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I vote for "DuoDan".
Each one of those guys is a legend. Their name carries a lot cachet. Rebrand a Harley Davidson a Smith and Johnson and there will be an uproar. I have been a North rider since 06 and as someone who has given Boards and More thousands of dollars they could have done a way better job with a new name then picking some shitty name they already had the rights to. I see it as a grab for profits and a big middle finger to their customers. People are high if they think they are lowering prices.RustyChain wrote: ↑Thu Jun 21, 2018 2:40 pmI did like the name "North", but I come from sailing and windsurfing, so it had some name recognition. Duotone is not great but when you think of Naish, Cabrinha, and Burton (snowboarding I know) they are just the random names of the guys who founded the company.
wjb wrote: ↑Fri Jun 22, 2018 12:11 amEach one of those guys is a legend. Their name carries a lot cachet. Rebrand a Harley Davidson a Smith and Johnson and there will be an uproar. I have been a North rider since 06 and as someone who has given Boards and More thousands of dollars they could have done a way better job with a new name then picking some shitty name they already had the rights to. I see it as a grab for profits and a big middle finger to their customers. People are high if they think they are lowering prices.RustyChain wrote: ↑Thu Jun 21, 2018 2:40 pmI did like the name "North", but I come from sailing and windsurfing, so it had some name recognition. Duotone is not great but when you think of Naish, Cabrinha, and Burton (snowboarding I know) they are just the random names of the guys who founded the company.
Very well put, except IMO the brand name and graphics matter greatly, maybe not in an accounting firm, but definitely in a kitesurfing and windsurfing company. And sure, you can neutralize a bad brand name with great products but you won't certainly be making your life easier.benkitesurfs wrote: ↑Thu Jun 21, 2018 7:15 pmThanks for the insight, Dan. I bought my very first North kites just a few weeks ago. I’m very happy with the kites and the click bar.Dan-at-North wrote: ↑Thu Jun 21, 2018 5:52 pmHey guys-
Sorry for the silence on this whole topic but we've been really busy ramping up for the launch of the new brand. Now that the gloves are off I'm happy to answer any questions I can.
First, I think a lot of people on this forum understand the difference, but just to be clear, I've never worked for "north". My checks come from Boards and More, as do all of our team riders, designers, factories, etc. I've used the name "dan.at.north" and the affiliation "nkb" because it's easier for most consumers to understand. Boards and More is an amazing place to work with driven, talented, fun people. This crew has done impressive things for so many years that I have no doubt they'll continue to produce amazing gear, and have fun doing it, under the Duotone brand.
Just to kick it off I'll answer the most recent questions about product launch...
As with most other things involving this new brand, there won't be any huge changes from previous years... We will bring out the Rebel and Dice in August/September with Vegas and Neo to follow as quickly afterwards as the factories (same factories using same production schedules as before) can manage. Twintips and surfboards should be hot on their heels. Evo will follow in November/December and the Mono and Juice in the spring. As always, availability will depend on production speed, shipping, customs, etc so actual availability in your particular country may vary slightly from that schedule.
Oh, there was another question somewhere asking about who the hell this Till Eberle guy is... He's the man. He kites, rides cable, mountain bikes, surfs, snowboards, and runs a company like no other. He's also been signing my paychecks for years now. I'm not fishing for a raise here (though I wouldn't turn one down either) but honestly Till's hand on the tiller is what made all of our brands as strong as they are today. He also knows each employee personally, knows how to inspire them to work their hardest, and also makes sure they take time to recreate outside of work to maintain a healthy work environment. He's a natural athlete, a shrewd business man, and thoughtful manager. If anyone else proposed starting a new brand when our current brand was the market leader I probably would've jumped ship, but he's very capable and I have faith in his insight.
Oh yeah, the question of warranty/spare parts. In case it wasn't clear, we'll continue to support previous gear we've made/sold with the same high level of warranty support and parts availability as we always have.
Anyway, if you need more information, I would recommend you read Till's interview (posted elsewhere but here it is again: https://www.thekiteboarder.com/2018/06/ ... o-duotone/) and if anyone needs clairification on anything feel free to hit me up here or on PM.
-Dan
As others have stated here, at the end of the day, the brand name and the graphics don’t matter, Kite performance is what is most important. And I have all the confidence in the world that Ralf Grossel is one of the best kite designers in the world, so these new kites are going to be every bit as badass as the old North kites.
With that being said, I pay a lot of attention to detail in the brands that I choose to use. This is what drew me to Ion, and eventually to North. This brand change is a shock (especially the timing of it, since I literally just jumped on the North bandwagon when it rolled out from under me), but the reasons for it make perfect sense.
I do feel however, that B&M really let the customer down with the name choice. My perception of B&M was that they were shrewd marketers - they have most of the very best team riders, they make a ton of great YouTube content, and their kite graphics are beautifully done, and thematic. I thought that the company that brought us Ion, and the click bar, would have their finger on the pulse of this market, and would have carefully chosen a new name that would immediately become an icon in the industry.
Duotone will fly. Thanks to guys like Ralf Grossel and the click bar designers. The quality and engineering is undeniable. But my opinion is that you did yourselves a massive disservice by not putting as much thought into the brand name (which will ultimately be the calling card for the B&M Kiteboarding legacy) as you have into every other aspect of your products.
In the interview with the kiteboarder: https://www.thekiteboarder.com/2018/06/ ... o-duotone/dlangpap wrote: ↑Fri Jun 22, 2018 7:11 pm
Very well put, except IMO the brand name and graphics matter greatly, maybe not in an accounting firm, but definitely in a kitesurfing and windsurfing company. And sure, you can neutralize a bad brand name with great products but you won't certainly be making your life easier.
To Dan I would like to ask if market research showed a completely different reaction to the one prevalent in this forum?
In any case, love my NEO, Dice and Kontakt and truly hope the transition goes OK.
benkitesurfs wrote: ↑Fri Jun 22, 2018 9:38 pmIt’s incredibly strange to me that something so important, and permanent, was chosen so flippantly.
