On-Going Consulting

Outdoor brands are well accustomed to risk.

Whether it’s in the backcountry or growing a business, risk is a close companion. Yet many outdoor brands overlook the biggest risk facing their company: a lack of clarity. When clarity is missing in the marketing department, the result looks like this:

- Wasting time and money by producing creative without a clear problem to be solved
- Producing campaigns that speak to no one, meanwhile slowly being left out of the cultural conversation
- Designing a content strategy that looks and feels identical to every other outdoor brand

This consulting is led by, Creative Director, Cole Heilborn. It’s an opportunity to gain clarity around brand strategy, content strategy, creative direction, and distribution in a monthly cadence.

Over the years, Cole has produced seven-figures worth of creative work and interviewed hundreds of outdoor marketers and creatives. The common thread? Every business struggles with clarity. The echo chambers, decision by committee, and doing things because "that's how they've always been done" is the fastest way to loose relevance and attention.

Who is This For?
- You already have a marketing team
- You already have a creative team
- You want an outside perspective to poke holes in your assumptions
- You’ve thought, “We could really use some business therapy.”
- You're ready for someone to ask hard questions and refine your approach

What Do You Get?
- Someone who asks hard questions and pushes you to think sharper
- A space for unrestricted ideas and honest brainstorming
- Help identifying the real problem beneath the surface
- Perspective and insights drawn from the outdoor marketing industry

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Format

- $2,500/ month

- Monthly or Quarterly engagements

- Four, one hour meetings a month

- Unlimited email access

https://youtu.be/Jrj74r6OyoU

‍“I’ve worked with Cole and the team at Port Side for over a year now and have been super impressed with them. They are smart, fast, authentic, humble, respectful, resourceful, creative, and highly communicative...I’ve literally worked with hundreds of agency’s and creative partners throughout my career, and I can honestly say they are awesome..."‍

David Zimberoff, VP of Marketing, SRAM

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FAQ

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What problems is this consulting designed to solve?

Most outdoor brands don’t have a creativity problem—they have a clarity problem. This consulting helps uncover the real problem your content could be solving and bringing clarity to your brand positioning, content strategy, and creative direction so your content works harder and provides value to your audience.

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What Role do Questions play in this consulting?

I believe clarity is found in the art of asking questions, and in many ways I’ve built my entire career around that idea. From hosting the Backcountry Marketing Podcast, to leading discovery sessions with brands, to navigating sales conversations and creative development, my work has always started with asking better questions. Questions uncover the real problem beneath the surface, challenge assumptions teams have carried for years, and force clarity around who you’re talking to, what you actually stand for, and why your work should matter to anyone. Most brands jump straight to ideas—campaigns, content series, new products—before fully understanding the problem they’re trying to solve. But the best ideas rarely come from brainstorming alone; they come from a deeper understanding of the problem, and that understanding comes from asking the right questions.

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What's the Cadence?

This service is designed to be flexible, whether you need support during a short sprint or over a longer period of time. Engagements start with a minimum commitment of one month.

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What's the Difference between this service and a Full Service Project?

A custom project is focused on producing something specific—like a campaign, brand film, or a series of social assets. It has a defined scope, timeline, and deliverables. This consulting service is different. Instead of focusing on production, it focuses on the thinking behind the work. It’s an opportunity to step back, ask the right questions, pressure-test ideas, and bring clarity to your brand positioning, content strategy, and creative direction.