The BIG Kahuna

Today is the first of our monthly?BIG Kahuna interviews. I chose TigerLight because they really had a unique product. I think it’s a big secret.

We begin with our interview with President/CEO Michael Teig of TigerLight.

Michael was nice enough to send us their Pepper Spray?product called the T100:

The T100 is a pepper spray system that includes a built in eye?piercing light. The light is really blinding and also has a strobe feature which really freaked me out. Very cool stuff. Basically a woman will?blind you with the piercing light and then pepper spray your eyes. Kind of like a one two punch. The product works like a charm and is truly different than anything in the market.

But I’ve seen a lot of great products that were different fail. So let’s get into the branding a bit.

What are you passionate about when it comes to TigerLight?

To make a real difference in preventing someone from?being attacked or killed. Safety is my real passion.

What makes TigerLight remarkable?

It’s really genius in its simplicity. Attackers don’t see or expect to be pepper sprayed. The product has real stopping power.

Michael, why the corporate?name TigerLight?

Tigers are ferocious and have real muscle stopping power. It has a light and bite.

Why not a more evocative?name like “Blind Avenger”?

The real concern is that Tigerlight products are fully endorsed by professionals, like the police. We need to maintain that authenticity and quality.

The product name T100 is very?masculine to me. Since the product is marketed to women why not call it something like “Purse Patrol”? or a name that hits home to a woman?

Even though the T100 is targeted to college women we still sell the product to men. Especially men buying it for their wife, daughter or girlfriend. Although renaming the product might be advantageous to us.

Have you considered offering the T100 to women in different colors?

Yes, but we must maintain authenticity with professionals like the police.

In 3 words or less what is the brand identity of your company TigerLight?

Peace of mind.

In 3 words or less what’s the brand image of TigerLight?

The product is very new like when the “Club” came out. But I would say most people find the product cool and after holding it think it’s very high quality.

How do you build the brand of TigerLight?

We are getting ready for a 50 city tour of the US. We’re going to truck accross the country visiting colleges and universities. We’ll be training local police as well as certifying new trainers.

Have you considered social marketing (like a blog?or social network) as a way to build word of mouth?

Yes, we feel there is a great opportunity but we are cautious and need to evaluate it. Things like a blog could really work well for us.

What do you think TigerLight could do better when it comes to your brand?

Everything. We always can do things better but off the top of my head I would say delivering the right message is critical. Right now we’re the best kept secret.

Besides product?features what makes TigerLight different than its competitors?

Our philosophy. We solve problems based on our imagination.

What’s the one thing you want women to know about the?TigerLight T100?

Personal protection.

Please rate the following marketing tactics by importance (1 being the most important, 2 second most etc.)

TV Advertising: 1

Radio: 2

Internet Search (coming up in the top ten of Google): 3

Public Relations: 4

Word of Mouth: 6

Branding: 5

Direct Mail: 8

Print Advertising: 7

Thank you Michael Teig!

Here are my thoughts.

The product is really terrific. My wife Nicci assembled the T100 in just a few short minutes. She immediately noted how comfortable the fit was in her hand. She loved the blinding light feature. The product is different and exceptional.

Questions to our readers:

Would you?recommend a name change for TigerLight?

Would you?recommend a name change for the T100?

What do you think of the website design (click here to see it)?

What would be some good marketing ideas for TigerLight?

Full Disclosure: I emailed out an offer to write a review and conduct an interview for one lucky?member of?our e-newsletter list. Michael was one of many companies that responded to the offer of an interview. Brand Identity Guru is not being paid but Michael was nice enough to send us a product sample for testing.

I’ve come up with a new category called BIG Kahuna Interviews. In this once a month post I’ll be talking to CEOs, Presidents, and?Owners of large, small and?very unique companies. We’ll be discussing how they have differentiated their brand, what makes them special, what strategies and tactics they’re using today?and how they see their brand.

?It should be a fun, informative post on some of the best leaders today. Check it out soon!

p.s. Write me if you want to be interviewed: swhite@brandidentityguru.com