Backcountry Marketing – Details, episodes & analysis

In this episode, Cole sits down with Chris Whitten, Senior Production Manager at Red Bull, to unpack what separates irreplaceable creatives from the rest. Chris shares lessons from his journey through agency and brand-side production, spanning roles at Saatchi & Saatchi and now Red Bull, and offers candid advice for photographers, filmmakers, and producers who want to build long-term client relationships.

The episode explores how mindset impacts success, why outreach is a creative act, and how to stay top-of-mind in an oversaturated industry. Chris shares practical frameworks for follow-up, positioning, and pitching that make hiring you a no-brainer rather than a gamble.

This podcast is produced by Port Side, a creative production studio creating content strategy + production for active brands, rooted in emotion. 

Enjoy this episode and discover other resources below:

Slack Community | Tired of brainstorming with ChatGPT? Join us!

Insight Deck | Want 20 of our favorite insights shared on the show? 

Booklist | Here's our curated list of recommended books over the years.

LinkedIn | Join the conversation and share ideas with other industry peers.

Apple Podcast | Want to help us out? Leave us a review on Apple.

Guest List | Have a Guest in Mind?  Share them with us here.

In this solo episode, Cole Heilborn breaks down the differences between a strategist and a filmmaker. When content underperforms, brands often point to the creative execution, but more often than not, the real problem lies upstream in the strategy.

Cole explains the downsides of a passion-led industry, why filmmakers have had to accept responsibility for defining KPIs and audience understanding, how skipping strategy leads to wasted resources, and what questions brands should ask before a camera ever rolls.

This podcast is produced by Port Side, a creative production studio creating content strategy + production for active brands, rooted in emotion. 

Enjoy this episode and discover other resources below:

Slack Community | Tired of brainstorming with ChatGPT? Join us!

Insight Deck | Want 20 of our favorite insights shared on the show? 

Booklist | Here's our curated list of recommended books over the years.

LinkedIn | Join the conversation and share ideas with other industry peers.

Apple Podcast | Want to help us out? Leave us a review on Apple.

Guest List | Have a Guest in Mind?  Share them with us here.

Is there a simple question to understand the ROI of branded content? Cole reflects on his takeaways from a panel discussion he hosted, the value of brand investments, knowing your audience, long form vs short form, and an update to the rebrand of Port Side

This podcast is produced by Port Side, a creative production studio. We help brands that move, create strategy-led, emotionally charged video campaigns

Enjoy this episode and discover other resources below:

Insight Deck | Want 20 of our favorite insights shared on the show? 

Booklist | Here's our curated list of recommended books over the years.

LinkedIn | Join the conversation and share ideas with other industry peers.

Apple Podcast | Want to help us out? Leave us a review on Apple.

Guest List | Have a Guest in Mind?  Share them with us here.

Patreon | Want to support us financially? 

David Meredith is the Dirt Marketing Manager for Full Speed Ahead and has been in the bike industry for years, including racing, owning a retail shop, and operating his own international bicycle brand. David comes on the show to share his experience in the bike industry, but also, to share his experience being a human pre-diagnosed with CTE, Stage 4.

In this episode, David and Cole discuss:

• What CTE is (Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy)
• How CTE impacts how David approaches life
• What we ask of athletes in our industry

And much more. 

We want to thank David for coming on our show and sharing his story on this platform. This is an important story and we hope you'll share this with your fellow outdoor community members to seek more understanding and hopefully change gear/policies to make our sports more safe.

If you want to catch up with FSA, you can do that on Instagram.

Do you work at a brand or agency in the outdoor industry? If you need help to bring your next video project to life head over to Port Side Productions.

Kris Hampton (he/him) is a former mural painter and rapper, currently a climbing coach and outdoor industry podcaster who has modeled his business after what he understood - independent hip-hop labels.

In this episode, Kris and Cole discuss:

- the importance of creativity for creativity's sake
- breaking the rules and bucking the trends
- why long-form content wins
- the state of outdoor podcasting

and much more.

You can catch up with Kris on Instagram and on the Power Company Climbing website. Follow along with Plug Tone Audio on Instagram or on their website.

If you work at a brand or agency in the outdoor industry that needs help bringing a video project to life, head over to portsidepro.com and send us an email. We'd love to help.

Dax Myers has worked in ski travel for over a decade. When COVID shut down travel in 2020, he was laid off right as I started grad school. He used that time to make a big huge pivot into the product side of the outdoor industry. His current role entails handling all of the marketing efforts and strategy for mountainFLOW.

In this episode, Cole and Dax discuss:

- mountainFLOW's background
- Balancing a content strategy between sustainability and performance
- How to balance sustainability with the production of commodities
- How to create a broad awareness funnel

And so much more!

Catch up with mountainFLOW Eco Wax on Instagram or on their website.

If you work at a brand or agency in the outdoor industry that needs help bringing a video project to life, head over to portsidepro.com and send us an email. We'd love to help.

Stephen (Stix) Nilsen is the Vice President of Cult Indoctrination at Liquid Death. If you haven't heard of Liquid Death they've recently taken the world by storm and have shocked many with their polarizing, yet creative approach to advertising.

Taking his talents from Pabst and Red Bull, Stix has been tasked with getting cans in hands the only way he knows how.

In this episode, Cole and Stix discuss:

- Liquid Death's approach to marketing
- Why Liquid Death will never hire an agency
- Their legendary projects to date
- The plastic problem we face in the world
- Grassroots event marketing

And much more!

You can catch up with Stix on LinkedIn -
https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevenilsen/

If you work at a brand or agency in the outdoor industry that needs help bringing a video project to life, head over to portsidepro.com and send us an email. We'd love to help.

Chris King is the Brand Director at Outdoor Research. He's had many different roles in his career, from marketing manager at a finance company to starting his own production company to creative director at an ad agency. And now, he's landed at Outdoor Research, which he says is his dream job.

In this episode, Cole and Chris discuss:
- brand awareness
- what even IS a content strategy?
- content metrics
- supporting your content strategy with a small budget

And much more.

You can catch up with Chris on Instagram, and check out what Outdoor Research is up to over there as well.

If you work at a brand or agency in the outdoor industry that needs help bringing a video project to life, head over to portsidepro.com and send us an email. We'd love to help.

Ariel Macrae is the Marketing & Social Media Manager for Outside Inc. She has spent over ten years in the outdoor industry, in both service and product marketing roles. She started her career working for ski resorts with a big focus on season pass marketing strategies, transitioned into freelance helping startup outdoor product brands, then started working for ROAM Media 2 years ago. ROAM Media was acquired by Outside Inc. last fall and Ariel has since taken the lead on content marketing for the launch of the new NFT creator marketplace Outside.io.

In this episode, Cole and Ariel discuss:

• the Outerverse
• Using this data platform to create more value for the outdoor community
• The controversy of Web3, NFTs, and beyond
• How to know when you're ready to launch a new project like this

And much more.

You can catch up with Ariel on LinkedIn.

The Backcountry Marketing Podcast is a production of Port Side Productions.

Graeme Meiklejohn has done the freelancer sandwich - a couple of years after university as a freelancer, then 5 years at Origin Outside as their lead cinematographer, and now back to full-time freelance.

In this episode, Cole and Graeme discuss:

• the changing production landscape
• how tech is changing client needs
• creative for smaller brands
• gear evolution in production

and much more!

Catch up with Graeme here.

The Backcountry Marketing Podcast is a production of Port Side Productions.