How Quad Lock is growing through ambassadors, sponsorships and the F1

Australian tech accessory brand Quad Lock has partnered with the Grand Prix, investing more that $250,000 on consumer-facing events, as it seeks to transition from a specialisation in smartphone mounts to an expanded outdoor lifestyle offering. 

The brand has created the Quad Lock Box – a 40-foot, former shipping container that will be used to promote the full range of Quad Lock products, including phone mounts for bicycles, motorcycles, cars, marine vehicles and off-road vehicles, at the Grand Prix. 

The Quad Lock Box will also be used to build relationships with relevant ambassadors, including a Q&A with F1 driver Oscar Piastri – interviewed by 2016 Australian rally champion and Quad Lock ambassador Molly Tylor – and well as members of the Red Bull Ampol racing team.

Quad Lock CEO Andrew Poole told Inside Retail that the Grand Prix is the brand’s single largest, consumer-facing event. He added that Quad Lock is working out how to move into other adjacencies within the categories that it already plays in.

“[It’s about] the things that are important to a cyclist, [or] an off-road vehicle enthusiast, and how we can engage with them through those spaces. We’re looking at different opportunities [to] stretch the brand through new and interesting products that would accompany the enthusiasts in those activities,” he said.

“In three to four years’ time if people are talking about Quad Lock, ideally they wouldn’t [just] be talking about their mobile phone and a case-based mounting system. We would have provided them with new and interesting product solutions to support their active and outdoor lifestyles.”

Poole believes that the Quad Lock Box will likely be used as a meeting point, or “the Flinders Street station of the Grand Prix,” with the activation representing the first event in a series that will take place this year.

“The investment in a stand-alone, bricks-and-mortar Quad Lock pop-up store and activation centre lets us step away from simply selling products at an event, to integrating them into many different active lifestyles with the support of global athletes who actually use them,” he said.

“In real life brand”

According to Poole, Quad Lock has earned close to US$100 million in revenue (about AUD$150 million), with the brand employing about 75 people – most of whom are based in Melbourne – with six located in China. Quad Lock has also received over 80,000 reviews on its website.

Poole noted that the brand had spent close to $2 million this year alone on ambassadors and sponsorships, with much of this invested in Formula One. The aim is to provide authenticity around the use of Quad Lock products, as they are used in every-day situations.

“Up until the last two or so years, we’ve been heavily engaged as an online D2C brand. So things like the Grand Prix are the opportunity to step the brand out into real life. [We’ve] done other event executions [but] this is the first thing we’ve done that’s really of scale,” he said.

“And whether it’s Chris Froome using Quad Lock products as part of his training, or Oscar Piastri using it in the gym, [those] endorsements help people appreciate the practicality of the product, and how they’re using it in their day to day lives,” he said.

Poole said that Quad Lock is heading to the Sea Otter Classic in the US next month, a consumer-facing cycling festival in Monterey, California, which provides the brand with the opportunity to connect with – and put the brand in front of – consumers..

He added that the ultimate aim is to become one of the world’s fastest growing outdoor lifestyle brands across cycling, motorcycling, driving, running, marine, golf, swimming, hiking and more.

Global expansion

Concerning Quad Lock’s future plans, Poole said the brand is working on translating its success in Australia across larger markets including the United States, Europe and China.

He added that it is working on an ESG platform, which includes a “robust relationship” with World Bicycle Relief (WBR). Through the WBR, It has donated a significant amount of bicycles across Asia, South America and Asia.

“Global expansion, in a measured manner, would certainly be one of the things that’s top of the tree,” Poole said.

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