To effectively market a brand, you need to go to the grass roots.
In our view, brands begin with relationships. In the best brand stories, someone with a passion creates a product that resonates with people who share that passion. We’ve seen it over and over again with the brands we distribute.
Toad & Co., for instance, was created by founders who were close to the earth and treasured the environment. So, they created a product line for people who feel the same way they do.
The same is true for one of our favorite brands, Arena. Arena was founded by Horst Dassler, the son of adidas founder Adi Dassler, following the 1972 Olympics. Watching athletes like Mark Spitz compete, Horst Dassler became convinced that they needed superior swimwear to compete at their best, and he made it his mission to create it.
That passion for excellence exists in competitive swimming today, and that is where we find the most fertile markets for the Arena products we distribute. We make a point of having a presence at swimming competitions and events everywhere, so we can connect with the people to whom excellence in swimming matters most.
By simply being there at the grassroots level, we constantly build and maintain a solid network not just of potential clients, but potential partners of all kinds. Often, it’s at events like these that we meet people and listen to their stories. Here, we’ll meet future sales reps, and learn more about what retail locations our customers are most likely to be found.
It’s also where we develop relationships with the athletes we sponsor, and who become our ambassadors. We become more than business partners: we are there to support and nurture them throughout their careers.
It’s where we met Olympic swimmer Katerine Savard, who has become one our best allies over the years, and a friend. We’ve watched her grow from star athlete to actress in the Quebec film Nadia, Butterfly, and we couldn’t be prouder.
It’s the kind of day-to-day, granular work that is out of reach from some organizations – the kind of work you can trust the right partner to.