The Innovation Project: Moosejaw, Episode 4
Episode 4 of The Innovation Project: CEO Eoin Comerford, of Moosejaw
** To watch more episodes of The Innovation Project, click here.
Moosejaw opened its first store in Keego Harbor, Michigan, in 1992, and started its website in 1995. The small staff "didn't check to see if an order came in for at least a year," the brand jokes on the About page of its now robust e-commerce site. In 2000, Moosejaw opened its fifth store, and in 2004, "Nothing happened." Two years later, "the person who owns the vending machine at [the Moosejaw] warehouse purchased a third home in the south of France."
And so it goes with Moosejaw, which makes a huge effort to surprise customers with unexpected marketing techniques, the kinds of things that a new customer would rush "to tell 10 friends about," says CEO Eoin Comerford, who added that the "wackiness" of Moosejaw is an integral part of its business.
In this Moosejaw "Test Lab" video, the MSR Guardian filter is put to the test with dirty dishwater. Verdict? Success. // Screenshot of Moosejaw video
In this Moosejaw "Test Lab" video, the MSR Guardian filter is put to the test with dirty dishwater. Verdict? Success. // Screenshot of Moosejaw video
"We've always been about having fun," Comerford says in the fourth episode of The Innovation Project. Moosejaw is known for its "Test Lab" videos, in which it tests outdoor gear in unlikely scenarios, like using the MSR Guardian filter to safely drink water pooled in a sink full of dirty dishes.
"We'll do marketing that's got absolutely nothing to do with the product that we sell, it's just to have fun," Comerford said. "We really want to show off the performance aspects of products, but we don't want to do it in a boring way."
This nine-part series was produced in partnership with Mountain Hardwear.
