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North & Duotone - Your Questions Answered by CEO Till Eberle

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Regularkiter
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Re: North & Duotone - Your Questions Answered by CEO Till Eberle

Postby Regularkiter » Wed Jun 20, 2018 8:46 pm

Had to register to say this: i was flying north exclusively since 2007, and since I live in cold Canada the brand resonated with me.

The brand name that is replacing North is a mistake! There are so many other possibilities, heck even Rebel kiteboarding sounds better then Duotone. From the article it sounds like the owner is somehow attached to the Duotone name, but I doubt that the regular kiter would ever feel the same way.

What is even more frustrating is that while the response to the Duotone name here was overwhelmingly negative Boards and More still decided to go with it. I know they are probably on a timeline to transition, but asking the existing North consumers to vote on a future name could of been not a bad idea.

For all of those saying that people would stick with Duotone because boards and more creates great kites all I have to say is this. Some will, but lots will jump a ship as I am. Why? I just don't like the name, and honestly lots of other brand names have great kites and after Rebel went 4 line (2018 rebel just don't feel the same) last year theres no reason for me to stick.

With all that said I wish duotone to be successful, and I am sure they will be but to a smaller degree.

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Re: North & Duotone - Your Questions Answered by CEO Till Eberle

Postby FLandOBX » Wed Jun 20, 2018 8:49 pm

"....this name [Duotone] was a perfect match for the new brand. On top of that, this name was already registered worldwide by Boards & More."

This explains a lot about why Duotone was chosen as the brand name (although, as the interviewer notes, "Ion" might have also been an option). Worldwide trademark registration isn't a simple or inexpensive process. Historically, intellectual property laws and trademark registrations have been country-specific, so already having Duotone registered worldwide is a significant advantage.

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Re: North & Duotone - Your Questions Answered by CEO Till Eberle

Postby wjb » Wed Jun 20, 2018 9:25 pm

I also doubt this name will resonate with a regular North kiter. When I think of North I think of big days and challenging conditions.
kiteboarding-extreme.png
With Duotone not so much
duoClean-poster.jpg

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Re: North & Duotone - Your Questions Answered by CEO Till Eberle

Postby TomW » Wed Jun 20, 2018 9:29 pm

FLandOBX wrote:
Wed Jun 20, 2018 8:49 pm
"....this name [Duotone] was a perfect match for the new brand. On top of that, this name was already registered worldwide by Boards & More."

This explains a lot about why Duotone was chosen as the brand name (although, as the interviewer notes, "Ion" might have also been an option). Worldwide trademark registration isn't a simple or inexpensive process. Historically, intellectual property laws and trademark registrations have been country-specific, so already having Duotone registered worldwide is a significant advantage.
I can vouch for that. I work with start
-ups, and it's a major hurdle. Sometimes the biggest one.

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Re: North & Duotone - Your Questions Answered by CEO Till Eberle

Postby dlangpap » Wed Jun 20, 2018 9:37 pm

I'm not sure this forum is representative of the wider kitesurfing market. However, until now, I have seen one poster that thinks Duotone is better then North in 3 different threads about the subject of North changing brands and mostly negative opinions about the name, including many posters saying they won't buy Duotone equipment because of the new brand.

I mean, these guys are not amateurs, not in engineering and product development, nor in marketing and design. Heck, they came up with not good but great brand names such as Ion and Fanatic. How is it possible then to apparently disregard customers' opinions so blatantly as to be unwilling to backpedal even when faced with such rejection? Worldwide registration of a brand seems like a lazy and cheap explanation as to why they would jeopardize the goodwill they have generated throughout all these years.

I'm not sure about the idea of using the same brand for kitesurfing and windsurfing either. I do both, so it's not an issue for me, but there are many people in both camps who want to differentiate themselves from the other (this is not new: snowboard vs ski, skate vs inline...) and having one brand for both will not be seen as a positive.

So, why don't we give them a last chance and a hand to show them that there are a million better brand names than duotone. From the top of your head, put down a better brand name than duotone...

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Re: North & Duotone - Your Questions Answered by CEO Till Eberle

Postby TomW » Wed Jun 20, 2018 9:42 pm

Ok. I want either 3 new kitebags, or a refund. All 3 of my kite bags from 2016 broke zippers after only a few months. I tried to register all 3 kites for extended Warranty and website failed. I sent emails to retailer and North . And got not one response.
Sorry, your BS about customer service is just that... BS.
You can PM me.

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Re: North & Duotone - Your Questions Answered by CEO Till Eberle

Postby iriejohn » Wed Jun 20, 2018 9:43 pm

dlangpap wrote:
Wed Jun 20, 2018 9:37 pm
So, why don't we give them a last chance and a hand to show them that there are a million better brand names than duotone. From the top of your head, put down a better brand name than duotone...
I'm not a North fanboi but how about "Rebel Kitesurfing"?

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Re: North & Duotone - Your Questions Answered by CEO Till Eberle

Postby NorwayIsCold » Wed Jun 20, 2018 10:08 pm

Question to Duotone: will the new stuff under duotone brand will be compatible with older north gear and vice versa? I have reserved a 2018 north quad bar at the shop and was wondering if I should wait with the purchase? I am planning to stick with the brand in future.

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Re: North & Duotone - Your Questions Answered by CEO Till Eberle

Postby NorwayIsCold » Wed Jun 20, 2018 10:12 pm

Do you provide and spare parts guarantee? Core has a guarantee that they will stock all replacement parts for a minimum of six years from the date of purchase.

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Re: North & Duotone - Your Questions Answered by CEO Till Eberle

Postby FLandOBX » Wed Jun 20, 2018 10:30 pm

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet."

(Wm. Shakespeare)

.......how 'bout "Capulet Kitesurfing"? (Sorry. No wind today. :jump: ) "The Romeo Rebel".....has a certain panache, no?


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