Radar Skis Marketing Analysis

2. Outline
• Describe the Brand / Company
• Introduce Herb Obrien
• Introduce the Products
• Target Audience
• Value Proposition
• Strength
• Weakness
• Opportunity
• Threats
• Competitors
• Brand Strategy Effectiveness

3. Herb Obrien 1944-2012
• Started O'Brien skis in 1964
• Started HO Sports in 1981
• Designed first production tunnel-
bottom water ski
• First person to go into production
with a compression-molded fiberglass
wakeboard and kneeboard
• 2001 Water Ski Hall of Fame Award of
Distinction recipient
• Named one of WATERSKI'S 25 Icons of
the industry in 2003
• Founded Square One in 2006. The
parent company of Ronix Wakeboards
and Radar Skis

4. Products – Radar Skis
• Radar Skis, came in with new ideas
and concepts for ski design
• Built first mainstream “hardboots”
• Hand made in Issaquah WA,
consulted with Boeing Engineers
from 787 and B2 Stealth Program

5. Target Audience
• Small highly demanding clientele
• Competitive water skiers
• Market valued innovation
• People looking for the next big
innovation
• Professional water skiers and

6. Value Proposition
• Radar was a premium brand
with radical new ideas and
designs
• Superior quality and constancy
• Major focus on the R&D
• Added value through demo
program
• Herb Obrien

7. Strength
• First “hardboods” with
proprietary mounting plate
• Consistent Carbon Fiber Product
• Had excellent demo program
where they would have an on
site professional set up a ski
• Early presence on social media
(2006)

8. Weakness
• This was a true red market
• New Boot System destroyed a
couple of knees
• Other companies had better
demo programs
• Other brands had more
customized options
• Difficult to obtain because of low
volume

9. Opportunity
• In 2006 many skis were stuck in
the past using heavy fiberglass
using old designs from the mid
90’s and innovation was flat
• Carbon Fiber manufacturing was
unreliable and inconsistent.
Leading to many inferior skis

10. Threats
• Small Specialized Market
• Saturated Market
• Small market footprint
• Larger companies with bigger
marketing budgets

11. Competitors (2006)
• D3 Skis – Denny Kidder
• HO Watersports (Herb’s old
company)
• Obrien Watersports (Herbs other
company)
• GOODE Skis – Dave Goode
• Conley
• Fisher

12. Brand Effectiveness
• It is now 2017, the company is
11 years old and Radar Skis are
regarded as the top skis
throughout the world
• GOODE and Radar comprise of
90 percent of the market.
• D3, HO, and Obrien all don’t
make high end skis anymore

13. Conclusion
• Radar Skis lives on as Herb’s
true legacy

14. Generated Awareness
• Social Media, one of the first
manufactures of skis and
wakeboards to have a presence
on social media
• Herb was a staple in the
community and was able to use
his platform to promote the
products
• Wild new designs

15. Consideration
• Invented a “try it before you
buy it” campaign.
• Holding development clinics
all over the country and at
“Radar Lake” Herb Obrien’s
private lake

16. Intent
• The “old” way of trying products was
to try a ski from a specialty shop and
spend a day or two tweaking it to
see if you like it. Wasting valuable
time and strength
• With professionals on site to set up
skis people would try the product
and like the product instantly

17. Price
• Typical price for a Factory First
was 700-1100 dollars
• Typical price for a Factory
Second was 500-700 dollars
• In 2006 the quality and
consistency for carbon
products such as skis was a
major technological challenge

18. Purchase, Loyalty and Advocacy
• This campaign lasted until Herb
Passed away in 2012
• As of today, there are only 2
companies that people buy skis
from, GOODE and Radar Skis

19. Place in the Market
• In 2006 the market was
saturated with skis D3,
Conley, GOODE, Fisher and
HO Watersports.
• Many skis were stuck in the
past using heavy fiberglass
using old designs from the
mid 90’s