Executive Insight: Burton’s Laurent Potdevin

mike lewis

• October 28 2009
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TransWorld Business had a chance to catch up with Burton CEO Laurent Potdevin recently to discuss the brand’s involvement in the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver and how he sees the Games furthering the sport and helping grow the industry.

What are Burton’s goals for Vancouver for speaking to current snowboarders and people that don’t ride yet?

Our goal has been very consistent over the years – to bring people to the sport of snowboarding and retain them by continuing to make the sport fun. Based on the tremendous increase in awareness that the Olympics bring to snowboarding, the Olympics will genuinely inspire more and more people to start riding and enjoy the sport.

What has your experience been with gear sales during Olympic years and the year after? Was there a noticeable bump?

Burton reps and dealers understand that millions of people who normally don’t follow snowboarding events watch the Olympics. So, it’s a great opportunity for a very broad audience to get interested in snowboarding. Our reps and dealers were amazed by the quality of coverage and exposure that Burton received from the 2006 Winter Games. However, it is hard to quantify the direct sales impact as a result of the Olympics’ timing. It is too late in the season to really affect sales. The biggest benefit is in the number of people around the world getting introduced to the sport.

Tell me a little more about your involvement with the Games other than supporting team riders and providing gear to the U.S. Team?

Burton sponsors riders from all over the world and we support them in any way we can, whether they compete at the Olympics or simply progress the sport in other ways. Designing a uniform for our US athletes was just one way of showing them that we support what they do and our biggest contribution is in continuing to provide them with the best gear and the best team support possible.

How have you marketed your athletes’ participation and Olympic wins in the past? Do you feel this was effective?

Our athletes’ success spoke for itself and left a tremendous impact on the Winter Games in 2006. Shaun is now an internationally recognized superstar athlete outside the sport. The global response to Shaun and Hannah’s wins were greater than we could have imagined and it was through their PR exposure that they got marketed best.

What lessons have you learned from past Olympics that you’ll be using to update your strategy for Vancouver?

While the nationalistic approach works for the Olympics, snowboarding is all about the individuals and their many ways of enjoying the sport. Burton will continue to support the riders and their personal goals of what identifies them with snowboarding, whether they win a gold medal or not. Our strategy will be very similar to what it was in 2006: give our athletes the tools they need to succeed.

What specific plans do you have in place for Vancouver?

Burton is planning a party in conjunction with US Snowboarding and Anheuser Busch at Club Bud in Vancouver to celebrate the conclusion of the men’s and women’s halfpipe events.  Burton executives will also be in attendance for the snowboarding events to support and cheer on our global riders.

With the number of eyeballs on the sport during the Games, it seems like we could take solid advantage of it. What are your thoughts on improving turning interested observers into riders?

Presumably there are a lot of people out there who’ve thought about trying snowboarding and now they might be more committed to making the effort to try the sport. There are also a lot of kids who identify with the sport (and the riders) and will clearly pursue snowboarding.

Burton continues to research better ways to introduce people to the sport and keep them coming back for more.  It is something we are passionate about so we have introduced programs to help improve a first time rider’s experience like Learn To Ride (LTR), Burton Academy, and Chill. Burton also encourages people to get out there and ride with programs like Go Snowboarding and our newest program this season, Get Lifted.

There’s definitely a dichotomy in the sport, and even on your team, of people that support the Games as good for snowboarding and others that don’t view it as a good representation of the sport’s individualistic nature.

How do you balance that?

Burton strives to always be involved in events that support riders and their goals—whether those goals are to win Olympic medals or progress the sport in other ways.  It is important to remember that many of the best snowboarders in the world choose not to compete, and that is one of the things that differentiate us from other sports.  Our team has incredible depth and covers the entire spectrum of riding aspirations

What do you see as the biggest benefits to the sport and industry of the Olympics? It has made the level of halfpipe riding a lot more exciting this year!

The Olympics provide a forum to show the rest of the world what our sport is all about and hopefully the Olympic viewing audience will come in to our sport as participants.  We have a passion for snowboarding and we want to leave people with a good impression of the sport.  It certainly was the case in 2006!

What are your predictions for Vancouver?

After seeing the level of riding that went down at the New Zealand Open this summer, it’s safe to say that the riding we are going to see at the Olympics is going to be insane. Apparently double corks are the new standard. It is also going to be an opportunity for new countries to get involved, including but not limited to China.

You can read an in-depth feature on the Olympics and what they mean, and don’t mean, for snowboarding in the November issue of TransWorld Business by becoming a VIP Member. Click here for more subscription information.