iKamper is a premium global outdoor gear brand with a deeply loyal customer base. When I joined as North American Product Manager, my challenge was both nuanced and critical: unify global product development with the real-world needs of the U.S. market, all while maintaining the brand’s authenticity and innovation spirit.
What I found was a company rich in innovation and momentum, but lacking the structural processes and market insights necessary to translate that innovation into region-specific success. That’s where I came in.
Developing Process to Represent the U.S. Market’s Voice
One of the first initiatives I led was building a structured product development process that clearly represented the unique needs of the U.S. market within a globally operated organization. While iKamper’s headquarters was based in South Korea, U.S. consumers required different product features, use cases, and storytelling to fully connect with the gear.
I created a framework that included regional research inputs, defined checkpoints for feedback, and tools for transparent communication between teams. This improved clarity and significantly reduced friction between product, engineering, and marketing teams across time zones.
This wasn’t just documentation, it was cultural translation. I served as a bridge between continents, helping headquarters understand U.S. consumer expectations while equipping our local teams with the tools and timelines to influence product design, features, and launch timing.
The result was a more responsive product pipeline, one that respected the global brand while allowing U.S. market needs to steer priorities and design nuances.
Creating User Personas & Brand Profiles for Strategic Focus
Product development without empathy is just guesswork. To ground our strategy in real consumer insight, I led the development of user personas and brand profiles that became the cornerstone of both product development and marketing decisions.
These weren’t theoretical, each persona was built using real customer interviews, social listening, user-generated content, and purchase behavior data. We segmented users by motivations, lifestyle, gear expectations, and environmental usage, creating a clear profile for each core and emerging consumer group.
In parallel, I crafted a set of North American brand profiles that clarified our reason for being, tone of voice, product positioning, and aesthetic alignment. These profiles ensured consistent messaging across retail, web, and social. These profiles helped product and marketing teams make aligned decisions without spinning their wheels.
The shift was transformative. Teams now had a strategic north star, a framework that allowed us to create products and campaigns that not only looked good but were purpose-built for real people and real needs.
Product with Purpose, Process with People in Mind
What I’m most proud of during my time at iKamper is how we combined structure with soul. We didn’t just develop new ways to communicate—we created systems that respected the brand’s adventurous DNA while unlocking clarity, speed, and cohesion.
My work ensured that the U.S. market’s needs were no longer lost in translation. Instead, they became central to product decisions, shaping a more globally aware and locally relevant strategy.
More of my previous work SOG Knives & Tools | Wind Knots Consulting