YETI

Hello everyone.   Today I’d like to examine a brand with a product lineup which I find extremely AWESOME! What is this brand with such an impacting lineup you ask? Well, this is a brand built tough like Ford. It is built for maximum utility and quality like that of an Army grade tank. It is designed for those who love the outdoors but don’t love the struggles of keeping the cold in and the warm out or vise versa. What is it? It is the YETI thermal lineup!

Yeti is a design for those who love the outdoors. It is a product that is designed to keep your colds cold and your hots hot longer than any product on the market. If you are interested in the outdoors in any way you are probably familiar with the Yeti product line. Yeti does a more than sufficient job making themselves known in the outdoor world. If you want a top of the line, quality cooler that is built to last then take a look at the Yeti lineup at:

http://yeti.com 

Now let’s get into the marketing aspect of this brand that in my opinion makes it more successful over the competitors. Using the S.W.O.T analysis we can look deeper into the successes and non-successes in the marketing strategies of this well-known company. As successful as they are, there is always room for improvement and there are always outside factors, which can lead to altering the demand for a product as popular as Yeti. Let’s begin!

STRENGTHS:

The founders of Yeti saw a need for a quality thermal product to suit the needs of the consumers. They saw a market for such a product and using their handyman abilities they got to work constructing such a product.

What helps make them so successful is their lasting impact on the minds of the consumers. I can’t recall when I saw my first Yeti commercial; however, I do remember exactly what it was. They advertised for a built tough cooler, that kept ice longer, and was bear proof!

Now I don’t know how many bears the buyer of this cooler will run into, but I do know I have some mischievous pups that like to chew my coolers up. So I was in the market for a cooler that was PUP PROOF, and that was a selling point for me. Also being a big hunter I look for a cooler that can take a beating in the back of my truck or bouncing around on my boat. They also covered that concern.

They have proven in their commercials that they have built a cooler to last through anything you can throw at it.   But they also have reinforced the quality of the product by using an endorser from a popular name in the outdoor world, Jim Shockey. By using this it creates a sense in the consumer that, if the great Jim Shockey approves Yeti then it has to be the best of the best.

            On top of these crucial attributes to their marketing strategy Yeti offers a wide array of products from bottle opener to thermal cups and cozies to multiple cooler options.

From first -hand experience; as I own several products form Yeti, I can attest to their products.   They’re more than top of the line products, they’re the best thermal product I’ve ever owned.

When purchasing any of the Yeti products they draw you in more by providing you with multiple marketing ploys. As I received my Yeti cooler, within the product I also received stickers, catalog books showing off their other products, a pamphlet giving background to the product and its sponsors and how they created their products. They continued to explain their love for the outdoors and their struggles with previous similar products, which encouraged the creation of Yeti. I think that these aspects where beneficial in that it creates a relationship with the customer and makes it so that the customer can feel comfortable and relate to the love for the outdoors and the struggle of a below quality product before using Yeti.

I could go on and on about the strengths of Yeti and their marketing strategies, continuing to display the successful ads and contributions to their company which led to such success; however, they aren’t simply the perfect company. They do have weaknesses in which they could improve to help their success.

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WEAKNESSES:

Being a consumer that searches for quality in a product, I can relate to the idea of you get what you pay for. Meaning if you want quality you’re going to have to fork out the $$$. Cash is king in this world and for a quality product such as Yeti the consumer is willing to pay a little more for a product that will last. Key words “A LITTLE MORE!” One of my biggest complaints about yeti is the fact that their products are so expensive. I find this a huge weakness in that many consumers can’t afford to buy their product. I know I couldn’t, mine were gifts! I got a colster to keep my beverage cooler in the summer climates.  I love it but it cost nearly $40!

Also, I received a Yeti Tundra 35 cooler as a gift. I had wanted one for as long as I’ve known about Yeti but at $300 for a cooler that holds only 20 drinks I just couldn’t afford that.

 Now that’s just for the Yeti 35, an avid hunter/fisherman uses a cooler to keep his game fresh while miles in the woods or at sea.  The Tundra 35 is the perfect setup for such needs.  It is even advertised for such purpose. However, at nearly $1,300, I can’t imagine many outdoor lovers are jumping to purchase that cooler.

As I said previously, these products are built for quality and build to last. The mindset is that this is the one and only cooler you will need to purchase so spend the money on a cooler that will last.

OPPORTUNITIES:

After seeing the grand success from coolers to colster to ramblers, Yeti has seen a market expand itself dependent on their target market. They started by designing a cooler to keep food and drinks colder longer. Seeing the success they achieved they found an opportunity to create coffee cups to keep heat in longer. Expanding upon that they found the use for bigger coolers outside of beverages and foods. They found a use to keep processed game colder for a longer duration of time. This company has grown so much that they could sell ice to Eskimos. Using their name on just about any outdoor product would produce a feeling of reliability and quality among consumers. When the consumer sees Yeti they will know exactly what kind of a product they’re purchasing. The options for expansion for Yeti are limitless.

THREATS:

However, these attributes are mostly in the favor of Yeti and they have created markets which would attract the concern of competitors trying to take over the market. Although Yeti is the best thermal cooler brand out there right now they have spurred the creation of competitors looking to get a jump in this market. The strategies of the competitors mostly rely off of the pricing of Yeti. The products are extremely similar to that of Yeti.   The construction is the same; however, the pricing is drastically more reasonable. The only problem these competitors face is the brand loyalty which Yeti has created by producing the highest quality product in its market.

Some of the competing products similar to the Yeti Tundra

Orca 40 Quart Cooler

25 Quart Bison Cooler

Pelican ProGear 65 Quart Elite Cooler

Esky Series 85 Quart Cooler