The revolution inside the Outdoor Industry has started. It’s within the walls of the castle and started by the new media young people. We are still talking with ourselves, but the big difference now is that the public is listening, and in the early stages of responding.

To refresh, Channel Signal presented #orwinter as part of a twitter presentation on the floor of the Winter Outdoor Retailer Show. Along with the feed, we also presented the top 10 Brands being talked about and the top 10 Influencers who were the most active on #orwinter.

Channel Signal analysts David Sweeney and James Mills are sorting through the data. Some interesting patterns are emerging. First day of the show the Influencers completely took charge, tweeting and delivering as much personal and business information as possible. Second day, the socially media savvy brands caught on and were using #orwinter to drive traffic to their booths. Third day, it was a good mix of brands and influencers working with the communication channel to attract attention and deliver information to floor attendees and their followers in the public.

This is the first time that the public was able to get a glimpse of the OR Winter Show…in real time. And it appears from the videos that have been viewed, and the stats that we are seeing, that they liked it.

Again,this is just the beginning to building a communication pipe from the Show to the public. A pipe where products, marketing campaigns and  environmental causes can be delivered, and the public can react.

Awareness breeds demand. Awareness used to be created by broadcasting the message with the microphone. Now, it’s a two-way conversation. Of course, the real challenge will be…can we still use the microphone and now train ourselves to hear the response?

If so, our businesses will grow…because the public will be even more invested.

The Channel Signal Report on the twitter program will be out in just a few days.