The Saddleback Family

Saddleback leather generally populates their online and social media platforms with either pictures or videos.  Both formats will generally have a promotional or explanatory purpose.  For example, their Instagram page, https://www.instagram.com/saddlebackbags/, is mostly populated by promotional ad photos.  They have some basic pictures of their products, but most have some copy with clear promotional intent.  Their YouTube page however, https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=saddleback+leather, while also serving a promotional purpose, is populated by videos which are primarily intended to demonstrate and explain the construction and design of their various products.

 

SB.’s Facebook page lends itself more readily to the visual aesthetic of the company’s brand.  Because they are able to set a background photo (which in this case is a wood grain) with overlayed logo and motto, the visual presentation is well in line with the feel and spirit of the company.  Their Instagram page is another matter.  Admittedly, I am not sure what the customization limitations are with Instagram, so this critique may be due to no fault of their own.  However, where their Youtube page is dark and warm in line with the type of product their peddling, their Instagram page is bright, and uninviting… at least to my eye.  The background is white which presents itself as cold and disconnected.  Their logo and motto are present, but small and easily ignorable.  The pictures (mostly ads) are generic in feeling and I find myself less than compelled to scroll down to see below the “fold”, as it were.

Through the myriad videos found on SB.’s Youtube page, one will find everything from reviews of their products to design and construction explanations offered by Dave (the owner), to quirky clips showing their products’ endurance and strength being tested in some of the most unlikely ways (including being bitten by a crocodile) to touching videos of Dave and his family working with some of the charities they support… and more.  There is a comprehensive representation of who they are and what they do, to be found there.  Instagram, again perhaps because of its nature, displays far less range of representation.  While there are some videos imbedded with the postings, I feel much less engaged by the platform in this case.  I am not compelled to scroll and search for either product of company information and insight.  I get a sense of what they sell, but their mission and spirit?  Not so much.

I think we’ve beaten down the Instagram horse enough now that it’s safe to say it is well and truly dead.  So, let’s focus on what is working for SB.’s online presence in the form of Youtube.  Without a doubt, I would say that the content of their video offerings fosters a desire to further engage with them.  As I write this, I am seeing video covers of Dave and the gang on safari, at home in front of a fireplace, in front of a waterfall and standing next to Stone Henge in England and all of this before I’ve scrolled down.  I’m fascinated.  I can’t wait to find out what he’s doing, where’s he going, who’s that with him, hey wait a minute!!!  I’ve been there… and with that same bag!!!  Awesome man!!!  Nicholas Ind says it best:  The company’s “cultural cohesion… comes to life because of the people that join [it].” (Ind, ch. 10, pg. 12, Living the Brand) No such engagement to be incited on their Instagram page.

There is no question that there is a significant community of loyal SB. customers and followers.  I’m, of course, one of them.  There is also no question that the company’s online presence is the glue that sustains that community.  All their platforms are significant contributors to that effort, but Youtube is definitely at the top of the list… and not just because of the videos produced by the company.  There are a great many people who have a word or two to say on Saddleback’s behalf (and a few critics as well).  Many consumers and enthusiasts enjoy posting their own reviews of the company’s products or simply demonstrating their creative uses and adventures with SB.’s line of bags and more.  Dave has been very open and welcoming of comment and I think that gives his customers a sense of ownership and share in the company’s success.  As Douglas Atkin says, “It’s better to have a 100 people who love you than a million people who kind of like you.” (Atkin, chapter 4, pg. 9 All Together Now: The New and Vital Strategy of “Community”.)

Saddleback Leather Branding

Saddleback Leather’s primary character lies in its simple ruggedness.  Everything about both the Brand Identity as well as the resulting Brand Image as defined by Lalaounis in chapter three, exudes these qualities.  Their original logo was an image of Dave’s (the founder’s) dog Blue with a sombrero and “Saddleback Leather” in a scripted font, stamped into the leather below or next to it.  Currently, their logo is an image of an actual leather tag in tan color with stitching and the words Saddleback Leather Co. in typed letters stamped into it.  The font is simple, in all caps., and the first letter of each word set at a larger font.  The “S” for Saddleback and the “L” for Leather are slightly overlayed top to bottom and there are three heavy duty rivets with stitching running between.  Like their products, the look is simple, clean, accessible in design and clear in meaning.  The idea of using an actual image of their own physical leather label as their print and online logo is actually quite ingenious. There is simply no question with respect to what it is they do. 

Amongst the twelve Archetypes that Stephen Houraghan calls out via his Brand Master Academy video, I would say the closest is that of the Explorer. As stated above, the characteristics of ruggedness and utility align with the ideals of travel and adventure which is also directly related to the Saddleback brand story.  We’ll talk more about that later, but for now, suffice it to say that in nearly every aspect of the brand’s visual and advertising presence, there is some expression of exotic travel and their product’s rightful place by your side (or on you back as the case may be) during such adventures.  One example of this would be their website’s home page.  The background, behind the logo and heading, is an old-style, parchment map showing mountains and longitude/latitude lines, etc.  Their products are designed to go anywhere in the world with you and serve you well for as long as you choose to keep them!

Saddleback Leather is primarily a designer and manufacturer of the highest quality leather bags one can buy.  They also sell other miscellaneous leather products but at their roots, their heart and soul, lies in their bags.  Be it a briefcase, a backpack, a duffle bag or a suitcase, all of their designs are made with the same essential design philosophy; indestructibility.  They want their projects – and therefore, their company – to evoke a sense of heritage… something that will serve one’s progeny.  In fact, their brand mantra, as Alina Wheeler put it in Designing Brand Identity, has a poetic quality to it: “They’ll fight over it when you’re dead!”  As one might look back at an antique pocket watch that once belonged to their great grandfather, so it is that they hope their bags will be thusly cherished for years to come.  This sense of heritage is also evoked in the visual design of their media.  Their website uses simple, classic, almost old western themed fonts and “colorscapes”.  There is a sense of antiquity with which they wish to be associated.    

 Dave Munson, the founder and president of Saddleback Leather, tells of his inspiration to start designing full grain, durable leather bags as having been born out of an experience of his own while living in Central America.  He was working for a charity organization and found himself constantly in need of purchasing new bags to replace ones he might have only recently bought because they were not standing up to the kind of heavy-duty usage and mileage that was being demanded of them.  In his effort to find a longer-term solution, he discovered the idea of full-grain (as opposed to genuine for example) leather.  This cut of the material maintained the entire natural thickness of the cow’s multi-layered skin.  Left complete, the strength of the material was significantly stronger that thinner cuts.  He then worked on designing pockets and enclosers that would be functional yet secure, sans breakable parts… i.e., no zippers!!  Dave’s goal was to create a bag that could hold up to any kind of usage – gentle or abusive – he could throw at it.  Realizing he might not be alone in his desire of a better, stronger, more capable bag, he turned his attention to selling his idea.  And so it was that Saddleback leather was born.  

The company’s visual identity embodies the elements that Dave himself was trying to put into the construction of his bags.  It’s simple, straight forward, rugged in function but clean in form.  The fonts, images and characters all serve the adventurer’s archetype and help to support the Brand Story.  

The best way to discuss the emotion connected to the various elements of the Saddleback brand is to describe my own as it relates to my discovery and experience as an owner, user and enthusiast of SB Leather.  As I mentioned in my previous posting, I first learned of S.B. Leather while traveling in an elevator in Moscow, Russia, with my wife and infant son.  It was a special trip that I look back on fondly and therefore, my memory of the first impressions of the bag I found myself staring at as it hung from the shoulder of the businessman in front of me are equally vivid.  After a brief discussion with the owner of the bag, I went to my computer and started to look into the company.  I can still remember the enthusiasm with which I debated which style, design and color I wanted to get… for there was not question of “if” I was going to get one.  Since that day, I have taken my – now several – S.B. Leather bags with me on countless trips alone and with my family.  I love to travel and I love to travel with these bags because they do the job, they do it well and they look good in the process.  To date, my S.B. Leather bags, in one way or another, have accompanied me to five different continents and thirty-seven different countries.  Are the trips better because of the bags or are the bags better because of the trips?  I don’t know, but I suppose I don’t really care.  All I know is that I wouldn’t leave home without one of my S.B. bags.  So, if loyalty is an emotion, then that’s what I connect to the identity, story and personality of Saddleback Leather.  

Saddleback Leather Company

Being an avid fan of high-quality leather products both in form and function and appreciating the humor and substance of their business moto, “They’ll fight over it when you’re dead!”, I am writing today about the Saddleback Leather Company.

The Saddleback Leather brand meets all of Jennifer Aaker's five "personality dimensions" of a brand: 

• Sincerity - The company owners speak for their products and use them themselves
• Excitement - One can go anywhere and do anything with a Saddleback
• Competence - Their products and business practices are consistent and professional
• Sophistication - I first saw a Saddleback briefcase on a Moscow elevator in the hands of an IBM businessman.  It made an impression I’ve never forgotten.  Now, like me with him, others constantly come up to me asking about my bag.
• Ruggedness - People actually hold competitions to see what their Saddlebacks will stand up too.  From Alligators to Tornados, they haven’t killed one yet!

Saddleback’s philosophy is to simply make the best leather products… period.  They literally offer a one-hundred year warranty, and they stand by it.  In their own words, they state their mission to be:

• To Raise the Bar on Quality
• To Innovate 
• To Create and Encourage Others to Create
•  To Influence Businesses
• To Encourage Quality Everywhere
• To Make High Quality Leather Goods Attainable to the Average Person
• Preserving the Craftsman’s Art
• Bring Art Into Everyday Home

Under their “Our Purpose and Mission” page, all this and more can be found along with all their stated policies and numerous video and customer accounts standing by their products.  

Dave, the owner and founder of the company, spent his young adult years traveling the world and found his bags and luggage could not stand up the the grueling treatment of being on the road.  Frustrated by the cost and inconvenience of constantly having to replace his wares, he finally went into a leather shop and asked the craftsman if he could make a bag of Dave’s own design.  The owner of the shop agreed and the first Saddleback Leather bag was born.  Realizing what he had, Dave saw a need for others like him and soon after, the Saddleback Leather Company was formed.

Like Dave himself, many have experienced the frustration of overpaying for travel products that don’t last either due to poor craftsmanship, poor design quality, mistreatment by baggage handlers or a combination of all three.  Giving consumers an option to purchase one product that will do the job without fail for years to come is completely in line with the original inspiration of the product and company’s genesis.

Saddleback leather offers a wide range of full grain leather products.  While they specialize in bags (purses, briefcases, backpacks, suitcases and more) they innovatively create a wide range of items from small trinkets to billfolds to chess sets to coffins!!  

Some of the main competitors to Saddleback leather are Marlondo Leather, Buffalo Jackson  and Tecovas to name a few.  None compare to the quality and craftsmanship of Saddleback Leather.

Saddleback Leather is a fairly premium brand.  Their products are not cheap relative to some other makers and that may turn some buyers off.  However, for those who know and appreciate high quality, hand crafted, full grain leather products that will stand the test of time, there is no substitute for Saddleback Leather.