The Kato Collar: Guardian of the Gridiron
Guardian Athletics is an innovation-driven company built around the belief that there is a better way to approach football safety on and off the football football field. Their flagship product The Kato Collar is a part of a system that works towards optimal protection. Through gear, training and innovative products Guardian Athletics builds confidence in the game and prevents traumatic head injuries.
Introduction
Youth participation in football is at an all-time low with the fear of concussions running rampant around the football community. Guardian Athletics aims to provide the football community with an expert analysis of the situation while providing a piece of equipment they believe has the potential to save the game; the Kato Collar.
Using trade shows to make connections and spread awareness about the Kato collar, Guardian Athletics wanted to develop a strategy to gain brand recognition amongst football insiders, and increase their total sales of Kato Collars.
The goal was to design a trade show experience that would help Guardian Athletics attract visitors to their booth and educate them about Guardian Athletic's mission and message, all while promoting their product: The Kato Collar.
Early Research: The Deep Dive
The research began with a deep dive into the world of football neck collars; researching the existing "collar stigma" present in the football community, the potential opposition to Guardian Athletics in the market and the threat that concussion and CTE were posing on the future livelihood of the game of football. During this research key insights that were learned that would help understand and better help Guardian Athletics overcome some of their hurdles.
Key discoveries included:
- That "collar stigma" is rooted in the idea the neck collars provide no additional protection from potential head injuries and simply a representation of a bygone era of football that emphasized power and brute force rather than speed and agility; which is how the game is played currently.
- That there a significant downward trend in youth football participation which was directly correlated to fears that the game is unsafe.
- That there were several other collars on the market which would provide competition to the Kato Collar. However these collars aim at protecting players differently than the Kato Collar and none position themselves as "Thought Leaders" in the world of football safety, rather they just position themselves as another piece of equipment.
Creating A Quality Trade Show Experience
Guardian Athletics main point of connection with their target audience of "football insiders" was at football trade shows; so creating a unique experience in a trade show format that also educated visitors, encouraged engagement with the product and promoted follow up methods was our key design goal.
In designing the layout of Guardian Athletics trade show booth, we wanted to create a space that would break from the monotony of trade shows, a relaxing atmosphere inviting the guest in to relax and charge their phones, engaging with either the iPad's, the interactive model or with the highly trained and personable staff. A raffle for Vikings tickets also serves as a method of drawing visitors too the booth, and getting an email address from them in order to enter the raffle.
Moving Forward
After the trade show design was completed, a 12 month implementation plan was constructed, detailing the process of Guardian Athletics next twelve months. This would include the continued development of a youth size collar, adapting the trade show experience to be present at high school and college football games, as well as summer camps and clinics.