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Leatherman
What’s more natural than tools in a garage. In today’s Brand Garage, we’re looking at the ubiquitous Leatherman tools. They make 16 addictive little pocket-sized devices plus an adapter. They also manufacture about 15 different kinds of knives for those who want more cut and less tool. We’re talking tools today, however. Maybe the knives will come in a later exam. With a Leatherman tool you can cut, slice, saw, screw, scissor, file, snap, open, pry, ratchet, drill, poke, tweeze, squeeze, measure, plier and more. The famed Swiss Army Knife has some serious competition in the tough-as-nails, superfunctional Leatherman tools. And the Leatherman is just flat cool. Starting in 1975, Tim Leatherman fashioned his first multipurpose tool pattern out of cardboard in a Tehran hotel room to fix his cranky automobile on a long trip across Europe. By ’77 he’d created It’s tooltime. TT: Kate, is that a Leatherman you have strapped on your belt? KR: It is. Do you remember the day you got your first Leatherman tool? TT: You always remember your first Leatherman. LOL JJ: For me it was my Swiss Army Knife. Maybe that’s another Brand Garage. KR: I was introduced to them when I was dating my then-boyfriend, now husband, and I asked him if he had a nail file. He whipped out his Leatherman attached to his belt (he is from Kentucky) and ascertained the metal nail file from within the collection of tools. Unfortunately, the metal file didn’t work on my manicure, but I was enamored with the handy little thing ever since - so much so that I bought my own. FM: A woman with a Leatherman. I don’t know whether to fear you or ask you to fix my car. TT: A country girl can survive. KR: I’m from Jersey. GS: Fred, you were right to fear her. (laughs) TT: I’m a Leatherman man, to be sure. I have lost more than a few Micras at airports since 9/11. (to see a Micra: http://www.leatherman.com/products/tools/micra/default.asp) As they inspect the little scissors, screwdrivers, file, etc., the security people look at me like I’m trying to board with a double-barreled machete. It pains me to give it up. First chance, I immediately go buy another one. The Micra is one of the handiest things I have ever owned. I also had one of their Super Tools, but one of my sons took it to college. KR: I lost my Leatherman Squirt at the Providence, RI, airport. I tried negotiating with the security agent by explaining that it had made it through the Richmond, VA, airport – but no dice – I had to fork over the little guy. It was turquoise, too; who knew Leatherman tools could be cute? JJ: A Squirt? That is why I carry a Swiss Army Knife. OK, but I do have a Leatherman, too. GS: Somehow I now imagine an undisclosed government warehouse filled with confiscated Leatherman tools – a cavernous chamber in which hundreds of thousands of the do-it-all devices are forever entombed. Indeed, though these devilishly clever tiny titans of tool nirvana might not pass security screens, they have more than passed the tried-and-true test of handy-dandy consumer loyalty. TT: I have contributed generously to their collection. JJ: There is a warehouse in Wytheville, VA, that auctions off the stuff confiscated at airport security checkpoints. Only thing is, everything is sold by the pallet. Need 10,000 assorted used Leatherman tools or a pallet of fingernail clippers? Why someone needs a pallet of fingernail clippers, I don't know. But the pallet of Leatherman tools means that you'll have plenty of Christmas gifts. MW: All the maintenance men at Kings Dominion (a theme park between Richmond and D.C.) had these tools and could spend hours talking about them. Listening to them describe their Leatheman was similar to listening to them talk about their favorite hunting dogs. TT: A man’s relationship with his Leatherman is not unlike that between a man and his dog. That’s the pure, addictive core of the product experience. Men are genetically predisposed to be attracted to sports, dogs and tools. FM: And beer. JC: Been there, seen that. My father-in-law came to my son’s high school graduation (we thought it would never happen, but that’s another story) with his Leatherman in his pocket. Swipe. Confiscated at the door of the ceremony. He sent my brother-in-law out to dig through the box of confiscated weapons to retrieve it and take it to the car. Almost missed hearing my son’s name called. Don’t separate a man from his Leatherman. GS: Leatherman tools prove you don’t need to be big to garner a big brand-loyal following. It starts, as with all great brands, with a simple, authentic truth. A story. A vision. In the case of Tim Leatherman, necessity was indeed the mother of invention. Even though his early inventions were met with quizzical skepticism as companies tried to “categorize” this revolutionary pocket powerhouse, Tim knew he had something big… er, small. FM: Both. GS: “Tim Leatherman.” The name just sounds like the inventor of a tool, doesn’t it? A thousand monkeys typing on a thousand typewriters for a thousand years couldn’t have created a better fit. TT: But could those monkeys have created the Warren Commission report? GS: I thought they did. JJ: Never underestimate a monkey with a typewriter. TT: I can vouch for that. But back to the Leatherman: I was attracted by the utility, but after using them, I was connected to the realness of the story. People who have a Leatherman know it’s a part of them. Being tough and durable is just information. The truth and history of the company made me believe it was honest. No branded fakery. I had pocketknives for years but you can literally feel that honesty in your hand with these Leatherman tools. Their true story is told through the authenticity of their products. There is some brand Glue in this equation. GS: OK, you sold me. I want yours. Hand it over. TT: Now you’re talking smackdown. Nobody gives their Leatherman over willingly. You will have to pry it from my cold, dead hands. GS: Or dress like airport security and watch you fork it over happily. MP: Did somebody say Glue? I was wondering how you’d get Glue into this. TT: Glue: The powerful connection holding the inside of a company to the outside. The bond between a customer and a brand. Glue. Leatherman has it. I see a lot of me-too products that are like Leatherman tools out there now. Swiss Army is available in a couple of tool-ish forms. Wenger has created the most astoundingly crazy-looking multipurpose tools I have ever seen: Even after seeing that 141-tool monster, I still want a simple, functional, durable Leatherman. I am loyal because I believe them. I trust them. I am Glued to them. There is something to learn in this customer tale. We like to say People Believe People. True. But those people have to be telling the truth. I feel the truth in Leatherman products. They have aligned their internal straight through to their external and bonded that relationship. GS: Well, there is the notion that some things seem too good to be true, no matter who you hear it from. And I’m just as cynical about some people as I am about most marketing. TT: I didn’t believe Nixon even when I was a kid, so I see your point. JJ: I'm very loyal to my Victorinox Swiss Army Knife. I've had four of them since middle school. (Maybe having spent one too many years in the Boy Scouts with the "deluxe" Scout knife brainwashed me into having to carry this thing in my pocket at all times.) There have been so many jams that my Swiss Army Knife has helped me out of. Once I had my car break down (in the days before cell phones) in a rural area, and was able to fix my car with it and get home. In college, I fixed my bike with it countless times. And it has played a major role in fixing equipment in many, many new biz pitches. I have a Leatherman, too, but it doesn't fit into my pocket and I forget I have it. KR: Easily remedied. Get a smaller one. LOL GS: It would be fair to ask how we know the Tim Leatherman “story” wasn’t as crafted as that of a certain hamburger-peddling clown. It certainly isn’t out of the question and has been done before—a “myth” is scripted to lend a sense of history and authenticity to brands and products that are days, not decades, old. TT: Maybe I am a sucker. But in this case, that would be a tougher sell when such a fallacy would be quite easy to unveil and the competition would have been happy to play Toto yanking the curtain back on the Wizard. GS: Even so, if the product didn’t live up to its claims and, more importantly, your expectations, it would ultimately fail. The greatest testament lies in those “me-too” knockoffs and variations on the original innovation. But the Leatherman brand seems as sturdy, strong and enduring as its products. Just one visit to their Web site and you know this is the real deal. It looks, feels and functions with the snap and precision of the tools themselves. With each visit, you’ll find something new and hear that inner weekend warrior urge that “just one more” Leatherman would be a worthy investment. Beyond products, they have carefully built an entire lifestyle market with the “Leatherman World.” Who’d have imaged a toolbelt-in-your-pocket would become a cultural statement. And judging from its devout following, “Leatherman is more than a tool. It’s a way of life.” That line isn’t a sales pitch. It’s a sure promise. JJ: Call me an iconoclast, but I still stand behind my Swiss Army Knife. GS: A lot of folks do. Swiss Army is THE real McCoy. Its name is synonymous with versatility. “Swiss Army Knife” is used to describe the products of other companies whose versatility needs qualifying. “That new ‘BassOmatic 500’ has so many features, it’s like the Swiss Army Knife of fishing poles.” TT: Wait, the BassOmatic is the Swiss Army Knife of blenders. GS: Fishing poles, blenders, same thing. The Swiss Army Knife dates back to 1897, so its almost mythic heritage and authenticity are well grounded. What amazes about Victorinox/Swiss Army is that it has created a brand as versatile as its original knife (or was that Wenger?). One trip to its Web site and you’ll see what I mean (http://www.swissarmy.com). Check that lifestyle brand lineup: Apparel, Travel Gear, Timepieces, Cutlery and, finally, “Multi-Tools” (where you find the classic Swiss Army Knives). It does seem interesting that the invention that launched the brand is last in the lineup of categories. Perhaps it’s like the steadfast brand anchor in the tug-o-war between diehard Leatherman fanatics and Swiss Army regulars. JJ: A battle for the soul of the tool lover. GS: Exactly. The site is clean, versatile and seamlessly aligns with the perceived V/SA brand. This is a quality site that bespeaks a quality product line, though it is a far more “sterile” experience, devoid of the “real man” personality of Leatherman. Both are inherently authentic – true to their origins, history and developing legacy. Quite frankly, these two brands know themselves and their audience well. I’d say the world is big enough for the two of ‘em, and is a right better place for it. And if something goes haywire, we’re sure to have just the right tool for the job, right in our pocket. TT: OK, so much love surrounding multipurpose tools makes me nervous. Kind of scary that products can garner such devotion. Looks like we should all hold hands around the fire, yank out our Leatherman Waves and Swiss Army Knives and sing 'Kumbaya.' I have Googled several pages and found nothing but praise for Leatherman (well, there was that one porn site about “Leather Man,” but that’s another Brand Garage, perhaps). Seems they have a brand lovefest going unless they have also created a tool to snip off the negative ramblings of bloggers that inherently trickle out to the Internet on so many other products. GS: Well, quite frankly, these two brands know themselves and their audience well. They have solid reputations build on solid products and customer service, and great stories result. Every time you pry open your Leatherman or switch your Swiss Army utensil, there’s a myth in the making. TT: Or a truth. GS: True. At a time when most brands can’t seem to fix anything right and consumer cynicism is high and loyalties are faltering, the world needs more love — so let the pocket tool festival carry on! I’d say the world is big enough for these two sturdy brands, and is a right better place for it. And if something goes haywire, we’re sure to have just the right tool for the job, right in our pocket. Big R's Brand Garage will be happy to discuss your brand. Just send us your product or e-mail Terry Taylor or Geoff Stone. Click here to return to the main brand garage page.
Opinions expressed here and in any corresponding comments are the personal opinions of the original authors, not necessarily of Big River and may not have been reviewed in advance by Big River.
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