When a major RV manufacturer rolls out a press release touting a “rebranding,” we often yawn. How much time, money, and effort did the company put into coming up with this new idea? How much time, money, and effort might they have put into improving build quality and customer satisfaction, and just forget the rebrand? The latest? A Keystone rebrand.
Keystone rebrand comes with an imaginary trumpet blast
There’s not much we can add to the news release itself. If it were a video, no doubt the music would swell, the brass and drum sections leading off. Here goes: “Keystone RV, one of America’s leading manufacturers of towable recreational vehicles, has announced a major brand refresh, unveiling a bold new look, voice, and direction under the banner: ‘Proven in the Wild™.’”
Proven in the wild? How about proven in the campground, as in, you don’t need to worry about having an emergency exit window in the main living area—unlike a number of Cougar travel trailers that the company forgot to build into them? Proven in the wild? As in, you don’t have to worry about the footpad having fallen off the levelers when you bounced down that washboard road? Yeah, those were problems for a couple of models of Keystone fifth wheels. Those are just two recent Keystone recalls—there are more.
“Not just a rebrand—a reveal!”
“This isn’t just a rebrand—it’s a reveal,” said Jeff Runels, President and CEO of Keystone RV. “We’re doubling down on who we’ve always been. ‘Proven in the Wild™’ speaks to our customers, our team, and our way of doing business for the last 30 years—bold, practical, and ready for anything.”
So just what sort of consumer-friendly stuff went into this not “just a rebrand, it’s a reveal”? Here’s more corporate-speak, playing to stockholders, “At the heart of the refresh is a redesigned logo inspired by the architectural keystone—the wedge-shaped stone that locks an arch into place. Representing strength, stability, and support in any terrain, the keystone becomes a literal and symbolic foundation of the company’s renewed identity.”
This “first major design overhaul in Keystone’s history” translates to a “new visual system draw[ing] inspiration from nature, movement, and modern utility—delivering a clean, energetic look across digital platforms, products, and dealer showrooms.” Yep, essentially all that’s happened here is a new shape on the front cap or the side of new Keystone rigs.
“Expertise isn’t claimed—it’s earned,” said Nick Johnson, Vice President of Marketing and Communications. “At Keystone, we’ve built what matters to real campers for decades. In an age of overhype, Keystone will give our camping customers the proven and practical RVs they ask for.”
RV buyers might find little amusement in Keystone rebrand
We’d add a bit of commentary from Keystone customers. One summed it up succinctly when he wrote of his new Keystone Cougar: “The design is excellent but the execution is completely flawed.” What lead him to that conclusion? After pulling away from the dealer with his new rig and running home four hours, he found these issues:
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- The city water connection was leaking.
- The low point drain cap was leaking.
- The bathroom faucet was so bad, we replaced it with a new Moen.
- One of the shades was falling off.
- The separators for the tri-fold shower door fell off at both ends.
- The tank-less water heater only gives about one minute of hot water. (Worst RV invention yet. Whoever sold this bill of goods should be drawn and quartered.)
This Keystone customer isn’t alone. Keystone, like most RV manufacturers today, fails to deliver reliable quality control. If the gangs in Indiana spent a bit more time and effort in building a quality product, they probably wouldn’t need to worry about “rebranding.”
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RVT1212b
Rebranding costs next to nothing. If they say they are spending more than $150k on this effort I would be surprised. It would only take converting a few folks who are on the edge of buying to get them to buy into this and that will pay for the whole rebranding package. Quality costs money in the short run and pays for itself in the long run. That is counter to every business plan in the RV industry which is make money today, not tomorrow.
Maybe they meant. Into the Wild of warranty and repair for months on end.
Ha! Into the Wild is a story about a guy who thought he knew what he was doing, but didn’t. His ignorance of his environment led to his demise. Your comparison might be appropriate.
I have that book.👍 Have a great day, Walker. 😀 –Diane aka Mountain Mama at RVtravel.com
After all the complaints and shoddy workmanship, it sounds like a CEO just trying to hang onto his job which he is doing poorly at.
What I read in Jeff Runels’ comment was, “If you can’t dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with ……” And boy, is he trying to baffle everyone.
Outdoors RV, Arctic Fox & Nash it is…keystone and forest river ….not.
My Outdoors 25RDS had many issues. While they may be built better, there are quality issues very little customer support from the factory. When I 1st called my dealer about an issue he told me call Outdoors RV. I told him they told me the dealer is responsible for customer support & help.
I beg to differ…I have stopped by their plant in La Grande a time or two and have always got good response and service for things I needed. Some dealers care less.
Thank you for this delightful (so long as one does not own a Keystone, perhaps) bit of humor to brighten my day. Have a great day and safe travels!
Quality workmanship is an art these days. I bought a new 2024 Springdale. As a retired mechanic, I do understand failures, but it’s your first look around that tells the story. I look at screw heads, are they stripped out, are they in straight, did the parts line up. I wondered all this as I looked at the unit. I wondered how I would get those stripped out screw heads out when it came to service that part. I wondered if those misaligned parts would eventually leak! Then I began to work on some things and knew exactly what I suspected, the workmen left their workmanship back in their tool bags!
You can put lipstick on a pig, but it is still a pig.
My Keystone Cougar TT was the biggest piece of junk I’ve owned out of the 5 TT’s I’ve owned. The CEO should hire a Quality Manager that knows something about Quality. With CEO support I could fix the Quality issues in 6 months.
Wish you had named the RV mfr leaving the hole in the floor. Both they and your readers deserve to have that info made public.
Glad to see Keystone shamed for its “empty” rebranding efforts and it’s poor quality control.