K2 Inline Skates
Challenge:
K2 has a proud heritage of creating high-performance outdoor sporting products, most notably their ski line, along with a reputation based on a distinct attitude. When K2 moved into the inline skate market with the creation of a soft boot shell skate, as opposed to the hard shell used in competitive products, they came to Initio for help in building the brand.
Solution:
Extensive market and industry research led us to encourage K2 to narrow their focus to enthusiasts with a true passion for the sport. Not only would this distinguish them from the competition, it would also allow them to borrow equity from their high-performance heritage. A deeper study of this core segment determined that performance and innovation were their most valued brand attributes, which K2's soft boot technology provided. Based on this insight, we positioned K2 as the originators and leaders in soft boot technology, which would generate the competitive advantage K2 desired and follow suit with the brand that already defined K2. A fully integrated set of marketing communication tactics were implemented, borrowing equity from both K2's high performance reputation and unique personality. Playing off issues only this audience could identify with, a fun and irreverent tone colored all communications and determined specific tactics used.
Results:
Awareness of the brand and its attributes increased dramatically. The brand developed a distinct personality easily identified by both trade and consumer segments. The image of K2 as performance-driven innovators had been effectively communicated to the core customers, and the unique position of originators of soft boot technology had been claimed as their own.