How Mammut Weaves Purpose Into A Leading Legacy Brand

Why do some companies fail after a few quarters while others remain relevant for decades? How do you resonate with consumers when your customers span across continents and range from Gen Z to baby boomers? What are the secrets to building a legacy brand?

Businesses that create quality products, act on purpose and enable people to enhance their lives, develop meaningful connections with employees and consumers that withstand the sands of time.

An excellent example of a legacy brand Is Mammut. Founded in 1862 as a Swiss rope manufacturer, Mammut has developed into a global powerhouse in the mountaineering hardware, footwear and apparel space. 

“We support our customers to achieve their best in difficult high altitude situations,” Oliver Pabst, CEO of Mammut, tells We First. The passion for nature and pushing the limits of what’s possible in the outdoors resonates with employees and consumers alike. The brand’s iteration of that shines through into its products, which allow the likes of record breaking free-climber Dani Arnold to scale vertical rock faces like how others would jog on the beach.  

Articulating purpose:

While the company has value-driven roots, it wasn’t until recently that Mammut articulated its purpose to create a world moved by mountains. “We’re dedicated to giving people what they need to enjoy nature. We’re co-creating a world. The world doesn’t only mean products, it’s an experience,” Pabst explains.

“The discussion around purpose was started within our organization,” he says. “Our employees asked me, ‘What is our purpose? What drives us?’ They wanted to see the bigger picture.” The desire to define purpose doesn’t have to come from the top down. It can come from employees, consumers or other stakeholders. 

It was relatively easy for Mammut to decide on incorporating a connection with nature and the mountains into its purpose. However, the company had some challenges along the way. “It took more work creating something that would resonate with the generations to come and regions that are not as rooted in nature,” Pabst says. “I’m a true believer that every single word counts in a purpose statement. It must bring across what you believe, what you feel and what you want people to engage with. It also has to be consumer focused and inclusive.”

Brands that clarify their purpose are more successful at building culture around their brand. “It’s a guide for all the strategy work,” Mammut’s CEO explains.

Sharing purpose internally:

Once you’ve defined your purpose, it takes some work to communicate it internally. Mammut has employees across cultures spanning from Europe to Asia to North America and beyond. Each group has different cultural norms and different relationships to nature.

Pabst says that some team members understood how it applied to them. “Our Japanese team leader understood it immediately. He internalized what it means for him and Mount Fuji, the most important mountain for the Japanese.”

Other employees asked questions like “What does it mean now for me? How do I apply it in my daily routine, in my work, in my collaboration with my colleagues?”

Mammut used a number of methods to cultivate a common language and understanding with its existing team members around purpose. Techniques included written statements, broadcasting digital stand ups from their headquarters in Seon, Switzerland, and holding workshops in which employees could expand on “how we can bring it to life in our organization,” Pabst says.

The mountaineering brand also integrates purpose when hiring new people. “Our onboarding process totally changed,” Oliver shares. “Now people go with us into the mountains before they even start to work with us. So when we talk about creating a world moved by mountains, we show people what it means. Then they can apply that experience in their daily work.”

The CEO says that it “bridges” the age gap between employees. “When I talk to people from the Gen Z generation, it’s a different conversation than when I talk to someone in their 50s, but what we share is that yearning for nature.”

Consumer facing storytelling:

In addition to leveraging purpose for internal community building, Mammut is implementing it into its external communications. One of the ways the brand offers consumers hands on experiences is via its Mammut Alpine School. People have the opportunity to go into the mountains with experts to participate in everything from beginner snowboarding lessons to avalanche preparedness training to backcountry snowshoeing. 

While the world was in quarantine, Mammut leaned on purpose. “Our first big communication piece was ‘Stay home. The mountains wait for you.’” Pabst says. “We created content around how to take care of your shoes, how to wash jackets and prepare for your next adventure.” 

Once lockdowns began to end, Mammut pivoted its messaging while still staying true to purpose. “We started a Local Adventure Challenge. The idea was to get people to enjoy nature around their place.” The initiative engaged over 20 million people and inspired participants to walk more than 1.3 million kilometers in the mountains near their home. 

Even urban dwellers can enjoy nature close by. “You even find a hike in Hong Kong if you go to Lantau Island. The same counts for Beijing. In two hours by train you can be on a mountain. Nature is closer to you than you think,” Pabst says. “I think leveraging the purpose and making people aware of how beautiful nature is part of the purpose.”

A guiding light during COVID-19:

The clarity that comes with a well articulated purpose is especially useful during times of crisis. “We’re using the COVID-19 pandemic as a momentum to accelerate the speed of transformation,” Pabst says. “I’m so happy we had our purpose at hand. It gave everybody an understanding of the direction we would like to drive the company forward.”

By having a clear playbook, language and values you can be more flexible and adapt to change while staying true to your brand in the long run.  

Acting on purpose:

The messaging behind your purpose is critical to building community. Perhaps more important is the actions you take to bring your purpose to life. To walk the talk in preserving nature and the mountains, Mammut works on the supply side with material management and sourcing low carbon energy within its offices and value chain.

“You can’t only do it alone. You need stakeholders to make it happen,” Oliver says. Mammut is engaging suppliers producing products. They’re reaching out to fabric makers and zipper fabricators. Mammut needs collaboration to minimize its footprint. “It goes from a conversation to setting targets to taking measures, then controlling it and improving it,” he explains. Mammut also collaborates with downstream partners like retail outlets and consumers to take action. “It’s a big job and we’re all in this together.”

In alignment with its internal goals of being carbon neutral by 2050, Mammut is also spearheading talks like the Together For Glaciers initiative. “We’re working to make people aware of the beautiful experiences out there. At the same time, we want to spark the conversation around how important it is to take care of nature, without being too negative,” Pabst says.

Mammut is also opening the conversation to companies in the industry. For example, the brand is instrumental in the push to avoid single use plastics. “You need a couple of companies to accumulate enough plastic to stop a non-virgin plastic approach. You have to address it on an industry level to set new standards,” Oliver says.

Why purpose is paramount:

Ultimately, purpose acts as a compass to navigate relationships, strategy decision making and communications. “The value starts when you engage people. I see people excited, motivated and embracing our purpose,” Pabst shares.

Mammut’s CEO says that focus on purpose trickles down into conversations with retailers, wholesalers and even consumers. “Purpose helps us create content, to engage with the consumer and to stay true to the voice of the brand. It gives us a better chance to make more business, and more money at the end of the day.”

Companies that Lead With We foster deeper connections with stakeholders and build community around their brand, which helps them differentiate from the competition and grow in the long term.