Performance In Color

SKIDA

Skida is a small Vermont company that hand crafts headwear, neck warmers, and accessories specifically for the alpine and nordic skiing community. Their mission is to bring people together, encourage outdoor adventure, generate smiles, and create a better environment. 

History

Skida started small, dorm room size small. In 2008 Corinne Prevot, a young nordic skier started sewing fun colorful hats for her friends and teammates at her boarding high school in Northern Vermont. The demand for the hats started to grow and expand into the New England ski community.

Hats of Many Colors 

Headwear is a dime a dozen in the cold snowy winter weather, so differentiating oneself from the competition is key in order to make any gains in the market. Skida quite literally stands out from its competition by making headwear with bright colored fabrics and unique designs. Skida has 68 different patterns to choose from, this incredible variety is a key factor that sets them apart from others in the industry. They also roll out many different limited edition designs and fabrics in order to always keep a fresh perspective and have an edge on their competition.

Specialized Variety 

Skida's products are just as functional as they are colorful. They use many different functional fabrics to draw in their customers, but their products are designed with performance in mind. The founder was a high level nordic racer who made hats and neckwear that were ideal for the brutal winter sport.  They use printed poly-blended outer fabrics that are both breathable and moisture wicking. This fabric is perfect for the high endurance athlete that is breaking a sweat in the winter. They also have neckwear and hats that are lined with a mid weight fleece that cuts the wind for more warmth. Having these options in their product line are key for drawing in their target market, the active winter sports lover.

Keeping It Local

Skida strongly believes in supporting local business and they stay true to this by having headquarters in Burlington Vermont. They say that the heart and soul of their brand is being a truly local small business with products that are hand crafted by seamstresses in Northern Vermont. Having their headquarters just 2 hours away from where they are producing their products allows them to add fresh prints to their ever changing product line all while supporting their local communities. Keeping everything local is important to Skida and they use this in their marketing strategy and present themselves as a socially responsible company. 

                                    

Giving Back

A large part of Skida's marketing strategy is supporting local business, but another place that they have thrived in being a socially conscious company is by supporting cancer centers across the country. Skida's plus one program donates hats to cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy on behalf of their online customers. Their bright colored hats add a little warmth and brightness to cancer patients. Although Skida does this out of the goodness of their heart, it is also tactical. They are promoting their product and boosting their brand image by being socially responsible and having a program like plus one. 

@Skidagram

Skida uses Instagram as primary social media and marketing platform. Here they connect their brand to the outdoor lovers and adventurers. They do a lot of product promotion through they're posts by having the product being worn in almost every picture. Their page is fun and adventurous and exhibits their many different designs and advertises their limited edition fabrics.

Photo by Mary McIntyre @Skidagram

Bibliography 

"Made in the U.S.A.: Skida Headwear" The Gearist. September 24, 2015.

"Mission" Skida. https://skida.com/pages/the-skida-mission

Skida. https://skida.com/

Taking The Luxury Line

BOMBER SKI

Bomber Ski is a luxury ski brand made in Italian Alps of Cossato, Italy, with headquarters on 5th Avenue in New York City. Their product line includes hand crafted skis, bindings, and apparel. Their mission is straight forward and simple, "...create the world's best skis."

History

In 2013 Robert Siegel, bought the small Italian ski brand and immediately set out to reposition and vamp up Bomber. Siegel was inspired to buy Bomber after reading Steve Jobs' biography, he wanted to do the same thing Jobs did with the computer, but to skis. Siegel set out to make ordinary, unattractive skis, a luxury designer item.

Designer by Design

Avid ski vacationers, especially those in Aspen, Vail, and Europe spend thousands of dollars on designer apparel and accessories and luxury mountain resort hotels, but not skis. The ski industry is a mass marketer of equipment, with an emphasis on cost cutting. Ski brands all blend together with no real unique comparative advantage, so consumers have no reason to spend a lot on skis. This is where Bomber steps up and tries to tap into a segment of the market that isn't met. Luxury skis. 

What makes a ski luxurious? 

Bomber hand crafts every pair of skis in their boutique factory in Italy. They use only the finest quality materials in every pair of skis. For Bomber, this formula of materials and expert craftsmanship is what makes their skis stand out from the crowd. The company is so devoted to perfection that they only produce 5,000 pairs of their designer skis per year, creating an exclusivity to their brands. Bomber finishes their finely tuned skis with eloquent graphics and artwork. They use licensed artwork from contemporary artists like, Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring. They also offer custom artwork as an option to truly make the skis exclusively yours. 

Targeting The Market

Bomber is the epitome of prestige so their ultimate consumer must be a person of a certain prestigious caliber as well. Just like any luxury item, it is not for everyone. Bomber ski's target market is the super wealthy ski vacation goers, more specifically city folk. Their headquarters and storefront in New York City is set up like a classic city boutique. It is elegant, modern, simple, and it displays their artistic masterpieces in a luxurious fashion. Again, just like any luxury item, the price is not for everyone. Bomber skis are priced at an average of $2,500 per pair without bindings. Thats roughly $1,500 more than the ski market average. This price is acceptable for its target market as you can't sell prestige exclusivity if the price isn't exclusive.

Since Bomber is targeting a very narrow population of the ski industry, their advertisements have to capture the right people's attention. Bomber does this by advertising primarily in cities and big name resorts like Vail, Aspen, Val D'isere, Courchevel, and other well known European resorts. Their ads are not the usual kind you see in the ski industry, rather, Bomber features models with designer ski clothing and their skis. This ad campaign resembles those of designer clothing which makes it a unique and effective marketing tactic.

Opinion Leaders
Bomber skis got a hold of one of the most well known alpine ski racers of all time Bode Miller to be the face of their company. Bode, a seasoned skiing legend is known around the world for his amazing performances on the mountain. Bode was so impressed with the quality of Bomber skis and their unique mission of making skis a fashion statement, that he actually bought into the company. Not only is Bode a key skiing celebrity that uses the product, but he also gets to share his vision with the company and impact the designs. Having him as part of the company is a very important piece in their marketing strategy.

Bomber uses Bode's fame to make unique marketing ads. For example, in 2015 they released a short James Bond style film, featuring Bode as a Bond like hero skiing down the mountain being chased by ski villains. Just like any good Bond film it includes expensive, champagne and helicopters. This ad is a fun yet elegant way of tying the brand to the luxury status that seek.

Overall, Bomber Ski has created a segment in the market that wasn't there before and it is proving to be quite lucrative for them. So long as they keep to their perfectionist standards and so long as the extremely wealthy keep taking ski vacations, Bomber will keep booming.

Bibliography

"About Us" Bomber Ski. https://bomberski.com/about-us/

"Bomber Gallery" Bomber Ski. https://bomberski.com/gallery-page/#!

"Cutting Edge: Bomber Ski" National Ski Council Federation. http://skifederation.org/industry-spotlight-bomber-ski/

Swimmer, Susan. "Bomber Skis: The Story of How a Luxury Expert, A Ski Company and Coca-Cola All Came Together"  May 15, 2014. Coca-Cola Journey. Coca-Cola.