Brand loyalty is as old as sports itself. After all, "brand loyalty" is really just a variation of the "hometown team" concept, where fans are encouraged to support their local heroes. In Boston, we root for the Red Sox, the Bruins, the Patriots and the Celtics. On the international stage, we root for athletes from the United States.
Why? Because we all want to belong to something bigger than ourselves. And we want to be associated with a winner. Our professional teams give us that sense of "community."
Equipment manufacturers understand this phenomenon. I’m closing in on 60, but I still remember the first baseball mitt I earned with my own money (selling greeting cards, door-to-door), a sweet Spaulding signed by Ron Santo. As a diehard Red Sox fan, I never considered rooting for the Cubs, but I guarantee you that I followed Santo’s fortunes in the box scores each day. For my eighth-grade graduation, Mom bought me a Jim Fregosi-model mitt, and I immediately switched allegiances (which is forgivable, seeing I was all of 14 years old).
Hockey players, including goalies, are no different. They buy sticks and skates and protective gear endorsed by their favorite players. And those players, depending where they’re situated in the NHL constellation of stars, make a pretty penny for putting their names and likenesses on those products. It’s marketing, and it’s all fair game in the sports universe.
But what happens when a goaltender admires an NHL star — say Tuukka Rask for the Bruins, or Henrik Lundqvist for the Rangers — who might be built very differently and play the position very differently than their adoring fan? Rask wears Vaughn, which is a great fit for his quick, athletic style. But even Mike Vaughn admits that his gear isn’t the optimal choice for a less athletic, "blocking style" netminder. Lundqvist might be a longtime Bauer athlete, but his pads and catch glove have numerous modifications and hardly resemble the models that kids and parents will find on the shelf of their local hockey shop.
"The stuff you see on TV isn’t necessarily what you find in a goalie store," said Stephen "Wack" Serwacki, goaltending brand manager for Pure Goalie. "A lot of these guys have their gear heavily modified to suit their individual needs. We live in a time where companies are really starting to listen to us and design gear based on our needs as goalies.
"Back in the day, you didn’t have that luxury. Pads were just … pads," he said. "You got what was available and you liked it. Now, every manufacturer has something uniquely special and there’s something for everyone. Do those trends stem from how Ryan Miller likes his strapping? Maybe. Would a company ever design gear based around someone like Jonas Hiller, who heavily modifies his stuff? Probably not."
Often, a player’s idol is the influence for brand loyalty. Here, Bay State goalie Cooper Fitzpatrick poses with Stanley Cup champ Matt Murray. After Murray steered the Penguins to back-to-back Cups, Cooper told his dad, Joe, "I am so happy for him and the Penguins — they deserve it. And I was thinking maybe I should get some Vaughn gear like him so I can win the league title next year!"
Though most pro goalies have sponsorship deals, not every one adheres to the single-brand mantra. Take Cory Schneider, the Marblehead, Mass., native who is now the No. 1 goaltender for the New Jersey Devils. During his summer sessions with Stop It Goaltending, Schneider has sampled gear from other manufacturers. But to this day, he wears CCM gloves (formerly Reebok) and Vaughn leg pads, because that’s the gear he likes best. But that’s a rarity in today’s NHL, where gear makers want their goalies boasting their logos from head to toe.
Sometimes, pro goalies change brands. The collegiate and pro goalies at Stop It are constantly experimenting with each other’s stuff. The Montreal Canadiens’ Carey Price, a longtime Vaughn netminder, set goalie Internet chat rooms ablaze a few years back when he — gasp! — switched to CCM gear.
Another great example is Scott Darling, the former University of Maine goalie who just signed a four-year deal with Carolina. His recent Player’s Tribune essay, entitled "Goodbye, Chicago," featured a great old photo of Darling from his teen years sporting Brian’s gear, the same brand he wears today. But he hasn’t always been a Brian’s "guy."
"I wore Reebok in juniors and college, then wore Vaughn for my second year pro," said Darling. "I switched to Brian’s when I played in Wheeling in the ECHL, and I fell in love with the gear. I don’t need to tweak anything with their equipment; it fits me and my style perfectly."
That’s the key, say experts. Fit and performance need to go hand-in-hand.
"Brand loyalty can be helpful or hindrance depending on the brand," said Paul Stanton of Sports Etc. in Arlington, Mass. "For a Vaughn or a Brian’s, it’s helpful as both manufacturers have cultivated loyalty through making positive improvements while not completely reinventing the wheel year after year. We find goalies are creatures of habit, and that while they like ‘new stuff,’ they also crave familiarity.
"With a company like CCM, which recently divested itself from the Reebok name, it works because they have two distinct lines but a shared name," he said. "Thankfully, most goalies and parents we encounter are willing to compromise brand loyalty if they think they can perform better with another brand."
Serwacki also points out that "brand loyalty and brand desirability are similar but different.
"The first goalie you see who influences you is usually the guy you want to mirror," he said. "Brand loyalty only happens after you’ve developed a lineage of gear in your arsenal.
"When you hear someone say, ‘I’m a CCM guy’ or ‘I’m a Vaughn guy,’ that loyalty comes from familiarity," said Serwacki. "Some experience it sooner than later. In a lot of cases, most high school or junior level players have been in enough gear to know what he or she likes. At that point, you have a pretty good idea of what brand you like to play in. Brand loyalty usually starts around that age.
Companies in the goalie gear game, he said, are more concerned with providing good equipment, as a matter of survival in a competitive market.
"The only way a company can see themselves out of that conversation is if they don’t adapt with the times," said Serwacki. "A company that continues to roll out the same old product, without any upgrades or improvements in features and performance, will be left behind.
"Companies that innovate and strive to constantly push the envelope will push forward as long as the changes aren’t gimmicky," he said. "We’re lucky to live in a time with so many resources at our fingertips. Goalie gear companies benefit from that luxury, just like goalies do."
According to CCM’s Sonya Di Biase, "brand consistency" is important to ensure that separate pieces of gear work together seamlessly.
"CCM knee protectors are designed to fit and rotate with the knee cradle designs of CCM goal pads," she said. "We don’t test our products with competitive brands and we design our products to fit and perform together.
"I also recommend goalies to try on a chest protector with goal pants as they are designed to fit together," said Di Biase. "Our CCM goal pants have straps that connect with the CCM chest protector so that both pieces integrate together with the goalie’s body and movements in the crease for the best performance."
Bauer’s Spencer Freer said the company’s relationships with pro goaltenders is crucial, but not at the expense of consumer input across the board.
"NHL and pro goalies are a great starting point to bounce ideas off of, or get very honest feedback, as the gear is a tool of their trade and they don’t mess around with anything they don’t believe in," said Freer.
Sounding a similar note, Brian’s Chris Joswiak said, "The most important thing for a kid to do is try everything on in store and see what feels the best for them. Once they find a product or brand they believe in, they can continue to gain loyalty and trust in them."
One of his star clients, Darling, agreed wholeheartedly.
"You just have to do what you’re comfortable with," said Darling. "If you need to wear different pads, glove and blocker, that’s fine as long as it works for you. There is no need to be locked in to one brand for your whole set."
