Warrior Hockey Takes Aim at Bauer on Social Media

For those unfamiliar with the hockey equipment industry Bauer Hockey has been leading the charge on the innovation of new forms of technology to be implemented into classic hockey equipment. Whether that is with the infusion of composite eyelets into the boot of their top of the line Vapor and Supreme skates, or the creation of three separate lines of equipment (Nexus, Vapor, Supreme) each designed to cater differently to a players needs. Bauer is a name unanimously associated with the sport of hockey, and generally their new product launches are held in very high regard in the hockey community; the likes of which could be compared to an Apple product launch.  With the release of the new Vapor 1X stick being hyped up so vigorously by the company which was promising new technology never before seen in a Bauer product. The big draw was the promise of the implementation of the new QRT technology being infused into the blade and shaft of the new stick. QRT stands for quick release technology, an aspect that Bauer had never used before on any of their previous models. As Bauer began to advertise and promote their "new" product a rival hockey stick manufacturer had a slight problem with their new design and technology.

Relative newcomer to the industry Warrior Hockey quickly took to their Instagram account to point out some facts about Bauers new upcoming release. The main point being that a year previously Warrior had released their new stick the Warrior QR1, the QR standing for quick release. Warrior's brand manager even went as far to suggest that Bauer had simply taken the QR1 idea and technology and simply put their own design and graphics over it.

Warrior was just getting started with their criticism of the upcoming Bauer release. Suggesting that the hockey giant was a little late to the game of implementing QRT technology into their sticks.

I found that Warrior Hockey's aggressive attack on the new Bauer launch to be a smart move to associate their brand with a certain aspect in hockey equipment culture. Until this point Warrior did not truly have an identity as a serious hockey manufacturer. They had recently switched into the hockey industry after having only sold lacrosse equipment since their creation and did not have a true identity as a hockey equipment manufacturer. By making it painfully obvious for Bauer that they were the first ones to begin to implement QRT technology into their sticks, they not only created an identity for themselves as the creator of the QRT, but also take a shot at the biggest hockey equipment supplier in the industry.