Attention all men: Wisconsin’s best-kept secret revealed

Sarah Schupanitz
Sun, 20 Nov 2011 12:11:40 +0000
Business, Experience, business, Duluth Trading Co, experience, Madison, Schupanitz

The majority of Wisconsin men would probably agree that shopping – especially for clothing – isn’t something they would willingly spend hours doing. But one retail store in Mount Horeb, Wis. has accomplished the impossible: getting men excited and willing to shop.

Storefront of Duluth Trading Co. Photo by Sarah Schupanitz.

The Duluth Trading Company flagship store opened just west of Madison in Mt. Horeb last October and has since attracted longtime loyalists and fans from not only the Midwest but also Japan, Alaska, Hawaii and more, in addition to new customers who are pleasantly surprised by the welcoming store and authentic clothing.

The brand’s beginnings date to 1989 when two brothers invented the Bucket Boss in Duluth, Minn. They watched construction workers and tradesmen struggle to carry their tools in an unorganized bucket each day and invented a canvas tool organizer to solve the problem.

This simple invention led to the creation of the Portable Products catalog that showcased products for tool storage and organization. In 1993, the company became Duluth Trading, later moving to its current headquarters in Belleville, Wis., continuing with the spirit of “innovation for the job site” and expanding into apparel for men.

In 2002, Duluth Trading created the product that made it famous. Remember the last time the plumber was over? Remember not wanting to stand behind him fearing the view while he fixed that leaky faucet underneath the sink? Well, Duluth Trading has got it covered. Literally.

Enter the Longtail T. Nearly every shirt Duluth Trading makes is three inches longer than an ordinary shirt. Three inches is all it took to discover the “Solution to the Plumber’s Butt.”

“It’s a big, stupid, simple innovation. Nobody thought of it until now, but it definitely fixes Plumber’s Butt,” Suzanne Harms, Marketing Director for Duluth Trading, said about the three added inches.

It may not be worthy of New York Fashion Week, but this sort of ingenuity has created a sense of deep brand loyalty and trust. The company prides itself on authenticity and listening to the needs of tradesmen. Simply look at their website and see the nearly 3,000 reviews for the Men’s Short Sleeve Longtail T alone, 98 percent of which fawn over the greatness of the “best T-shirt.”

“The whole business is inspired by what is happening with real people in our area,” Harms said.

Much of the company’s success and authenticity can be attributed to the Men’s Trades Panel. This panel is comprised of 10 “tough-as-nails” Wisconsin men who are contractors, plumbers or carpenters who help with product testing as well as provide ideas for products.

“Designed and Tested by Tradesmen,” the Duluth Trading tagline, is not only the heart of the recent marketing campaign, but also a major internal motivation.

“Is it manly? Does it work?” These are the questions Harms and her fellow employees ask every day about their products.

“You’ve got to think about the customer. What do they love about the brand already? It’s illustrative. It’s definitely a great storyteller. I didn’t write anything for the ads that wasn’t already said in the catalog,” Harms said.

The catalog itself is a true testament to the authenticity of the company. Since 1993, when the first edition was mailed to customers, the catalog has been full of detailed illustrations showcasing men wearing the products in extreme and rough conditions.

“There’s such a legacy here,” Harms said about the men’s catalog. “The illustration allows us to make a T-shirt look heroic. It allows us to point out features much better than a photograph would. The men’s brand has this almost Mark Twain storytelling capacity.”

Suede boot from Duluth Trading Co. Photo by John Soper.

The current advertising campaign uses the personality and storytelling ability of the catalog in combination with the ingenuity of well-differentiated products and product names to create memorable and sassy advertisements.

The television, online, radio and out-of-home billboard advertisements began running in test markets such as Minneapolis, Denver and Madison early in 2010. Both the print and television ads are all illustrated like the catalog and use sharp humor to attract attention, with each spot focusing on one product attribute:

“Duluth Trading Fire Hose Work Pants. Tougher than an angry beaver’s teeth.”

“Duluth Trading Ballroom Jeans. Crouch without singing soprano.”

“Buck Naked Underwear. The most comfortable underwear there is. No pinch. No stink. No sweat.”

There’s no denying that the advertisements and especially the product names are unexpected and full of personality. “A lot of its the voice of the brand and what we have: the guts to name our products,” Harms said. “Ballroom is … you can interpret it the way you want to interpret it.”

The visual style and subject matter of the television and banner ads is also unexpected, Principal and Digital Director of Planet Propaganda Ben Hirby said. “It’s stark almost. Line drawings on a creamy, beige background with red and black; it’s really stripped down visually. Viewers are forced to focus on the subject matter.”