Marzocchi
Marzocchi is amid an incredible comeback by doing what they always have done–building bomber, low-maintenance mountain bike suspension. We worked with their crew to psychoanalyze the brand and determine where they fit in the hearts and minds of meat-huckers and gravity junkies everywhere.
Parliament develops directional strategies, brand platforms, and creative executions for companies at critical inflection points.
What we do
Working with the team at Parliament has been awesome. They have been able to integrate seamlessly with our internal team, pushing our strategic thinking and delivering strong and differentiated creative that cuts through the clutter. I’ve been impressed with their agility and speed in delivering complex projects. I also really appreciate their collaborative approach and the thoughtful way they address feedback.Marshall Rutman VP, Marketing Fox Factory
Marzocchi grew up in the 1990s when monster truck and exotic dancer-based marketing was a perfectly legit way to get noticed. These days, they require a more sophisticated and focused approach. Our challenge: keep their hard-earned brand equity while expanding their fan base. And while we're at it, let’s bring that look and feel into the new era.
Marzocchi is owned by Fox, who also makes mountain bike suspension. We needed to get strategic in order to define how exactly Marzocchi fits into Fox’s portfolio of brands. We dug into psychographics, demographics, and every other type of ’graphics to find when compared to Fox’s audience, Marzocchi riders are a whole different animal.
Fox riders are incremental tuners trying to shave seconds off their split times, while Marzocchi riders are hard-charging free riders just out for a good time. When getting to the essence of the brand, we realized Marzocchi’s style of fun is really all about getting rowdy in the woods with your friends. Or, as we put it, sharing the stoke.
What is it that makes Marzocchi, Marzocchi? Is it that their gear is built to take a beating? Is it that their stuff doesn’t require tuning, tinkering, or interpretation? Or is it that shredding is always more fun with friends? Yes, yes, and yes. We identified these four attributes because they are central to everything the brand does and every decision it makes.
Mountain biking has a language all its own, and if you want your messaging to make an authentic connection with this audience, you have to speak it. Luckily, it involves amazing phrases like “getting loose in the loam right before huckin’ a full sender off that lippy booter.”
Marzocchi’s iconic logo was looking a touch dated and was due for its 200,000-mile servicing. We evolved the logo and typography while staying true to the brand’s mavericky vibes. Much like when James Hetfield cut his heavy metal hair short, the look was cleaned up but the edge was still there.
In its early days, the brand was very much developed on the run. We tightened all that by creating full brand standards and tons of conceptual executions that outlined how Marzocchi’s brand should be executed across channels. Now, anywhere Marzocchi shows up, the brand can be presented in a crisp and consistent fashion.
With the brand on lock, we got to work making sure the design of the digital experience delivered on both the no B.S. rally-ready nature of their products and big, expressive, stoke-stoking feels.
Sure, the logo evolution had to look good, but it also had to be versatile. Real-world constraints like miniature knobs, tapered tubes, and both sides of the bike all had to be considered. Tricky to pull off, but we feel like we stuck the landing.
Personal expression (or steez, as the kids like to say) has deep roots in action sports, but when we looked around MTB components, it was definitely lacking. So we explored how an expressive layer could show up in packaging to products to promotional stuff. Your move, mavericks.
Long story short—make sure you have a current passport if you’re planning to fly into B.C.
We talked shop with everyone. And not to brag, but we got some legends on the line.
We went nuts designing the Marzocchi M in weird and different ways, and we love them all.
Still not sure what that means, but we’re pretty sure it’s a good thing.
Big thanks to the whole team at Marzocchi for getting us super stoked on mountain bikes and bomber suspension. Brand strategy, design, identity, and messaging by Parliament. Mega props to Russ Cosgrove for his creative identity muscle. Photography by Marzocchi and Branden Leion.
