Bad news for Supra?

[chrisk]

Just saw on Facebook that Liquid Force signed a long term marketing contract with Axis Boats.

[KG's Supra24]

Link?

That does suck.

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[Swamplandkarl]

Just saw on Facebook that Liquid Force signed a long term marketing contract with Axis Boats.

Axis must be giving them a butt load of cash, my buddy bought one of these last year and its not all that for sure.....

[chrisk]

Couldn't link the FB photo from my phone, there's a promo for it right on LF's site:

http://www.liquidforce.com/index-us.html

[thescott]

I wonder if having that relationship with LF really did anything to boost Skier's Choice sales? I have nothing to base this on, but I have a feeling that the LF branded Supra/Moombas weren't flying off the shelf. This kind of stuff happens all the time and I don't think it's an indicator of a company's stability. I'm sure they had some sort of contract in place that's run it's course and they probably couldn't come to terms going forward. Plus, Axis has worked hard to quickly make a name and to improve on their reputation. I'd think they'd probably be going after deals like this pretty aggressively. Now if Supra starts dropping a bunch of their riders, I'd start to wonder what was up. I don't make much of this though other than the standard nature of business/marketing relationships.

[chrisk]

I understand what you're saying about the LF branded boats, but these kind of marketing relationships lead to the kind of exposure that is priceless to a boat company. Exhibit A would be when the Supra 242 was the flagship for Brostock. That undoubtedly led to a boost in sales. I just think its sad SC lost a relationship with one of the more historic, strong wake brands.

[Swamplandkarl]

I understand what you're saying about the LF branded boats, but these kind of marketing relationships lead to the kind of exposure that is priceless to a boat company. Exhibit A would be when the Supra 242 was the flagship for Brostock. That undoubtedly led to a boost in sales. I just think its sad SC lost a relationship with one of the more historic, strong wake brands.

Sad that its all about the money these days..the pro riders and companys will endorse with who will cough up the most money....I can't blame some of the companys cutting back on endorsement dollars in this economy....

[ifinallygota21v]

I think this relationship all "cheapin" the of brand. You can't compare supra to axis or even moomba at that. Axis has to be one of the cheapest made and looking boat I've ever seen

[cadunkle]

I think thescott is on to something. Personally I own a Supra (obviously) and ride a LF board with LF bindings... Yet I had no idea Skiers Choice and LF had any sort of relationship. Even if I knew it would have had no bearing on my choice to buy a Supra or my choice to buy a LF board.

Of course me buying a 20 year old boat doesn't get Skiers Choice anything. I think those who are not in the market for a new boat every few years probably think differently about their purchases. The latest fad or whim doesn't matter as it's a long term decision, whether you're like me and buying an older boat for a long time or have a little stashed away and are buying a new boat you intend to keep for a long time. By a long time I mean decades, not years.

[chrisk]

I'm not really following what you're saying, currently 2 of the 10 available models you can select on Supra's web site have the Liquid Force logo on them. Plus Supra has been pulling Liquid Force's Brostock event. The two brands have been pretty publicly intertwined for the last three years.

I think with any marketing relationship like that each brand isn't trying to get people to say, "Liquid Force is partnered with Supra? I love Supra so I'm going to buy Liquid Force boards." I think what's going on is that they're using each other for exposure. The Liquid Force logo and products get displayed at Supra events and the Supra boats get put on display at Liquid Force events. They're trying to push their products in front of customers that they wouldn't otherwise get the attention of.

Over on the Moomba forum, Rick Tinker explained that Supra's contract came to its 3 year end and they chose not to renew it. Whether it was that or Axis just offered more money or incentives or whatever is beyond me. That aside, I'm worried about SC not really being associated with any outside organizations. Every other major brand seems to have their hand in something, whether it be wakesurf championships, pro tours, 3-event certified boats, etc, and SC doesn't anymore.