Interviews with existing long-standing customers highlighted broad and nuanced characteristics. Most importantly was the reverence and connectedness hunters have for the wild world. Interviewees de-emphasized the importance of pulling the trigger. They instead spoke of family, lineage, mentors, life lessons, values, respect, mastery, and a deep abiding love of wild animals and the places they live.
Seeking to Understand
Sitka is a transformational brand with big aspirations. Founded on a simple premise that hunters were way behind the curve realizing the advantages of apparel technologies that could keep them dry and warm in the wilderness. Founder, Jonathan Hart, seized the opportunity in the creation of the first truly technical apparel brand for hunters. Riding this wave, Sitka became the premiere hunting apparel brand in the US, but a host of competitors were quickly fast on their heels.
Our Partnership
Focus
Compass + Nail’s work brought to the surface a path forward that has enabled the brand to “leap the aisle” by creating a much wider aperture that now defines the Sitka brand beyond the endemic hunting category, opening the door to new categories of product, and financial opportunity heretofore unimaginable. Re-architecting the brand and operations was undertaken focusing on the Brand Compass as a means to operationalize purpose.
Demonstrated Impact
Sitka outpaced growth of its competitors in the category immediately, scaling 5x over the first 4 years post implementation while exceeding profit goals year over year. In the first year of the new strategy, contribution dollars of new customers went from a negative $54 to a positive $114, shifting profitability and scalability in dramatic fashion.