Connecting brands with vetted talent who know and love the outdoors
Outsiders Network, a first-of-its-kind online talent marketplace, aims to make it easy for brands and content producers to hire talent who have specific outdoor activity skills, but who also represent a range of ethnicities, gender identities, and adaptive abilities. The Network is designed to take the guesswork and struggle out of finding vetted talent to represent a brand outdoors, while also helping make the outdoors more welcoming to all. Outsiders Network is currently accepting talent submissions. The full platform will officially launch in summer 2021.
“As a producer tasked with casting outdoor productions, I saw an opportunity to build something that would make the searching, shortlisting and booking process easier. What we’ve created is a robust, searchable online platform to find talent ranging from avid recreationalists to professional athletes from across North America,” said Holly Fraser, co-founder of Outsiders Network.
Outsiders Network is founded on the commitment to helping provide increased outdoor accessibility for everyone. When an Outsider signs up, they are asked which organizations they want to support, then a portion of Outsiders Network’s collected fees are donated to these organizations. This allows talent to give back in ways that mean the most to them, while creating a more inclusive image of who belongs in the great outdoors. Clients will also be able to contribute a percentage of their project budgets to these initiatives.
“At Origin, we saw a growing need for vetted outdoor talent that truly represents the kind of people who play outside. So, we embarked on a mission to reinvent the image of people we see in marketing for the outdoors,” said MJ Legault, co-founder of Outsiders Network. “We recognize this is a big task, and so, at the onset of creating Outsiders Network we partnered with diversity, equity, and inclusion professionals to help create a safe and inclusive space for talent, as well as an advisory board that meets quarterly to check in on the status of the work we are doing and the ways we can improve.”
Outsiders Network is the brainchild of Danielle Kristmanson and MJ Legault, founders of the award-winning outdoor creative agency, Origin, and Holly Fraser, producer on outdoor asset captures. Starting summer 2021, the platform will launch with the capability for brands to search through a diverse pool of talent and support crew to find the perfect match that meets their project criteria. Once matched, the Outsiders dashboard seamlessly streamlines the booking and contract process for both the talent and client.
Outsiders Network will offer free and subscription options. To discover more about Outsiders Network and pre-register as talent, or to sign up for future updates, please visit outsidersnetwork.com.
About Origin: Origin is an outdoor-focused, digitally-driven creative, content, and marketing agency. Founded more than 20 years ago, the agency has worked with a multitude of prominent outdoor brands such as Whistler Blackcomb, L.L.Bean, lululemon, Smartwool, The North Face, and many more. With offices in Montreal and Whistler, as well as a US subsidiary based in Vermont, Origin provides a bilingual and suite of capabilities to the outdoor brands it helps succeed and grow in both Canada and the US. Subscribe to Origin’s “Insights On The Outdoors” monthly newsletter at originoutside.com/newsletter-sign-up.
About Execution Media: Holly Fraser of Execution Media Ltd, her Whistler-based boutique production company, has spent the last decade working locally and around the world on outdoor productions. Her client list as a producer includes major car companies, clothing lines and adventure gear brands, Holly has a long standing working relationship with Origin Outside both in house as a Production Manager and as a freelance production partner. She is now dedicated full time to Outsiders Network as Managing Director.
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