- Sports & Outdoors
- Posts
- Sports & Outdoors Newsletter | Google Strategies for Growthš
Sports & Outdoors Newsletter | Google Strategies for Growthš
Plus: š¢ Meta vs Google Ads for D2C - Which Should You Focus On?
Rafe Houston
April 30, 2025 ā¢ Estimated Reading Time: 8 minutes
Heads up! To ensure you continue receiving our newsletters, please add [email protected] to your contact list!
Welcome to ClickZ Sports & Outdoors, the essential newsletter for professionals in sports eCommerce.
Editorās Pick š
Marketing thought leadership has a tendency towards binaries. The funnel is either completely dead or very much alive. Brand marketing is either pointless or the solution to all your problems, and ChatGPT is ending 30 years of search overnight.
At Fospha, we love the measurement challenge of any new channel that offers our clients ways to reach more customers. However, Google is still very much the biggest advertising platform. Performance Max (PMAX) and Search products alone represent around 30% of our clientsā digital share of wallet.
In uncertain times, itās more important than ever for brands to nail these core channels, so we produced the definitive best practice guide on PMAX and Paid Search. Here were our top findings:
āļø Best performing brands allocate 55% of Google budget to PMAX and 12% to Paid Search.
š Brands that pair Search and PMAX with ~50% of their budgets in YouTube, Demand Gen and Paid Social see optimal results.
šØ Especially for PMAX, high-volume creative is key for AI-powered optimization.
Specialty Bites šŖ
PRODUCT INNOVATION
Premium outdoor and fitness brands are introducing unexpected product linesāsuch as Canada Goose eyewear, Nike gym equipment, Cieleās denim-inspired run gear, Onās fashion-forward trail shoes, Patagoniaās sustainable beer, and Goldwinās biotech apparelādemonstrating new avenues for brand diversification and category crossovers that progressive marketers should watch. |  |
PRODUCT COLLABORATIONS
Top running collaborationsāsuch as The North Face x UNDERCOVER, Salomon x MM6 Maison Margiela, and SAYSKY x PUMAāblend performance innovation with fashion-forward design, targeting trend-driven consumers. These partnerships offer marketers actionable insights for leveraging cross-brand synergy, capturing diverse demographics, and amplifying product positioning. |  |
LUXURY OUTDOOR GEAR
For marketing professionals in the outdoor gear space, the curated comparison of seven high-end sleeping bags and quilts offers actionable insights into consumer preferences for comfort, durability, and versatility in car camping scenarios. The report underscores the importance of product differentiationāsuch as integrated features, sustainable materials, and targeted use casesāas key drivers of purchase decisions. These benchmarks can inform product development, positioning, and messaging strategies for brands seeking competitive advantage in the sleeping gear category. |  |
OUTDOOR PRODUCT INNOVATION
An analysis of the leading women's hiking boots for 2025, highlighting models like the La Sportiva TX Hike Mid GTX and Hoka Kaha 3 GTX, and evaluating them across metrics relevant to durability, comfort, sustainability, and fit. Detailed insights on material technology, waterproofing, break-in periods, and performance on varied terrains inform consumer decision-making. Marketers targeting outdoor, active, and eco-conscious demographics can leverage these data-driven preferences to shape messaging, partnerships, and product positioning.
PRODUCT PERFORMANCE
Adidas Sport SP0095 sunglasses excel in performance with lightweight, durable, and non-slip features designed for trail running and cycling, but the unconventional high-fit design compromises protection and style. Limited size options and the lack of instructions for lens swapping decrease versatility. For marketers targeting outdoor enthusiasts, highlighting technical function over aesthetics will resonate more with serious users prioritizing comfort and reliability. |  |
Optimization Hub āļø
SEARCH INNOVATION
Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) integrates traditional SEO with AI-focused strategies, ensuring content is both visible in classic search results and cited by AI models like ChatGPT or Perplexity. Marketers must structure content to answer specific questions, prioritize authority, and track AI-driven citations. Adapting to GEO is essential for maintaining discoverability in an AI-driven search landscape.
DISCOVERY COMMERCE INNOVATION
TikTok Shopās newly released playbook, developed with Accenture Song, provides marketers and brands actionable frameworks for driving growth through discovery commerce, leveraging real-time creator content and robust measurement. With TikTok Shop rapidly capturing eCommerce market share, ignoring these trends risks falling behind competitors capitalizing on content-driven online retail.
INNOVATIVE PERSONALIZATION STRATEGIES
Cookieless personalization is reshaping digital marketing by requiring brands to use first-party and zero-party data, contextual targeting, and server-side solutions instead of third-party cookies, ensuring compliance with privacy regulations like GDPR and CCPA. This shift enables marketers to maintain effective, consent-driven customer engagement while safeguarding user privacy. Marketers must adapt quickly to sustain relevance and trust.
š² Like what youāre seeing?
āļø Feedback Slalom
How did this weekās edition navigate the course? |
ClickZ is a Contentive publication in the DTC eCommerce division