Ketchum, Idaho (Nov., 27th, 2018) CrankTank is announcing June 18-23rd as the dates for the 2019 Sun Valley Media Summit, and it will be held in conjunction with Outerbike Sun Valley the same week.
This marks a larger partnership between CrankTank, a digital marketing and e-commerce agency with roots in the cycling industry, which also has a track record of producing successful media facing events, and Western Spirit, the team that produces Outerbike, the best rider focused outdoor consumer demo series held in iconic riding destination. By adding a consumer element to the media event, Impact Sun Valley can now offer more value to attending brands.
The appeal of introducing editors to new products is a draw in itself, but the bonus of then being able to unveil these same products for the buying public at the same venue only days apart creates a great one-two punch. This is especially crucial in our current ‘buy now’ direct-to-consumer economy that is driven by nearly instantaneous digital journalism and crowd sourced reviews.
“We received a lot of feedback from brands during our 2018 event,” said Adrian Montgomery, CrankTank vice president. “From the beginning, Impact Sun Valley was meant to serve as an omni-channel solution to the bike industry’s ‘go-to-market’ quandary as retailers and brands manage the DTC Shift that’s clearly underway in our business. The 2018 event was largely tailored to the media-focused touchpoints for attending brands. Given we have a strong communications business at CrankTank, this was a natural starting point, but to truly address the needs of brands that choose to offer their products directly or on consumer marketplaces, we have to bring the customer into that equation and allow them access to experience the product. Outerbike is the perfect venue for this, and since Western Spirit is also our preferred logistics partner, it all falls into place.”
“Western Spirit provides experiences for riders of all types, both at our Outerbike events and on our weekly trips in 15 states across the country from March to November, 2019. CrankTank’s media capabilities bring an additional dimension—a win win for both companies,” said Western Spirit CEO and Outerbike founder Ashley Korenblat. “Joining CrankTank and Outerbike in Sun Valley next summer will bring more values to our exhibitors and our participants.”
The National Interscholastic Cycling Association, NICA, will hold their annual directors’ meeting in Sun Valley during the same week as Impact and Outerbike. Having these grassroots cycling advocates convening at the same time will further elevate the networking opportunities and fuel conversations about growing cycling.
