HOW TO RELAUNCH A LEGENDARY BRAND

In the world of climbing, Royal Robbins is a legend. He was the first to climb Half Dome. The first to climb El Capitan. The first staunch free-climbing advocate who refused to use pitons, bolts, and other rock-damaging hardware. And his clean climbing ethics are still used today. Not to mention, his name was “Royal”. It gets no cooler than that.

The company he and his wife Liz started was conceived on top of Half Dome and born in Basecamp in Yosemite Valley in 1968. The clothes they made were for people like them. People who lived in basecamps all over the world so they could climb, hike, trek, ride, travel, and talk about it all night around the fire.

But somewhere along the way, the brand lost its luster. While Royal’s climbing buddy and old friend Yvon Chouinard founded Patagonia and became a mainstay in outdoor gear and apparel, Royal Robbins sold the company in 2007 and it shifted toward more of a travel brand.

That’s where it was until 2018 when the brand was bought by Fenix Outdoor, which also owns brands Fjällräven, Tierra and Hanwag. And that’s when we got a call from an old friend. Erik Burbank, a client back in the Nike days and then again in 2019 when he was with Keen. He was hired as the GM of Royal Robbins and wanted to relaunch the brand. Needless to say, we were happy to help.

Liz and Royal on Half Dome. After Liz saw this picture, she decided they had to start a clothing company.

The thing about a guy like Royal Robbins is that he was gonna spend his life with someone even more impressive than he was. Royal’s wife Liz is a woman of incredible character and a helluva climber in her own right. She was the first woman to climb Half Dome and the first woman to ascend a grade 6 climb anywhere in the world. It was at the top of Half Dome that a famous picture was taken of the couple. Liz saw it, looked at her clothing and said to Royal, “We need to start a clothing company.” So they headed back down to Camp 4 and that’s just what they did.

Once we heard that story of Liz and Royal at the top of Half Dome, we had the line: “Conceived on Half Dome. Born in Basecamp.” Because every great adventure starts and ends in a basecamp somewhere. And that's where you'll find Royal Robbins clothes. 

Thanks to Erik Burbank, Gareth Martins and everyone at Royal Robbins. It’s been a long journey getting “Born in Basecamp” into the world. Thanks for inviting us on the adventure. There are lots of great San Francisco ad agencies. We’re glad you chose Division of Labor for your brand relaunch.

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The Small Agency Blog is produced by Division of Labor;I added this lining submitted the CO in there whistling thank you people as a great work greatSan Francisco ad agency and digital marketing firm that’s been named Small Agency of the Year twice by Ad Age. The award-winning creative shop services clients on a retainer or project basis. They also offer brand consulting services and hourly engagements for startups and smaller brands. Click here for a free consultation.

 

Division of Labor Lands Prestigious New Business

RSS Industries Headquarters in Los Angeles, CA. So proud of this big win.

RSS Industries Headquarters in Los Angeles, CA. So proud of this big win.

Last week, we ran a Labor Day Sale promotion in honor of Division of Labor Day. The offer: Free Advertising Campaigns to anyone working on Labor Day. We hoped it would yield some new introductions, branding opportunities and maybe a digital advertising campaign or a social media project. Boy did it ever.

We landed a huge new piece of business that we’re proud to announce today. Division of Labor is now the agency of record for the coveted Rich Siegel Sucks account. RSS is a pop culture, lifestyle brand with a social consciousness bent. The company is founded by Erik Moe—Director, Freelance Writer and part-time antagonist. The goal of RSS is to promote the notion that in this technology saturated, social media heavy, data-driven world, it’s still important to remember Rich Siegel Sucks.

The ironic thing about Division of Labor winning this prestigious piece of business is that we don’t know Rich Siegel, nor have we ever encountered the suckiness that the founder suggests. But, as one of the top ad agencies in San Francisco it’s our job to lend an outsider’s perspective, and help a brand see itself in new ways. We are hopeful this will be the case with Rich Siegel Sucks.

We look forward to delving more thoroughly into the market research. However, according to RSS founder, Erik Moe, the Rich Siegel Sucks brand has grown out of the fact that Rich Siegel does indeed Suck. Furthermore, as a freelance copywriter, Erik Moe is vastly superior—as is Division of Labor, but that’s another matter. Erik Moe’s Linkedin feed best illustrate the suckiness of Rich Siegel. However, we at Division of Labor are delighted to have been tapped by Moe to take the brand message and ongoing feud to a bigger audience.

To that end, we are sharing the complete creative brief as we plan our marketing strategy, creative presentation and media plan.  

 Main Thought/Idea

What’s the one thing we want people to remember? Rich Siegel sucks.

Support: Why does Rich Siegel suck?

  • He tries to steal work from Erik Moe.

  • On his Linkedin profile, he falsely claims to be 44-years-old.

  • He takes long lunch breaks that usually include swimming lessons, but then charges clients for the whole day.

  • He complains a lot, including statements about his neighbor’s dog.

  • His talent, such as it is, is more suited to selling vitamins than writing ad copy.  

Deliverables:

One to three social media posts to run on Erik Moe’s Linkedin page next week.

Rest assured, we are hard at work producing the requested ideas. Pending our client’s approval we look forward to sharing them with you all soon. Thanks to everyone involved in this great win.

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The Small Agency Blog is produced by Division of Labor; a top San Francisco ad agency and digital marketing firm that’s been named Small Agency of the Year twice by Ad Age. The award-winning creative shop services clients on a retainer or project basis. They also offers brand consulting services and hourly engagements for startups and smaller brands. Click here for a free consultation.