Description:

Edelwiser produces garaphically individualizable skis for the cost of a mass product. Customers are co-creators and innovators of their own product.

Edelwiser is Austria's pioneer with its 'Toolkit for User Innovation and Design.' Additionally, ongoing community management is central for sustainable relations to the customers - B2C - as well as C2C.

Edelwiser is award winner, i.e. Austrian Multimedia- and eBusiness State Prize, VOLVO SportsDesign Awards 2007, and was nominated for the German 'Designpreis der BRD 2008.'

For Edelwiser the customer is at the core of its developments: as designer of personalized skis, innovator, author of the yearbook, or as a simple customer. The customers are part of the company. To activate them authentically, trustful and individually, professional communication tools are necessary. In this manner Edelwiser is able to develop its topic leadership as well as its role as a platform, where customers meet (or discuss ski-openings, off-piste skiing or car sharing for the next trip).

This case study gives insights to key factors of successful community engagement and branding:

Inventory

Offline

• Snow-Events/Skitest in Ski Regions and Halls
• Co-Created Yearbook (with customers)
• carving ski production

Online

• Configuratior (co-creation, individualization)
• Website (edelwiser)
• Weblog (Snowblog)
• Magazine (Kunstpiste)
• Xing-Group (edelwiser friends)
• Facebook-Group (presence only; unmanaged)

Moderated by Stephan Uhrenbacher, Qype