Wait is that seriously the brand name? Yes. Yes it is. For those that know me and see me on a daily basis you are well aware that I have become somewhat enamored with a Ski Bag company by the name of Douchebags. Yes that is the actual brand name, and no I don’t get paid to take pictures of their products or write about their brand, i’m just a huge fan of both their products and the way they do business. Let me tell you why.
I suppose I should first actually provide you a little bit of background information on the company itself. Douchebags was founded in 2009 by Swedish professional skier and Red Bull athlete Jon Olsson and Norwegian product designer Truls Brataas, with the goal of improving travel with skis. They recognized that innovation in ski bags has been stagnant for some time, and current market offerings didn’t consider the specific difficulties encountered when dragging a 6-foot-long, unwieldy bag around trains, buses, airports and ski town streets.
For two years Olsson and Brataas worked on research and design of the ultimate ski bag. This included interviewing other professional skiers, airline baggage handlers, and other frequent travelers with skis and heavy sports gear, among others. With the product finalized, they held an online contest to name the company, ultimately settling on the “Douchebags” entry, finding it “humorous.”
Jon Olsson and Truls Brataas
Now if that isn’t the greatest way to name a company than I don’t know what is (think Boaty McBoatFace and the like.) When the internet gets together, it produces often hilarious (yet rarely successful) results. However in the case of Douchebags it was a winner.
Buoyed by Jon’s already established notoriety in the skiing world, Douchebags quickly amassed a loyal and dedicated group of professional athletes as brand ambassadors. Many of whom were not actually paid, but like myself, simply loved the products. It was a winning recipe.
Photo by: Oskar Bakke
Fast forward to today and Douchebags has become a global brand producing thousands of bags per year serving far more than just the skiing community. They have now become a world leader in functional, stylish, durable travel gear.
Superior product design is only the tip of the iceberg however. The real reason that I personally am passionate about the brand is the lifestyle and brand positioning that they have cultivated. When you purchase a Douchebag product, you are not just purchasing a quality product, you are joining a family of adventurers, athletes, people seeking all that life has to offer.
Now that might just sound like a marketing pitch, and well honestly it is. However, marketing, is where Douchebags really sets themselves apart, and what really attracts me, as a marketer, to the brand.
I’ve always appreciated it when brands push the limits of traditional marketing and make different the norm. Known for working in collaboration with a variety of influencers, one of their biggest releases of 2018 was their collaboration with action sports enthusiast and model Jay Alvarrez. I won’t ruin it for you. Just watch the video below.
Epic right. Now they could have just simply taken pictures of Jay modeling the bag, or random people using the bag and leave it at that, but no. They took it to a level that nobody has ever taken product marketing. This overkill approach to the brand is what really sets it apart from the ordinary, from the normal. The company pushes their marketing team to be creative and think outside the box. Combining this innovative marketing strategy with quality products and a dash of limited editions, Douchebags has created a global success.
To me the best brands are the ones that take risks. That do what they do because it is what they want to do. They are the change they want to see in the world, not just more of the same thing that has always existed. A potentially polarizing name, an overkill approach to marketing, and a revolutionary product. Hard to beat a formula like that.
So the next time you see me and ask about the bag i’m wearing, I will proudly say, it’s a Douchebag.
