by Martino Boselli – Global Brand Director at Safilo
GC32 crew equipped with Carrera Folding helmet at Foiling Week 2014
When I was in charge as Global Brand Director for Carrera, the global eyewear, ski goggle, ski and bike helmet brand, I met the foiling week team. They proposed me to sponsor and support the initiative.
I thought “why should I invest my marketing budget into something that is not in my business core?”
Suddenly it came on my mind what happened more then 15 years ago in the ski industries.
In 1999 we witnessed a big innovation in the alpine ski industry : The carving shape. Carving skis were able to provide the experience of steering the skis on the edge, in full control without being a supertalented athlete. Everything became easier. Much easier… and boom! Now all the skis apply the carving technology.
A similar story happened to the windsurf industry in the 80s : after a huge success everything became too complicate, expensive and more focused on PRO vs AM. Around 90’s thanks to innovative rigs and surfboard construction, windsurf become easier . Now its possible to plane and have fun even with less than 5 knots.
Bottom line is that innovation, when is able to boost the experience, really drives the success of a brand/category/industry development .
I was in the middle of a decision. Is this the right place for a brand that is meant to be innovative, bold and that wants to stand out in a crowd? Is this a new business opportunity? Is the foiling week gaining momentum? is this the beginning of something new ?
Yes it definitely is.
Foiling is simply the next step, it is the pivotal point of the next sailing generation.
This is the beginning of a new era and this is the perfect sweet spot for companies that want to communicate innovation, experience, uniqueness and great passion.
Back to the Carrera story, I decided to invest in the Foiling week since we were about to launch an innovative helmet with an unique design (the “five ribs”) with no water retention.
… enjoy the video !
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gg0o13HVVEk]
