Wow, a branders dream!

It has been way too long and I've taken a hiatus from the blogging world. I'm back and I really want to take my blog in the same direction as I was going when I last blogged over a year ago! I recently when to the Outdoor Retailer show in Salt Lake City. It was a branders dream come true until I went on branding overload. I walked through the whole show and saw all kinds of booths and more backpacks and crampons than you can shake a stick at. What was my take away from it all? Well, first of all, after a while all the outdoor brands look and feel the same. I think it's unfortunate but that's what they all want to do. It's almost as if they all want to fit into the exact same box and have copied each other. Every new player in the field doesn't offer anything different and it ends up being a marketing dollar match. With that being said there were four brands that stuck out in my mind with their booths and their positioning. I'll explain a little on each.

First of all, Columbia. They did an amazing job of making it an experience. I really noticed the booth. They went for a modern clean look with a family flair. This is in line with their brand. They used a lot of white and had blue lights. The brand has seen somewhat of a renisaunce as of lately. If you remember they went from a grandma riding around testing out how tough the clothing is to a modern elite outdoor solution for the whole family. I really liked the booth and thought they represented the brand well.

Right next door to Columbia was Sorel. I am particularly bias to this one because they actually had some really attractive females as models. The reason this one stood out to me besides the stare I got from the model (which shouldn't mean much because they were paid to stare at everyone who walked by) was how much Sorel has morphed as a company into an outfitter of shoes for the whole family. What started as a Viking boot for snow mobilers and other Nordic excursions has quickly taken on style along with functionality. The booth show cased this by sleek models and a fancy display with all the footwear. My hats off for staying true to the brand but extending it.

Teva. Teva is a love hate thing for me. I love how they have really attacked the outdoors as their domain. They want to dominate in all facets of outdoor activities and are doing a good job with it. Back in my highschool days you used to use the word "Teva" like you use Choco's now. Meaning, "I wear my Teva's for everything because they are so comfortable". Now Teva has made the footwear experience exactly that... an experience. It's interesting to me to see how they have made it into an elite club. They want all like minded people to wear the goods and look like them. That's why I have the hate part. They want the dreadlock granola hippie people that think that they have all the time in the world. I guess I'm not a fan of the people in the Target market. But I like the products and have been impressed with their branding including the booth. They had a D.J. (which consequently was a dreadlock hippie dude) spinning right there in the booth. They had a loft and they made it look exactly like where those kind of people would go to smoke pot. Again, they set themselves apart as far as I'm concerned. Hey they even had a Teva bar across the street... good for them.

The newcomer award goes to a company out of New Zealand that I had never heard of. The company is called Icebreaker. (http://www.icebreaker.com/site/index.html) The story on them is that they are an organic base layer/ performance apparel. They make their goods from Merino wool from a sheep farmer in NZ. Apparently the wool is extremely soft and doesn't make your skin itch. The branding was good, they went with a really modern look. The imagery is really good and different. The booth was sleek and modern and because it is relatively unknown in the US they did a good job of causing some intrigue. The imagery was interesting and efficient w/ the Ram's head on the body and and almost a Greek God type thing going on or some Pagan god. Regardless I was intrigued. At the website I can say that I was a little disappointed. They don't continue to build the brand with the imagery and verbiage. I would like a whole experience and something that tells me that if I purchase this expensive product I will be and feel a certain way. It's on its way and hopefully they can continue to build the brand. I like to root for the little guys, if they can pull off the branding I think they can compete.

Again, these were the ones that stood out to me... adventures in branding, gotta love it.