Survival of the Fittest
by Roger Gingerich and Danielle Gulic
When athletes step up to perform this February, they’ll do so in functional yet stylish clothes from Canadian companies.
Montreal-based Sunice is one of those suppliers. The company will outfit more than 2,200 CTV staff including production personnel, network executives, guests, and staff working at and attending the Games.
The Olympic apparel includes an outer shell, thermal and softshell jackets, quarter-zip shirts, insulated pants, rain pants, toques, gloves — it’s gear worthy of enduring the west coast weather.
In their 2010 collection, Sunice chose to highlight Haida artwork. As a northern British Columbia First Nations group known for their carving and painting (Haida artist Bill Reid’s artwork appears on the Canadian $20 bill), the combination is elegant yet significant: the pieces shine a light on culture through apparel, and history through design.
Licensed merchandise for the Olympics is always a hot item; part of that cachet is that it must pass through the strictest quality assurance. With unique holograms, consumers are assured that their purchase is authentic.
Licensed apparel is also another chance for companies to promote their own business. Elevate Sport is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Trimark Sportswear Group, selling exclusively to approved Canadian retailers.
“Similar to our Trimark day-to-day business, we act as the back end, and help our customers navigate the intricacies of the Olympic landscape,” says Dave Garrett, general manager of Elevate Sport.
Elevate’s mandate is simple: elevate your senses, elevate your style, and elevate your game. “Ultimately, Elevate has made our key distributors the link to the sponsors’ co-branded Olympic apparel and headwear,” says Garrett.
The Olympics represent all the intricate workings of a successful corporation, from corporate branding, marketing, organization and campaigning. Similar to every company, the apparel line that represents an Olympic Games must evolve with the times, rebrand to reach younger demographics, and source relevant companies to co-brand with to maintain their image.
In the case of Sunice, seasoned ski apparel design professional Grace A. Galdi was brought in to add her design flair. Taking into consideration consumer and retailer specifications, Galdi created high-end technical sportswear at a price that has been adjusted according to the economy.
From a trend standpoint, “branded brands” or “co-branding” has been with us for quite some time. This is Sunice’s third Games. And companies with similar demographics want to partner and “share” similar client profiles with non-competing brands.
Branded apparel falls into the same genre as non-apparel brands that have true research and development departments; they value high quality standards and long-range vision for their product.
National supporters range from Bell, the Bay, RBC, GM Canada, Petro-Canada and Rona. These elite brands went through their own individual processes to be considered for such an honour. If you’re considering co-branding ask yourself: who are your supporters? With whom do you structurally align yourself to best reflect your corporation and elevate the volume of your brand?
The answers will help steer you into a winning co-branding formula.
