How Outdoor Voices created a brand that stood out

When Tyler Haney established her business in 2011 she spotted a unique gap in the market. Athletic brands at the time were heavily focused on the competitive aspect of sport. This created a whitespace for a brand for the casual user, the person who exercised for the personal experience.

Outdoor Voices was born, positioned for those who exercised not to compete or improve but simply for the sake of ‘doing things’. This positioning was distinct and gave the brand a clear role for the consumer: Outdoor voices recognized the act of just exercising, whether on your own or with others, was the achievement itself - no need for competition.

The name connected directly to the brand positioning, as Haney described: ‘It plays off the memory we all have of our moms telling us to use our indoor voices. It’s a nod to recreational activity and our mission to get people out there Doing Things together. Being active doesn’t mean you have to be competitive — it’s about moving your body and having fun.’

As Outdoor voices broke into the ath-leisure scene they did so with a simple look and feel that stood out against their competition and appealed to their target audience of millennial and gen-z women. Whilst simple in approach, Outdoor Voices relied on playful bold colors to define its identity, with their use of certain colors such as a deep blue, becoming synonymous with their brand.

To any designer the Outdoor Voices branding may have seemed too simple – a few distinct colors, a logo that was ultimately a single font similar to others across different categories. But as a small business, the simplicity of the brand identity actually helped it stand out.

At the time, sports brands were awash with different colors, but in choosing a single color Outdoor Voices actually began to own it. This enabled them to create distinct pieces, such as a #doingthings hat that could be sold as a product but also used for marketing. If you were to visit any of their major hubs at the time, such as Austin, Texas, and it was highly likely you’d see a group of people all wearing the same distinct blue hat out on a social run.

Outdoor Voices NYC running club

Unlike much of its competition, Outdoor Voices was born in the social media age and had social heavily integrated into its approach to market from day one. Customers were encouraged to share themselves ‘doing things’, product lines were crowdsourced and their retail spaces were part meeting and exercise hubs. And this was the genius in how Haney developed the brand, it didn’t matter that they had a simple look and feel - what mattered was – did you recognize Outdoor Voices’ brand when someone shared it on their feed?

At the same time, the brand utilized its retail spaces to further cement its brand position. Each was set up as a retail environment where customers could select and browse products, but also a social hub – specifically designed as a place to congregate, take part in activities and ultimately do things together.

Speaking about the launch of their first NYC store in 2017 Haney described how they used it: ‘The store has always been a “recreational center” for our team and community. We use it as a meeting spot for activities, like OV Joggers Club, pickup basketball games and dog jogs. We’re constantly updating the product in there, but our intention is for it to continue to be community hub for activity.’

Outdoor Voices NYC running club

Unlike much of its competition, Outdoor Voices was born in the social media age and had social heavily integrated into its approach to market from day one. Customers were encouraged to share themselves ‘doing things’, product lines were crowdsourced and their retail spaces were part meeting and exercise hubs. And this was the genius in how Haney developed the brand, it didn’t matter that they had a simple look and feel - what mattered was – did you recognize Outdoor Voices’ brand when someone shared it on their feed?

At the same time, the brand utilized its retail spaces to further cement its brand position. Each was set up as a retail environment where customers could select and browse products, but also a social hub – specifically designed as a place to congregate, take part in activities and ultimately do things together.

Speaking about the launch of their first NYC store in 2017 Haney described how they used it: ‘The store has always been a “recreational center” for our team and community. We use it as a meeting spot for activities, like OV Joggers Club, pickup basketball games and dog jogs. We’re constantly updating the product in there, but our intention is for it to continue to be community hub for activity.’