Investing in staff to elevate performance and industry positioning
February 17, 2025 – Ketchum, ID – CrankTank, an expert digital marketing and e-commerce strategy agency in the outdoor industry, has invested in key staff to elevate performance while continuing to focus on international business, future market trends and key industry events. CrankTank enters its ninth year of business in 2025.
CrankTank is pleased to announce the addition of Katie Middel as Client Success Manager. With a strong background in agency work and digital marketing, Middel will oversee project delivery, ensuring the highest standards of quality and performance. Middel will also play a key role in strategy development, reporting and analysis, scoping, and business development. “I’m always ready for the next challenge,” she said, “whether it’s racing to the top of Baldy Mountain or helping clients hit their revenue goals through digital campaigns.” Middel resides in Ketchum, and is an avid skier, mountain biker, and yogi.
CrankTank’s skilled team continues to rise. In addition to hiring Middel, Anna Howard has been promoted to Account Executive, Scotty Peck to Account Manager and Amazon Management, while Cole Casperson, our Chief Data Officer received his Professional Certification in Data Science from MIT this past summer.
“The two best aspects of my job are integrating and often learning from our smart and talented colleagues, and interacting with our dynamic brand partners’ leadership teams,” said CEO Scott Montgomery.
Brands are increasingly embracing direct-to-consumer strategies to strengthen customer relationships, balance the reliance on traditional retail channels, make first-party data-driven decisions, and take greater control over pricing and inventory. Building your Digital Approach with first-party data grows revenue across all channels by enabling you to “meet the customers where they are.”
Susanne Pfrengle, Managing Director of CrankTank Europe, says it’s been a productive but wild ride. “We’ve tackled complex challenges together,” Pfrengle said, “navigating the intricacies of international e-commerce, overcoming cultural and logistical hurdles, fine-tuning and aligning localized yet global strategies to ensure success in multiple markets. The learning curve has been steep, but so has growth, both for us and the brands we support. Seeing our clients successfully expand their global footprint has been incredibly rewarding, and we’re just getting started.”
Katie Middel, Client Success Manager
Susanne Pfrengle, Managing Director of CrankTank Europe
Looking ahead to 2025, we anticipate continued momentum in the premium and niche segments, particularly in e-bikes, performance cycling gear, and eco-friendly, innovative outdoor products. Consumers are becoming more selective, and brands that offer localized direct shopping opportunities will have a significant competitive advantage. Additionally, with market corrections and shifting consumer behavior, brands will need to refine their DTC strategies to focus on profitability and efficiency, optimizing marketing spend, defining target regions and minimizing return rates.
CrankTank has been at the forefront of helping brands navigate these changes. Our expertise in expanding global storefronts, implementing seamless multi-language sites, and managing the complexities of international e-commerce has positioned our clients for success. As the market evolves, companies that invest in a well-executed global e-commerce strategy will be best positioned to thrive. We are excited to continue supporting brands in their international expansion with Shopify Plus.
The CrankTank team will attend and sponsor the Bicycle Leadership Conference as well as attend the Taipei Show, Sea Otter Classic, and Eurobike all in the first quarters of 2025. As our experience level grows and the corresponding expertise of our team rises, matched with the ever-evolving technology and data capabilities around digital marketing, we use these insights to improve our techniques to bring all our brand partners more success.
The company is alpha testing a scaled Reactive MMM (Marketing Mix Model) model that can be custom fit to each customer’s goals. Casperson explained, “Small companies now generate vast amounts of data, too. When we manage your integrated digital strategy, we see customer intent, seasonality, semantic relevance, and funnel progress from multiple vectors. With today’s new technologies, there’s no reason we can’t, at a fraction of the cost, offer you the same insights and optimizations that the giant companies enjoy.”