Willie Robertson is the CEO of Duck Commander and stars with his family in the A&E hit television show "Duck Dynasty."
Willie Robertson is a duck-hunting, fun-loving redneck from West Monroe, La. But he also is an incredibly shrewd and visionary leader who saw a great opportunity to expand his company’s brand, as well as the Robertson family brand. And it has paid off, big time.
If you are a fan of Willie and the rest of the Robertson family in their A&E hit television series “Duck Dynasty,” then you are familiar with the story. If you’re not familiar with the story, you’ve probably been living under a rock lately. The Robertsons are everywhere.
Even before “Duck Dynasty,” the family had a very successful business. Willie’s dad, Phil, patented a duck call design, and those duck calls, camo and other hunting gear put Duck Commander firmly in charge of the duck-hunting world. The Robertson men were already on television, too, with a show actually about duck hunting on the Outdoor Channel.
Yes, the Duck Commander brand was strong before Willie took over running the family business. But Willie had a “vision for something bigger” that would prevent the downward slide some family businesses go through.
Willie’s vision included another of his interests — comedy. When A&E approached him about the show, Willie saw the chance to shift the focus from guns, ducks and bucks to family, faith and funny. Willie knew he had the hunting audience. He saw “Duck Dynasty” as the chance to capture hunters’ wives, children, neighbors and friends.
His hunched worked. The “Duck Dynasty” season four premier drew 11.8 million viewers, a record audience for a nonfiction show on cable television.
Thanks to “Duck Dynasty,” duck calls now bring in a minority of revenue compared to T-shirts, tea glasses, bobbleheads, books and more. The Robertsons are everywhere from Bass Pro Shops to Walmart.
As a fellow Louisiana company, we salute the entire Robertson family, even Uncle Si, for their phenomenal success. We celebrate Willie’s courage to take a creative risk and reinvent the brand to reach a new audience. On Hold Company loves to work with companies to creatively brand themselves through on-hold messages. Together we can celebrate your success, too.
