and provides invaluable support as we build our business and brand presence globally. ”
Nick Simmons, Director of Possibilities
Cohaesive Garment Technology
Ready to Scale?
To learn more about what we do, or to chat about your upcoming projects, please send us an email:
hello@blackramconsulting.com
(604) 967-2305 | Whistler, BC