My Take On Brand Loyalty

[Bluebasser86]

I used to be brand loyal to Shimano reels until they started changing up the Curado every few years and I wasn't liking some of the new models as much. For me it wasn't so much brand loyalty as just having all my reels feel and work the same so it was easier to pick up any setup I had on the deck and start fishing it. Now I have Shimano, Lews, Abu, Pfluegar, Okuma, and BPS and I use and enjoy all of them. I am pretty brand loyal with rods, just haven't found anything that I like nearly as much as my St. Croix's. 

[jerzeeD]

Nothing wrong with brand loyalty. If something is comfortable and reliable, why not return and buy another product from the same company. I have been driving Toyota trucks for years.....why? It isn't like I woke up one day and said "Toyota is the best". Not at all....I had to buy a series of disappointing POS vehicles that drove meto try Toyota. Once I tried my first Toyota truck, it got to 200k miles with no real repairs and minimal maintenance. Meanwhile, my Jeep it replaced needed a new engine, trans, and clutch at 110k. Other vehicles by GM, Chrysler, and Audi have been very disappointing as well. So now I drive Toyota trucks based on my experience with them, and probablly will for a long time until my experience changes.Moral of story...If a company makes a quality product that works well, what is wrong with being a repeat customer? There are alot of money pits out there in life, no matter what you are buying. Nothing wrong with sticking with the tried and true.

[Jig Meister]

I stick to certain brands because of a money issues, for what I have to spend I stick with what I like and what works, if I buy something new that turns out a bad choice, that is a big hit for me.

 

if I was in a different situation I wouldnt care about trying whatever.

[HeavyDluxe]

Brand loyalty is a completely different thing, IMO, than brand SNOBBERY.

 

I use Yamamoto soft plastics exclusively.  Why?  Well, for whatever reason they have always and consistently seemed to produce for me.  One day, I threw very similarly-colored, stick baits from three different manufacturers.  I threw them from the same spot on the same bank in succession.  For whatever reason, the GYCBs resulted in a clear, objective uptick in hits, hooksets, and landings (to say nothing of 'quality of fish').

 

Is that luck?  Superstition?  Was I more confident with the 14k gold sticks on my line and fished them differently?  Maybe.  Whatever the reason, on my limited budget I'll choose to spend the funds on GYCB stuff whenever I can because I 'feel' like it will serve me better. 

 

Correspondingly, if someone asks me for a recommendation, I'm going to point them - unapologetically - to GYCB products.  That's brand loyalty.  It's worked for me, I'll keep working it, and, if you ask, I'll tell you to work it too.

 

What I never understood is the sense of irrational superiority and snobbery that comes with certain brands.  You'd never hear me saying something like, "This senko is absolutely better than your sink-o, and if you keep buying that crap you're a fool."  

 

So, being loyal to a brand is admirable... it may get a little foolish, but it's harmless and, so long as you're having fun, who cares?  However, the minute we start attaching some sense of self-worth into the brands we use, we go crazily off the rails.

[Bass Junkie]

I am open to trying any brand once, and I will give them a fair shot. I have built confidence in some brands because they have always satisfied when it comes to the products functionality, quality, and service to the customer. I have also built a lack of confidence in some brands for various reasons, and there are a few that I won't touch. This is just how things have played out for me. I too was a Quantum guy, until I bought a Quantum Re-Ax and fished it along side an STX. The difference blew me away. I have since discovered that of all the braking systems I have tried, Quantums are the most ineffective for me personally. They are also the least smooth of any main stream reels I've used. I am not calling them rough, because rough they are not, but they are not smooth. This is an example of how I build a lack of confidence in a company. Between the lack-luster performance and the lack of customer service, I have lost all confidence in Quantum. You might think that from there I became an all Abu guy, but that's not the case. I simply find what works best for me, and offer an un-biased opinion on them to the best of my human ability. Just because pro X uses this company's product does not influence me, as I am not pro X. To me it is a personal thing, and if that comes to putting a Core 50MG7 on a Steez rod....  

[0119]

HeavyDluxe you hit it right on the head, theres a lot of brand snobbery here, I fall into that category myself.

[Fishes in trees]

A decade or so ago, I was very brand loyal to All Star rods.  All of my tournament gear and most of my back up rods were All Stars.  The reason for this was simple A - they had a great warranty program.  If you broke the rod, they replaced it.  You'd get it replaced off the shelf if the store you got it at had one.  You could swap it for something similar if the store had one you liked.  Or you could have the store send it in and in a relatively short period of time, you'd get a new rod back.

 

Now, I knew about this program long before I bought my first All Star rod.  The deal for me was simple, an All Star rep was nice to me.   If I ran into him in a store he'd say hi.  We both fished BFL and when I ran into him at the tournaments we'd talk.  He was very good at getting stuff not only from All Star, but from other companies that he repped for and nearly every tournament he had goodies for the guys he'd talked into getting All Star rods.

 

Sadly, those days are gone.   All Star rods got sold to Shakespeare, quality control diminished and  their rep system got disbanded.  He had health issues and doesn't fish tournaments anymore, it has been several years since I've seen him, I ought to look him up and see where he's at.

 

Anyway, that is my brand loyalty story.  Nearly any company can have my brand loyalty if they are nice to me and take an interest in my fishing.

 

I can remember when BFL tournaments were Redman tournaments.  The organization that ran the Redman tournaments always had swag to give away, every tournament.  Not so much at BFL.  They have shirts, caps, etc. for SALE, but very seldom are there any complimentary gifts.

 

Oops, my brand loyalty story turned into a rant - better stop - sorry.

[J Francho]

I'm more about model loyalty than brand loyalty.

[Hooligan]

I'm more about model loyalty than brand loyalty.

This.  I'm 100% about quality gear.  That means being loyal to gear that is loyal t ome.  Brand snobbery has nothing to do with it.  There are brand snobs here, and that's just fine.  In most cases they're uneducated, and really have no idea what they're talking about.  I tend to pay less and less attention to what those people say over time, and can tell you that if you filter it, the surrounding posts make a lot more information available...

Anyhow.  I'm loyal to reels that serve me well, be it Daiwa, Lews, Shimano, Ardent, or otherwise.  Yes, the VAST majority of my reels are Shimano Chronarch, Curado, and Core- however, I've also got many others from other manufacturers.  There are reels that can do everything well, but there are also reels that can do specific things better.

Rods are a different story for me.  It isn't so much about model loyalties, or brand loyalties here.  It's about what works.  I fish mostly NRX and Cumara lines.  Is it because I'm loyal to either for any reason?  No, not really.  It is simply because they offer what I am looking for in rods with specific lengths and actions and they do just what I want in the capacity that I want them to do it.  It's exacting.  Dobyns is another manufacturer that build specific rods for specific purposes and I've found that it meets my demand in that rod.  That's where it lies.

[kickerfish1]

Not brand loyal to any particualr company as I have reels and rods by many manufactures. I probably have more dobyns rods and shimano reels at this point. Of my 20+ outfits they all see use throughout the year depending upon conditions and intended applications. When considering a new purchase or upgrade I consider ALL options and then start narrowing it down based upon reviews, hands on tests in local stores, and comparing the rod/reel options to a set of criteria. As long as the product is of good quality and meets the criteria I am willing to try it.

[skeletor6]

This.  I'm 100% about quality gear.  That means being loyal to gear that is loyal t ome.  Brand snobbery has nothing to do with it.  There are brand snobs here, and that's just fine.  In most cases they're uneducated, and really have no idea what they're talking about.  I tend to pay less and less attention to what those people say over time, and can tell you that if you filter it, the surrounding posts make a lot more information available...

Anyhow.  I'm loyal to reels that serve me well, be it Daiwa, Lews, Shimano, Ardent, or otherwise.  Yes, the VAST majority of my reels are Shimano Chronarch, Curado, and Core- however, I've also got many others from other manufacturers.  There are reels that can do everything well, but there are also reels that can do specific things better.

Rods are a different story for me.  It isn't so much about model loyalties, or brand loyalties here.  It's about what works.  I fish mostly NRX and Cumara lines.  Is it because I'm loyal to either for any reason?  No, not really.  It is simply because they offer what I am looking for in rods with specific lengths and actions and they do just what I want in the capacity that I want them to do it.  It's exacting.  Dobyns is another manufacturer that build specific rods for specific purposes and I've found that it meets my demand in that rod.  That's where it lies.

 

There are many excellent points brought up here. I would just like to comment on the statement in red.I find that the best and most accurate information that is given on this forum comes from those who try to judge their equipment objectively and give unbiased comparisons based on their knowledge and experience in such departments. Often the most inaccurate information comes from those who push their favorite brands on people and claim it to be the "best" when the only experience they have is with said brand. If you look hard enough you can find the people on this forum that actually know what they are talking about.

 

I believe, naturally, that people will gravitate towards the products that perform the best. Is that "brand loyalty"? I don't believe so, I feel those same people would switch their equipment if something nicer came along in the same price department.

[Quitlimpin]

Perhaps exclusivity would have been a better title choice than loyalty. I'm glad to see this thread not turn into a dumpster fire.

[Bankbeater]

I have no problem with brand loyalty as long as the product quality is consistant.  Too many times I have see the quality start to lapse just because the company was #1, and they had a good amount of brand loyalty.