Transform Your Visual Strategy to Engage New Audiences, Drive Sales, and Elevate Your Brand
Say what? 20 years in business and you still don’t have an awesome, high-resolution, in-depth library of media assets for every tour, trip, to-do, or season?! If you are an adventure company, you know this frustration. At the recent America Outdoors Conference & Outfitter Expo in Chattanooga, TN, we presented on this very topic and received overwhelming feedback: Adventure brands know visuals matter but…
- It can feel like a struggle to create, collect, or find high-quality visuals.
- It is difficult to reach new, diverse audiences with homogeneous media.
- Existing audiences don’t convert due to uninspiring visuals.
- A lack of organization and efficiency in managing visual content means also having a hard time identifying visual media gaps and needs.
- And of course, it’s difficult to think ahead to build a media asset library that can be leveraged across multiple platforms and partnerships.
We put together a resource to help you:
1. Understand the Power of Quality Visuals for Business Impact
Learn how high-quality, diverse visuals can drive bookings, engagement, and brand trust. Recognize the return on investment in professional, tailored visuals over generic content. Beware of stock images and inauthentic media (like AI generated).
2. Create a Strategic and Inclusive Visual Media Plan
Identify key visual elements that resonate (diversity, relatability, dynamism, authenticity). Plan for a steady flow of relevant content, including sourcing professionals and fostering user-generated content. Ensure inclusivity and accessibility to engage a wider audience.
3. Build and Manage a Sustainable Media Library
Organize a well-categorized library for easy access and long-term use. Implement digital asset management best practices to keep assets sorted, searchable, and tagged for optimal use.
The Power of High-Quality Visuals
High-quality visuals are the backbone of a strong marketing strategy. For adventure brands, compelling images and videos communicate trust, excitement, and professionalism. Customers want to envision themselves experiencing your offerings. Without authentic and engaging visuals, your brand risks fading into the background.
Key takeaway: Invest in professional, dynamic visuals that resonate with diverse audiences and evoke emotional connections. Poor-quality visuals often fail to convert existing audiences, while authentic ones build trust and drive engagement.
Identify Visual Gaps with an Audit
A visual audit is a powerful tool to evaluate your current library and uncover gaps. Are certain demographics or experiences underrepresented? Are you missing seasonal content? An audit helps pinpoint what’s missing, so you can strategically fill those gaps.
Pro tip: Ask your customers what they’d like to see through surveys or social media polls. Use this data to guide your content strategy and address the lack of diverse, engaging media mentioned earlier. Look at industries other than your own. What are they doing well?
Creating a Strategic Visual Media Plan
Planning is everything. A strategic media plan aligns your visuals with your goals, ensuring consistent branding across all platforms. Whether it’s seasonal promotions or campaigns targeting specific demographics, clear planning ensures your visuals work harder for you.
Action step: Consider each of the four Media Asset Strategies for how you will create and gather the best media assets for your business.
Media Asset Strategy #1: Empowering Your In-House Team
Be sure to set up your internal media team for success. To do this, have clear directives on what media you want them to get. Comprehensive shot lists and storyboarding key videos are game-changers. Assess their skills gaps and find training opportunities. You want more great shots, and less missed ones. Plan and schedule your asset collection year-round, maximizing your seasons and helping your team hit the road immediately in each season.
Media Asset Strategy #2: Hiring Professionals for Quality and Efficiency
Hiring professional film producers - photographers and videographers - can elevate your brand with polished, high impact, deeply expressive visuals. The expert film crew doesn’t miss their shots, and they work with you or your agency to create the final media assets for marketing use. Agencies handle logistics, film shoot storyboarding and comprehensive shot lists and ensure post-production assets are on brand and message. While costlier upfront, professional assets have a long-term ROI. They can and should serve your brand for years, strengthening trust, engagement, and recognition across campaigns.
Media Asset Strategy #3: Influencer Collaborations
Partnering with influencers amplifies your brand’s authenticity and reach. Influencers bring fresh, on-trend visuals and access to engaged niche audiences. Their relatable storytelling resonates deeply with followers, offering a high ROI. Additionally, long-form storytelling from journalists can complement influencer campaigns for enhanced credibility. Collaborations like these directly addresses the need for creating unique media that inspires and converts audiences.
Media Asset Strategy #4: Leveraging User-Generated Content (UGC)
UGC delivers authentic, relatable visuals created by your customers. This cost-effective strategy builds trust, boosts engagement, and fosters community. By encouraging customers to share their experiences, you create a steady stream of diverse content that highlights real-world interactions with your brand. UGC helps solve the challenge of maintaining an ongoing flow of fresh, dynamic visuals.
Media Asset Strategy #5: Collaborating with Tourism Boards and Co-Ops
Strategic partnerships with tourism boards and co-ops expand your content library and reach. These collaborations provide access to high-quality visuals and broader exposure through shared media channels. Co-op campaigns can offer cost-effective ways to target larger audiences while strengthening your brand’s visibility within regional and national markets. Such partnerships offer a scalable solution to addressing resource gaps in media creation.
How to Plan Your Media Strategy
The next step is to develop a scalable visual strategy, aka a strategic visual media plan that ensures your assets work harder for your brand, creating cohesive storytelling across all campaigns and audience segments.
Assess Internal and External Resources
Determine the type of media content required to align with your goals. Vet internal talent for in-house production capabilities or consider working with film producers and agencies for professional shoots. Research local creators with relevant portfolios, and ensure timelines align with your roadmap and budget.
Start Small and Prioritize
Break down media needs into manageable chunks by season, quarter, or specific campaigns. Space out smaller shoots to manage costs and streamline operations. For larger shoots, such as destination campaigns, consider consolidating efforts into a single period to maximize efficiency and minimize travel expenses.
Plan Influencer Campaigns
Identify influencers who align with your brand and target audiences. Plan partnerships around key campaigns, structuring deals to include content creation for long-term use. Ensure influencer collaborations enhance authenticity and extend your reach.
Leverage existing user-generated content by reviewing tagged posts, geo-tags, and relevant hashtags. Build campaigns with clear calls-to-action encouraging customers to share their experiences. Consider incentivizing participation or hiring a UGC creator for professional-quality contributions.
Collaborate with Tourism Boards and Co-Ops
Schedule meetings with tourism boards and co-ops to explore media partnerships. These collaborations provide access to valuable resources, including shared assets and broader exposure on local and regional channels. Co-op campaigns are a cost-effective way to expand reach and visibility.
Action step: Develop a content calendar to prioritize your media needs, balancing in-house creation with outsourced professionals. A cohesive plan addresses the challenge of building a reusable library that works across platforms and partnerships.
REMINDER: Harness Alternative Content Strategies
Influencers and user-generated content (UGC) bring fresh perspectives and relatability to your brand. Collaborating with trusted creators or encouraging customers to share their experiences can expand your reach while maintaining authenticity. These strategies address the difficulty of creating content that resonates with both existing and diverse new audiences.
Example: Tools like Crowdriff make managing UGC seamless, helping automate permissions and organizing content into reusable formats.
Manage and Organize Media Assets
A cluttered media library wastes time and energy. A Digital Asset Management (DAM) system streamlines your organization, making it easy to find and repurpose visuals. Features like advanced tagging, AI recognition, and integrations with tools like Adobe Creative Cloud can transform your workflow.
Recommendation: Explore DAM solutions such as Photoshelter or Stockpress to centralize and optimize your assets. This directly addresses the challenge of efficiently managing media libraries and identifying gaps.
Pro Tips for Adventure Brands
Visual storytelling is no longer optional for adventure brands—it’s essential. In a world where decisions are made in seconds, your media assets have the power to captivate, inspire, and convert. By auditing your current assets, crafting a cohesive media plan, leveraging alternative content strategies, and managing your visuals effectively, you position your brand for success.
High-quality, inclusive visuals aren’t just tools—they’re transformative investments. Whether capturing the thrill of whitewater rafting or the serenity of a mountain lodge, compelling media assets bring your brand to life and connect with diverse audiences.
Adventure is about connection, exploration, and storytelling. Let your visuals showcase the experiences you offer, attract new customers, and strengthen bonds with existing ones. Start implementing these strategies today and make your brand the go-to choice for unforgettable adventures.