Shredding With Style

SHRED OPTICS & SLYTECH PROTECTION

Shred Optics and Slytech design and produce state of the art ski and ride protection. Their lineup includes ski and bike helmets, eyewear, and specially padded ski, snowboard, and bike racing protection. Their mission is to blend "...sophisticated materials, fresh technology, and exceptional engineering..." to create stylish products that empower athletes to push the limits. 

                                                           The Shred Story 

History

Current U.S. Ski Team member and two time olympic gold medalist, Ted Ligety teamed up with an engineer, Italian, Carlo Salmini who was making carbon fiber shin guards in his garage. Together they started Slytech Protection, which made specially designed alpine racing protection and eventually all mountain protection as well. After Ligety won an unexpected gold medal at the 2006 Torino Winter Olympics, the business duo decided to use the media hype to start another company, Shred Optics. Their goal was to unite all snow sports by developing products that looked as good as they performed.

Product Driven 

A big part of Shred's marketing strategy is letting the products speak for themselves. They combine some of the best technology with sleek and stylish designs that truly stand out in a positive way. Co-founder Ted Ligety says its not so much about the marketing gimmicks, but rather the quality of the products they are selling. Shred helmets and goggles stand out with their bright flashy colors making their very design a key to their marketing strategy. Their products stand out from their competitors, giving them an advantage and making it more effective for them to reach their target market. On top of the unique style their products have, they are integrated with some of the best safety technology. Their new ShredWide goggles give the user unrivaled peripheral vision and clarity.  

Who is Shred For?

The cool styles and advanced technology that Shred offers is attractive to just about anyone who knows a thing or two about snow sports. Shred's target market is more of the skier or snowboarder who is committed to shredding the mountain, hence the name. Someone who is closer to expert experience level, who is out on the slopes regularly, knows and needs the best technology, but wants to have some ski swag while they're out ripping some turns. Anything designed with extra warmth and protection for out on the slopes is going to come with a rather large price tag, however, Shred keeps it reasonable. Their technology packed helmets range from $100-$350, and goggles $100-$200, which is right on par with the average ski helmet cost. Their prices are also more affordable than their competitors that are known for their advanced tech, like Poc Snow Sports.

Resi Stiegler 

The Best in The World

Perhaps Shred's most valuable marketing strategy and asset is it's co-founder Ted Ligety. Having a world renowned alpine world cup ski racer at the helm of the company, repping the latest gear on one of the biggest stages in snow sports is one of the most effective ways to have your product noticed. Having opinion leaders is a great way to show off just how good a product is. Shred is not only designed and worn by olympian Ted Ligety, but they also sponsor many extreme snow sport athletes in an attempt to inspire others. When people see these athletes standing at the tops of podiums wearing gold medals, they are likely to think that the product helps make the athlete, and buy it for themselves.

Ted Ligety, photo by Jonathan Selkowitz

Protect the Sport, Protect the Product

Shred or rather Ted, knows just how important snow is to the sport of skiing, since skiing is his actual day job. That's why Shred incorporates marketing for a cause into their business by partnering with organizations like 1% For The Planet and Protect Our Winters (POW) that are dedicated to preserving the environment. Shred also says it's "...committed to reducing our impact on the environment, we're continually experimenting with how we design, manufacture, and package our products, as well as how we conduct business." Shred is taking into account the triple bottom line, people, planet, and profit, by doing their part to be environmentally responsible. Consumers like to see that companies are doing their part and giving back, especially people in the snow sport community as the environment directly effects their passion. 

Bibliography

Deed, Elaine. "It's Time To Join Protect Our Winters." April, 

             2016. http://www.stylealtitude.com/protect-our-winters.html

"Goggles, ShredWide" https://shredoptics.com/pages/goggles

"Olympic and two time medalist..." The Denver Post. Dec. 30, 

             2016. https://www.denverpost.com/2016/12/30/ted-ligety-shred-company/

"Our Impact" https://shredoptics.com/pages/our-impact

"Our Story"   https://shredoptics.com/pages/about-us

Built Like a Swiss Watch

The Fallline is a blog dedicated to reviewing and dissecting the marketing strategies of different companies in the skiing industry.
Although they all have snow in common, no one company in the skiing industry is the same, so their marketing strategies aren't the same either. Companies find unique ways to connect people and the snow to their products.

STÖCKLI

Stöckli is a ski brand from Malters Switzerland that makes handcrafted all mountain, powder, and alpine race skis. Stöckli's mission is to create, develop and build first class products that have the best performance on the slopes.

History

Back in the mid 1930s, Josef Stöckli started making his own handcrafted wooden skis for himself and friends using a washtub in his Swiss home. He started getting orders for his one of kind skis and by 1935 he established the ski brand Stöckli AG. His skis were primarily used for alpine ski racing by Swiss athletes who put their trust in the small company. Their trust was not misplaced as the ski became popular among Swiss World Cup skiers who discovered that the small brand's hand made skis were top of the line.

#WEARESWISSMADE

In a time when the ski industry is booming and there seems to be too many options when it comes to buying the right pair of skis, a unique branding is key in order to stand out. Stöckli does this by being one of the few big ski manufacturers to build their skis using computer controlled machines along with the talents of of over 50 engineers. Their goal, quality over quantity. "It takes 12 days to build a pair of hand-crafted Stöckli skis. Engineers handle each pair 63 times and it takes 25 more steps to properly finish a pair." This manufacturing process is what makes their skis so unique. Naturally, Stöckli capitalizes on this in their marketing strategy by advertising the quality of their skis. They use the hashtag, #weareswissmade as a way of portraying their quality, as we all know that anything Swiss made is built to last and perform.

However, highest quality skis come at a price, literally. Stöckli is known as being one of the most expensive ski brands. For example, a World Cup Alpine ski by Stöckli is priced at a popping $1,209 per pair, whereas the top of the line equivalent by Rossignol is listed around $1000 per pair. So their price isn't the most appealing, but they are targeting a population that's looking for the best ski that is reliable and built to last.
The ski industry tends to attract a wealthier demographic as it is an expensive sport that requires conditions not found easily around the world. Stöckli's target market is the advanced skier with a little more cash flow than the average skier. This demographic is found at some of this biggest resorts in the world, more specifically Europe. Stöckli advertises at big name resorts like Zermatt and Davos. Their advertisements are simple, capture your attention, and always attempt to show the quality of their skis.

Opinion Leaders

Part of Stöckli's marketing tool and perhaps its most effective, is its sponsored athletes. These athletes are the main source of Stöckli's social media buzz. By sponsoring and supporting big names in the ski industry, they are showing off that their product works for the best in the world. When Stöckli's target market sees these opinion leader's succeeding on their skis, they are more likely to feel that they will be able to do the same on Stöckli skis.

World Cup Skier & Stöckli athlete, Tina Maze

Bibliography

"History." Stöckli, http://www.stoeckli.ch/inten/ski/history

"Philosophy." Stöckli, http://www.stoeckli.ch/inten/ski/philosophy

"2018 Sponsored Brands Catalog." Powder Magazine, https://www.powder.com/pa_brand-name/stockli/

"Stockli Skis." Ski Sharp, https://www.skisharp.com/