After joining Merrell as chief marketing officer last year, Janice Tennant came across a disturbing statistic—71% of participants in outdoor activities were white, according to a recent study conducted by the Outdoor Industry Association. In the year since, she’s made it her mission to change that number and make the outdoors more inclusive and diverse.
Speaking on the most recent episode of the “Marketer’s Brief” podcast, Tennant talks about how Merrell has worked to educate all people on the benefits of the outdoors. She notes that many groups don’t feel they belong outside or identify themselves as “outdoors people” because they are not represented in marketing.
“How do we make sure that feeling of belonging in the outdoors was there for everyone, so they felt included and they felt safe and they felt welcome,” she says.