Interesting question: is car marketing is now applied to knives?

D

dirc

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Jan 31, 2018
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you all remember how ford setup the mercury brand to sell slightly different (but essentially the same car) models...

Ford Crown Victoria - Mercury Grand Marquis
Ford Escort - Mercury Tracer
Ford Explorer - Mercury Mountaineer

GM does the same thing with Chevy, Pontiac, Buick, Oldsmobile right?
chev cavalier = pontiac sunbird/sunfire = olds firenza = buick skyhawk

etc. etc. - this has been going on for a long time, and started out as a way to to either upsell a model with more luxury, or in some cases, disassociate with shortcomings of other models

...
I've been browsing DLT and have noticed many 'new' (to me anyway) companies out of Escanaba, Michigan. This is the home of the Bark River Knives right?

Does anyone know if these companies are also Bark River Knives?
Hyken knives?
Zoe Christ knives?
any others?

or is this small town in Michigan really a northern hotspot for independent knife mfgs?
 
I believe they are all owned independently and do their own designing but Bark River does some manufacturing for Zoe Christ at least. They aren't owned by the same people and not the same brand. That was my understanding of it. And yes, there are some "knife towns/regions" all over the globe.
 
Well, there's KAI's Kershaw and ZT lines and Spyderco's Byrd and the various levels of Spyderco's product lines which are built upon obvious upsell channels for its products.

Both companies also frequently discontinue knife models and roll out new ones with the obvious purpose of cutting less profitable models and promoting additional sales, although you sometimes wonder why they have discontinued obviously popular models despite continuing demand for them.
 
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GEC uses the Tidioute cutlery brand name for their higher quality knives. Although they don't own the brand I believe GEC also manufacture most of the northwoods brand knives.
 
Back to the OP's question, there is definitely a strong move by the knife companies to adopt some of the marketing tactics used by the car companies. Not talking about branding, although there's a hint of that as mentioned by the others, but more so with the increasing importance of model years as part of the sales pitch. The 2018 Spyderco catalog is old news, everyone's been excited by the 2019 offerings and I'm sure are anxiously anticipating the 2020 catalog (and if the knife makers follow in the car maker's footsteps, that will probably be coming out sometime in September:rolleyes:).

You see it with the on-line retailers; "Taking pre-orders on the 2019 so-an-so!). Knife knuts eat this up, and the big boys know it. There are differences of course. Because they're relatively simple, knives don't depreciate quite as much as cars do, so I don't think we're going to see a Kelly Blue Book of knife values, whereby price differences are noted for the varying model years, and we probably aren't going to see someone advertise their used Delica as the "2008 model year w/ low miles", but the marketing approach and buyer mentality that come into play are starting to seem more and more similar.

Just my thoughts, and I'll refrain here from saying "your mileage may vary".
 
dirc said:
you all remember how ford setup the mercury brand to sell slightly different (but essentially the same car) models...

Ford Crown Victoria - Mercury Grand Marquis
Ford Escort - Mercury Tracer
Ford Explorer - Mercury Mountaineer

GM does the same thing with Chevy, Pontiac, Buick, Oldsmobile right?
chev cavalier = pontiac sunbird/sunfire = olds firenza = buick skyhawk

etc. etc. - this has been going on for a long time, and started out as a way to to either upsell a model with more luxury, or in some cases, disassociate with shortcomings of other models

...
I've been browsing DLT and have noticed many 'new' (to me anyway) companies out of Escanaba, Michigan. This is the home of the Bark River Knives right?

Does anyone know if these companies are also Bark River Knives?
Hyken knives?
Zoe Christ knives?
any others?

or is this small town in Michigan really a northern hotspot for independent knife mfgs?
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I don't know about the knives, but if they are doing the same thing it's a terrible idea... almost every car and maker you mentioned is now out of production. Lol. Mercury, Pontiac and Oldsmobile are defunct, as is the Crown Vic, the Cavalier, the Escort, etc.
 
GABaus said:
GEC uses the Tidioute cutlery brand name for their higher quality knives. Although they don't own the brand I believe GEC also manufacture most of the northwoods brand knives.
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Partially correct. Northfield is the higher end portion. That's where you see the fancy handle materials and bolsters, long or match strike pulls being used. Gec does some manufacturing for Northwoods but so did the now defunct Queen Cutlery.

Another example is Busse knife group. Scrapyard at the bottom end, Swamp Rat as the middle and Busse at the high end. They don't have the same exact models through the line but they are offered at several different price points. A little something for everyone.
 
T.L.E. Sharp said:
I don't know about the knives, but if they are doing the same thing it's a terrible idea... almost every car and maker you mentioned is now out of production. Lol. Mercury, Pontiac and Oldsmobile are defunct, as is the Crown Vic, the Cavalier, the Escort, etc.
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Agreed. It is a terrible idea. Those companies were essentially competing with themselves.

And to answer D dirc , for the quality companies (spyderco, zt, ect) they are not doing what those now defunct car companies did. Their different lines are reflected in quality, materials, and thus price. A more appropriate example would be the various Japanese car companies where their normal line and luxury lines are very different.
 
In knives, the pattern is more in line with Scion/Toyota/Lexus, with knife companies stratifying by price point to avoid devaluing a line by putting out work with lesser quality or materials under the brand name. In some cases, there is even a bit of a parallel to the practice of using a same frame, re-skinned for a different car (Camry/Avalon), such as the Civivi Aquila and WE Practic being virtually identical in construction, with shaping and blade steel differentiating them.
 
I see a closer comparison with marketing shiny new (must have!) models with new steels and handle materials and fiddly widgets every year to keep wallets open.
 
There are design houses and manufacturers. Manufacturers produce their own product in house, while design houses contract the manufacture out. Cold Steel and CRKT, for instance, are design houses. It would appear that the companies you're talking about are design houses contracting their own private label designs through Bark River.
 
Car companies did it because they bought up other car companies and those cars had a customer base.

I've seen it happen in other places when a small guy has a really good head on his shoulders and a much bigger stale company wants a refresh. That's kind of died off now though where it becomes either a short term collaboration or if the big company is unethical they just poach the idea, rush it to market and crush the little guy. Happens all over the place. Not just knives.
 
I think this type of marketing didn't start with cars but actually the watch industry.

Way back in the 1800's there was already watch companies that had both economy and prestigious brands. But one of the more famous is Rolex -Tudor. When you read Hans Wildorf biography he has a large section on Tudor and explains clearly how a economy brand helps keep a company prospering and growing.

Basically every company has a target market. Once you have filled that market your company will hit a steep sales decline as there won't be enough new customers. So one of the ways to overcome this and reach a even larger target market of new customers is to find ways to manufacture your product cheaper and sell it for less.
Basically "selling out".
But if you trulely belive in the quality of your product like Hans did. You come up with a economy brand that helps bring in new customers and capital that helps develop new products and models for the parent company.
 
This isn't just cars and knives. A great deal of manufacturers have generic products made in the same factory. It's very common in grocery items, but can be found everywhere. It's done to reach a wider market. Those with more capitol can buy the version with the higher status, and those with less can still get more or less the same thing. It's just smart business. In a lot of cases the items are nearly identical, in some cases they are identical aside from badging. I had a Audi and a Volkswagen that were almost identical aside from the price.
 
21bangbang said:
This isn't just cars and knives. A great deal of manufacturers have generic products made in the same factory. It's very common in grocery items, but can be found everywhere. ....
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I visited an apple canning factory. They had a storeroom with dozens upon dozens of different brand labels. With electronics, it's common to find places that specialize in making and assembling circuit boards. Others simply assemble finished products from parts kits. Contract manufacturing is a big thing.
 
This is the classic example of "Branding". Consumers often become loyal to the brand, buying more out of habit than rational consideration. Lots of psychological reasons for it and manufacturers will exploit it where they can. The Marlboro man has probably sold more cigs than all the other brands combined. People identify with it.
The two biggest in the auto world are probably the ford and chevy owners. Particularly for Pickups and SUV's. Part of it is based on personal experience. I've owned 2 fords. A Bronco II and an Exploder. One went through clutches like popcorn at a movie, the other brakes. Won't buy another one. My Tahoe has been good with almost 300K on the engine. When it comes time for me to buy another tow vehicle, I'm starting my search on the chevy lot. Similar with tires. I don't care who made the car, if it has Firestone or Goodrich tires on it you can't run fast enough for me to buy it. I'll only take Michelin or Goodyear on any car or boat trailer anymore when I buy it. But that is based solely on my personal experience with all four brands.
On BF you see the same thing. CRK, Spyderco, Cold Steel, & ZT seem to have the most brand loyalists by far if my nonscientific sampling & observation techniques are any indication. CRK and ZT capturing the quality focused crowd, while Spyderco seems to appeal to the early adopters with their many innovations and large product line. As for Cold Steel... apparently there are a lot of guys who want a knife they can use to defend themselves against a Buick. :D
 
What created Henry Ford at that time is genius. Most companies still use his methods and techniques for a business organization. I personally like to read about his methods and they still work nowadays. But marketing methods can last for long. Every time you need to create something new in order to be in “trend”. Ford (brand) focuses mostly on middle-income families. They have nice cars, but they cannot be considered a “luxury”. The new marketing techniques appear daily, and most of them are now online. I’ve found this blog on FindFocus, the guy there talks about different online platforms for marketing. But different products need their own approach.
 
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Brand identification is very important in marketing, selling, and maintaining a loyal repeat customer base. You often hear things like.... I'm a Ford guy or I'm a Cheve guy. Knives are similar and I think companies cultivate their customer base with new models, features and so forth to generate sales but also to keep those customers in their flock. Case knives has had a huge following for a 100 years. Buck is similar. I'm looking for a new knife... I like Case or Buck's, they become the first choice and in most cases the only choice. Spyderco, Benchmade, and ZT are doing the same thing. It's important in sustaining their presence in the market.

I have really grown to love the Progressive Insurance Motaur ads.... companies are trying to make marketing fun too so you don't ignore their advertising. The last two are humorous... the motaur exercising on the treadmill and the motaur chief watching his herd pass by below him in a valley. Great fun.

Cold Steel I think tries to make it fun.

Frost cutlery has all of these outdoor sounding brands that they offer and they are mostly the same product. I am not a fan of their's, but I like the marketing strategy.
 
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dirc said:
you all remember how ford setup the mercury brand to sell slightly different (but essentially the same car) models...

Ford Crown Victoria - Mercury Grand Marquis
Ford Escort - Mercury Tracer
Ford Explorer - Mercury Mountaineer

GM does the same thing with Chevy, Pontiac, Buick, Oldsmobile right?
chev cavalier = pontiac sunbird/sunfire = olds firenza = buick skyhawk

etc. etc. - this has been going on for a long time, and started out as a way to to either upsell a model with more luxury, or in some cases, disassociate with shortcomings of other models

...
I've been browsing DLT and have noticed many 'new' (to me anyway) companies out of Escanaba, Michigan. This is the home of the Bark River Knives right?

Does anyone know if these companies are also Bark River Knives?
Hyken knives?
Zoe Christ knives?
any others?

or is this small town in Michigan really a northern hotspot for independent knife mfgs?
Click to expand...
NOVA- Nova, Omega, Ventura and Apolo
 
Different brands means different blade types, colors, and hardware options.
Nothing wrong with that!!
 
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