Outdoor Blogger Summit (OBS), the conference for outdoor digital journalism, and The SHIFT Summit, part of the annual SHIFT Festival that explores the intersection of outdoor recreation and conservation, will once again be held under the same roof in 2016. Both events will take place October 13-15, at the Snow King Resort in Jackson Hole, WY.
Last year’s collaboration allowed OBS attendees to access SHIFT’s programming. This year, the two conferences will again share programming elements in an effort to help outdoor journalists, brands and recreation/conservation professionals collaborate.
This year’s Outdoor Blogger Summit includes three themes: “Creation, Amplification, and Monetization.” Sessions will revolve around driving traffic, working with brands, growing SEO and social media.
SHIFT’s theme for 2016 is “Outdoor Rec & Our Public Lands.” The SHIFT Summit will explore three main topics: the public land transfer movement; funding for public lands; and next-generation engagement and cultural relevancy. In addition to the SHIFT Summit, the SHIFT Festival includes evening programming at the Center for the Arts featuring speakers such as Terry Tempest Williams and Steven Rinella.
SHIFT focuses on advancing on-the-ground solutions that leverage outdoor recreation for conservation gains. OBS was created by Blogs for Brands, the industry-leading network of outdoor journalists, photographers, videographers, and designers that provides ecommerce content solutions for brands, to help bloggers optimize their work. OBS participants include speakers from technology leaders like Google and LinkedIn, and as well as leading outdoor publications and influencers like Trailspace and Camping with Dogs Instagram.
SHIFT Festival attendees represent a veritable who’s who in the outdoor world, including industry leaders like Dan Nordstrom of Outdoor Research and Peter Metcalf of Black Diamond, athletes from companies like The North Face and Patagonia, representatives from conservation organizations such as The Sierra Club and The Wilderness Society, youth engagement advocates, and the federal land managers whose decisions affect the places in which outdoor recreationists like to play.
OBS participants will have the opportunity to network with these thought leaders while learning the internet marketing tactics that drive revenue for both brands and bloggers.
Last year, OBS attracted 40 bloggers with a combined reach of 10,000,000. This year, Yoon Kim, the founder of OBS, expects to attract 150 bloggers. SHIFT, which in 2015 attracted some 250 participants from outside Jackson, WY, expects 400 to attend.
The idea for a joint program arose in 2015 when Stacy Bare, the director of Sierra Club Outdoors, introduced Kim to SHIFT director Christian Beckwith. The two immediately connected over their shared love for the outdoors, and their shared commitment to preserving it for future generations.
“Yoon and I share the same values,” said Beckwith. “We love being outside so much we’ve built our careers around it. And we both know that if we don’t protect these places, we won’t have them around to enjoy in the future.”
To Kim, the pairing makes perfect sense, too.
“My fishing friends are telling me their fishing is jeopardized by access issues,” said Kim. “My hiking and biking friends tell me their trails are falling apart. We’re in this space as a livelihood—but if we don’t take care of these places, we won’t have anywhere healthy to play, and we won’t have jobs.”
Tickets for SHIFT go on sale Aug. 1.
Tickets and more information about OBS may be found here.
