On March 19-23, Boa Technology brought together its snowboard team riders in Keystone, Colorado to shoot and film materials for next year’s advertising and promotional assets.
Yes, Boa, the OEM boot closure company has a team, which it launched two seasons ago, that not only rides for their boot sponsors, but directly for the lacing system company. It also advertises heavily in creative channels such as massive ad blitzes at Denver’s DIA airport during winter months, focused on the SIA show.
While most OEM, or “ingredient” companies focus their efforts primarily on clients, Boa’s strategy in its ten-year history has helped put it on a level with OEMs such as GORE-TEX and RECCO, that speak directly to consumers, building value for itself and its brand partners.
“Marketing to consumers is tricky with our business model as a ‘partner’ brand,” says Marketing Director Garrett Graubins, whose brand partners with 13 boot makers. “You need to reach a sufficient level in a category to speak directly to consumers and getting there in snowboarding was always a goal.”
Over the years, Boa has also expanded from its roots in snowboarding to become a player in over 25 categories from golf, to cycling, to equestrian, and now increasingly the medical realm, but it remains deeply connected to snowboarding.
“In this category, it’s a huge risk to rest on your laurels—you’ll lose your consumer,” explains Graubins of the company’s commitment to speaking directly to snowboarders, who remain its strongest group of customers, and the reason it invests heavily in its team and events such as the Snowboard Summit.
While many companies had a rough year due to meager snowfalls, Boa’s diversity allowed it to have a very strong season with growth in other categories, and it’s investing more of its earnings back into snowboarding through event sponsorships.
“We’re looking to support snowboarding more on the grassroots level—with backyard events like the SoGnar Mighty Midwest series and other events on the youth level,” explains Graubins, who also signed on to sponsor the Ride Shakedown for the first time.
We had a chance to tag along for the 2012 Boa Snowboard Summit. Here’s what went down:
TAGS: ashley thornton, boa, Boa Technology, brandon reis, eric beauchemin, garrett graubins, keystone
