Jeff Manning is the man behind “got milk?” You probably know this award-winning ad campaign— it has a 90 per cent awareness rating and its television ads feature celebrities wearing thick milk moustaches.
The “got milk?” campaign kicked off in California to save a dairy industry that was sucking the hind tit, as they say, losing three per cent a year to non-alcoholic beverages driven by mega brands like Coke, Gatorade and Evian.
Doug Iverster, Coca-Cola’s president at the time, was quoted saying, “I’d like to earn your friendship, but that’s not really my priority. Nor is earning the beverage industry’s respect and admiration. All of those things would be nice, but this is what I really want—I want your customer.”
As you might expect, this was a wake-up call for the dairy industry. Manning called it an “oh-so nice and we’re good for you, too, kind of business.” Sounds a lot like paddling to me.
The “got milk?” campaign is often referenced when members of the paddling industry gather in eddies and around boardroom tables to discuss ways of growing whitewater. Over the last few years there have been a number of attempts to do just that, none of which came anywhere close to a 90 per cent awareness rating—some died on the boardroom table.
Enough already Scott, isn’t this type of article better suited to trade magazines? Maybe, maybe not. As a consumer, a thriving whitewater industry brings you more innovation, more international trips, cheaper prices. You’d have more people to paddle with. This magazine would be fatter. American Whitewater and local groups would surely benefit by doubling their memberships, we’d be a stronger lobbying force to be taken more seriously at whatever table we sat around discussing river issues.
Another round of industry-lead marketing campaigns is in the works this summer. The Let’s Go Paddling campaign is a World Kayak initiative spearheaded by Jackson Kayak, albeit at arm’s length. And Paddlesports Nation, funded by Confluence Watersports, is a spin-off of Outdoor Nation.
I estimate that whitewater as a whole is a $17 million dollar business. If you could convince the industry to come together and add one per cent to equipment prices and service fees to fund “got whitewater?” we’d have $170,000 to play with in a North American marketing campaign, compared to $22 million for milk in the State of California alone. Milk was up against every other non-alcoholic beverage. We’re up against every other recreational activity you can do outside, including golf, RVing and gardening. I’m not sure we’d make a significant difference.
I think we’ve forgotten something really important. Most of us got into paddling because either our parents introduced us (either themselves or by paying for camp) or we went along with a buddy.
I have an idea. I stole it from the Outdoor Industry Foundation and their “I Will” campaign—in which people pledge to take two kids outside to experience any outdoor activity over the next year.
Imagine the change if every whitewater paddler pledged to take two new people down a river this year. No round-table discussions required. No increase in equipment prices to fund it. No milk moustaches. Just big wet happy smiles.
Scott MacGregor is the founder and publisher of Rapid. Learn more about the campaigns at www.paddlesportnation.org, www.letsgopaddling.com and www.outdoorfoundation.org/iwill
This article originally appeared in Rapid, Summer/Fall 2010.
