Category Update
Clothing Brands Continue To Try On Sponsorships
Donna Karan Int'l's DKNY brand signed a deal with the New York Yankees in April that includes this right-field signage.
Apparel Company Sponsorships By Number Of Deals
Source: IEG Research
: Like a style maven on a shopping spree, the apparel category shows no signs of slowing down.
Building on a trend that started roughly three years ago, marketers of non-sports apparel are increasing their use of sponsorship to build visibility and familiarity, drive store traffic and boost sales.
As national players, apparel brands largely focus on national or regional sports, music and other types of properties to gain broad reach.
Recent activity includes Brooks Brothers with Scotland’s “Home of Golf,” St Andrews Links; Donna Karan Int’l Inc. and the MLB New York Yankees; and a partnership between Rocky Mountain Clothing Co.’s Clinch Jeans & Shirts and the National High School Rodeo Assn.
On the music front, Jade Marketing Group’s Amethyst Jeans has expanded its partnership with the Vans Warped Tour.
And, in one of the largest deals in the category, Phillips-Van Heusen Corp.’s Izod brand is in its first year as title of the Indy Racing League’s IndyCar Series.
Expect to see more activity from Brooks Brothers, which sources indicate plans to announce a new partnership with an East Coast property within the next several months.
The recent sponsorship push is largely driven by two factors: The rebounding U.S. economy’s positive impact on discretionary consumer spending, as well as continued focus by retailers on private-label brands.
For manufacturers, sponsorship is a way to garner promotional support from retail partners that otherwise might favor their own brands. In other cases, those private-label brands are signing new deals.
For example, Macy’s, Inc. this year came on board as a first-time sponsor of the Vans Warped Tour on behalf of its American Rag line.
For its part, Donna Karan’s DKNY brand signed a multiyear partnership with the Yankees to highlight its New York City-centric positioning and build visibility among men, a market where it sees growth potential.
“We want to remind male consumers that we’re out there and to think of us as a resource,” said Jacki Bouza-Longaro, Donna Karan’s senior vice president, global advertising and marketing, noting that the company makes dress shirts, sportswear and other men’s clothing.
The partnership affords a large outfield bullpen sign and title of the DKNY dugout lounge for suite ticket holders. The company is activating the tie through multiple channels, including hospitality for department store buyers.
Donna Karan also is leveraging the sponsorship through other relationships. For example, DKNY last weekend sponsored an event produced by
Gotham magazine that celebrated the publication’s latest issue, which features Yankee star Alex Rodriguez on the cover.
Below,
IEG SR highlights three sponsorship hot buttons for the apparel category:
Offer retail promotional platforms. Nearly every apparel marketer uses sponsorship to drive store traffic and incent sales through property-related activities.
DKNY last month leveraged its Yankees partnership with a promotion at its corporate-owned Madison Ave. store. The promo featured a baseball-themed front window display, a ticket sweepstakes and discounts on purchases of clothing in the Yankees’ navy and white colors.
The fashion house plans to run similar promotions at department store chains in the greater New York market, Bouza-Longaro said.
Develop co-branded merchandise. Apparel brands frequently partner with high-profile properties to obtain a license to produce branded products.
That was the driver behind Brooks Brothers’ partnership with the St Andrews Links Trust, around which it plans to develop a collection of men’s and women’s sportswear and accessories for spring ’11.
The apparel marketer and retailer—privately owned by Retail Brand Alliance, Inc.—will kick off the partnership this year by offering a limited edition men’s polo shirt commemorating July’s British Open, which will be played on St. Andrews’ Old Course. The company is currently selling the shirts on site and will begin selling the product at select U.S. stores in June.
Similarly, Polo Ralph Lauren Corp. has leveraged its partnerships with tennis’s U.S. Open and status as exclusive parade outfitter for the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic teams by creating and selling property-branded clothing lines.
Provide on-site sales and display. Properties should provide booths and other real estate that apparel companies can use to showcase and sell their latest styles.
For example, Polo Ralph Lauren receives a major retail presence at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center as part of its U.S. Open sponsorship.
Sources
Donna Karan Int’l Inc., Tel: 212/789-1500