Creating a buzz in the surf apparel industry?

Being too close to a project can sometimes inadvertently handicap you
with blinders and I think this has happened to me.

I own a surf wear company and I'm trying to get my product in retail
outlets. However, being a demand driven industry ("we'll call you when
our customers come looking for your product") I need to create a buzz
about the product with my target audience (18-24yrd olds). I usually
have no problem coming up with innovative and effective marketing
initiatives but this really has me stumped!

Any thoughts on how to create a buzz or at least find one or two
sympathetic surf shop owners who may at lease look at my product?

Thanks in advance for your time.

Phil Reid

"Philip Reid" <phreid@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:clmn4t0gcj@enews2.newsguy.com...
>
> Being too close to a project can sometimes inadvertently handicap you
> with blinders and I think this has happened to me.
>
> I own a surf wear company and I'm trying to get my product in retail
> outlets. However, being a demand driven industry ("we'll call you when
> our customers come looking for your product") I need to create a buzz
> about the product with my target audience (18-24yrd olds). I usually
> have no problem coming up with innovative and effective marketing
> initiatives but this really has me stumped!
>
> Any thoughts on how to create a buzz or at least find one or two
> sympathetic surf shop owners who may at lease look at my product?
>
> Thanks in advance for your time.
>
> Phil Reid
>

See Kellogg on Integrated Marketing, ISBN 0-471-20476-5, for an excellent
discussion and examples of tapping into networked communities to perform
viral marketing. This is not the gross email spamming described by
"internet marketers", but a consideration of how to find and work with
"mavens", "tastemakers". amd "appreciators" - where to troll and how to tip
product info & goodies to the people who will get the word around. As an
example from the book, the Wolverine shoe company followed an existing
network to make Hush Puppies the same big deal as when it was introduced.
Given the heavy involvement in electronic communications among todays young
people, getting a buzz can be a lot easier than with a non-internet using
group.

I think you'll find (assuming you're somewhere near a beach) tastemakers and
mavens who can help your buzz get going.

Good luck.

George

"George King" <news@geking.com> wrote in message
news:<clmvma018a8@enews3.newsguy.com>...
[ Excess quoted material trimmed by moderator. -JimL ]
> See Kellogg on Integrated Marketing, ISBN 0-471-20476-5, for an excellent
> discussion and examples of tapping into networked communities to perform
> viral marketing. This is not the gross email spamming described by
> "internet marketers", but a consideration of how to find and work with
> "mavens", "tastemakers". amd "appreciators" - where to troll and how to tip
> product info & goodies to the people who will get the word around. As an
> example from the book, the Wolverine shoe company followed an existing
> network to make Hush Puppies the same big deal as when it was introduced.
> Given the heavy involvement in electronic communications among todays young
> people, getting a buzz can be a lot easier than with a non-internet using
> group.
>
> I think you'll find (assuming you're somewhere near a beach) tastemakers and
> mavens who can help your buzz get going.

Thanks George.

"Philip Reid" <phreid@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:clmn4t0gcj@enews2.newsguy.com...
>
>
> Any thoughts on how to create a buzz or at least find one or two
> sympathetic surf shop owners who may at lease look at my product?
>

Is there a nightclub that's popular with those 18 - 24 Y.O.'s? Perhaps an
event including your surfwear and maybe one of the shops you are trying to
get into will stock your merchandise. Maybe you can co-promote with some
non-competing products. Are there any other surf accessories they sell that
are from manufacturers that don't also do apparel? I'm thinking getting some
hot bodies into your gear at the nightclub. Maybe a surf night. Drink
specials, *** on the beach, etc. Perhaps your local liquor or beer or even
Red Bull or ****en's Cider, (if it's available there), would participate if
you want to get the under 21 crowd.
Maybe you can get some ideas from http://www.promotingnightclubs.com/

--
McWebber
No email replies read
If someone tells you to forward an email to all your friends
please forget that I'm your friend.

"Philip Reid" <phreid@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:clmn4t0gcj@enews2.newsguy.com...
>
> Being too close to a project can sometimes inadvertently handicap you
> with blinders and I think this has happened to me.
>
> I own a surf wear company and I'm trying to get my product in retail
> outlets. However, being a demand driven industry ("we'll call you when
> our customers come looking for your product") I need to create a buzz
> about the product with my target audience (18-24yrd olds). I usually
> have no problem coming up with innovative and effective marketing
> initiatives but this really has me stumped!
>
> Any thoughts on how to create a buzz or at least find one or two
> sympathetic surf shop owners who may at lease look at my product?
>
> Thanks in advance for your time.
>
> Phil Reid

Are you primarily a manufacturer of your own designs or do you purchase from
manufacturers?

Wayne
>

"Wayne Lundberg" <Waynelund@worldnet.att.net> wrote in message
news:<clq5nh01a6u@enews4.newsguy.com>...
> "Philip Reid" <phreid@earthlink.net> wrote in message
> news:clmn4t0gcj@enews2.newsguy.com...
> >
> > Being too close to a project can sometimes inadvertently handicap you
> > with blinders and I think this has happened to me.
> >
> > I own a surf wear company and I'm trying to get my product in retail
> > outlets. However, being a demand driven industry ("we'll call you when
> > our customers come looking for your product") I need to create a buzz
> > about the product with my target audience (18-24yrd olds). I usually
> > have no problem coming up with innovative and effective marketing
> > initiatives but this really has me stumped!
> >
> > Any thoughts on how to create a buzz or at least find one or two
> > sympathetic surf shop owners who may at lease look at my product?
> >
> > Thanks in advance for your time.
> >
> > Phil Reid
>
> Are you primarily a manufacturer of your own designs or do you purchase from
> manufacturers?
>
> Wayne
> >

Thanks for all your comments.

We create our own designs and they are manufactured overseas. Our
current line consists of LS/SS t-shirts, hats, visors and board
shorts. Its important to remember in this industry (as in others) we
sell image NOT merchandise.

With that said, does anyone have any comments/suggestions on an idea I
had to start a viral (the most overused and abused word in the
industry) marketing campaign? When you read this remember 1)we have a
small budget and 2) we need to stoke the fire on the demand side,
otherwise retailers (i.e. surf shops) wont look at us.

Borrowing a few different components of what I've read, my idea was to
"showcase" the products on the web site however, there will be no way
for the end user to buy the merchandise, it's there for the retailers
to view. There will be a "dealer inquiry" link for interested
retailers. This will be a simple email link to me. I'll then follow
up with a phone call/return email and a catalog if necessary.

On the website there will be a place people (the "virus spreaders")
can go to get a free sticker. The virus spreader will have several
options of stickers. The sticker will be mailed and will(hopefully) go
on the car, notebook, locker etc of the virus spreader and their name
will go in our database. We'll give them a variety of stickers to
choose from so we'll see which design(s) are popular and not so
popular. Simply enter your name and address and we'll send you a free
sticker of your choice.

As one "virus marketer" says. "Tell 'em Sam sent you: Reward your
steady visitors for bringing new visitors to your site. Create a
special "referrer program" that your steady visitors can sign up for.
Have them invite their friends to visit and if they do, have them
mention the referee's e-mail address and the referee earns something
free from your site."

If the virus spreader refers 15/20 (??? suggestions) friends who ask
for stickers, we'll send the referrer a free t-shirt. We'll also have
a button that says "Send this page to a friend" so the person trying
to earn a free t-shirt can simply add email addresses and send the
site. Yes there are some db and admin issues but we can always end the
promotion if it gets out of hand or too unmanageable. Additionally,
for every t-shirt we send, we donate $1.00 to a charity.

Another marketer said. "Send out news releases concerning a free
service or product available on your site. The key here is to have a
truly newsworthy event, contest, free service, or digital download. If
your news release is carried by just 5% of the media you send it to,
you could have your URL in front of tens of thousands of readers quite
inexpensively."

So then we hit the popular message boards and issue Press Releases
announcing our free giveaway and supported charity.

"Philip Reid" <phreid@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:clr7ij025b@enews2.newsguy.com...
>
> With that said, does anyone have any comments/suggestions on an idea I
> had to start a viral (the most overused and abused word in the
> industry) marketing campaign?

Not knowing an awful lot about that industry, I would guess you need to get
one or more of the famous surfers to wear your designs. Probably expensive.

> Borrowing a few different components of what I've read, my idea was to
> "showcase" the products on the web site however, there will be no way
> for the end user to buy the merchandise, it's there for the retailers
> to view. There will be a "dealer inquiry" link for interested
> retailers. This will be a simple email link to me. I'll then follow
> up with a phone call/return email and a catalog if necessary.

If you have a lot of traffic to your site from your target market, that
would be great. Getting your product featured on a popular surf related site
or magazine would probably get more attention.

>
> On the website there will be a place people (the "virus spreaders")
> can go to get a free sticker. The virus spreader will have several
> options of stickers. The sticker will be mailed and will(hopefully) go
> on the car, notebook, locker etc of the virus spreader and their name
> will go in our database. We'll give them a variety of stickers to
> choose from so we'll see which design(s) are popular and not so
> popular. Simply enter your name and address and we'll send you a free
> sticker of your choice.

Probably not much more expensive to just send them a "set" of stickers so
hopefully they'll share them.

>
> As one "virus marketer" says. "Tell 'em Sam sent you: Reward your
> steady visitors for bringing new visitors to your site. Create a
> special "referrer program" that your steady visitors can sign up for.
> Have them invite their friends to visit and if they do, have them
> mention the referee's e-mail address and the referee earns something
> free from your site."
>
> If the virus spreader refers 15/20 (??? suggestions) friends who ask
> for stickers, we'll send the referrer a free t-shirt. We'll also have
> a button that says "Send this page to a friend" so the person trying
> to earn a free t-shirt can simply add email addresses and send the
> site. Yes there are some db and admin issues but we can always end the
> promotion if it gets out of hand or too unmanageable. Additionally,
> for every t-shirt we send, we donate $1.00 to a charity.


Be very careful how you do that. Be sure to track and log the IP addresses
of everyone who uses your "send this link to a friend" form. Your server
should include that information on the email that goes out. "This email was
sent from IP 123.45.67.89, (which is the IP of the person who accessed the
form), at xx:xx:xx AM/PM" Once you offer something of value for people to
email the link to their friends, people start spamming every address they
know via your link form and you're the one sending the spam.

> So then we hit the popular message boards and issue Press Releases
> announcing our free giveaway and supported charity.

Check those message board rules carefully before posting what the readers
may consider an ad. You can get more bad reaction from some discussion
boards than you want if you're not very careful.

--
McWebber
No email replies read
If someone tells you to forward an email to all your friends
please forget that I'm your friend.

Go to one of the markets. I went as a buyer to a surf expo in Florida a few
years
back. You can have a booth, set up a runway and shows (with "cool and hip"
models) to promote your gear. Show costs will vary, but if you're confident in
your look, you should be confident enough that you'll draw enough attention and
consequent business to get things rolling.

I have some experience as a male model. Many, many times, you can get an agency
to send models for little to nothing. They like the exposure, and the models
will
be working on their books, so they want the photographs for the different
"looks".

Internet...well...you can't really get much of an idea about quality, fitting,
etc. You can't touch the fabric to see if it will be confortable.

Most of the buyers at the shows have their own surf shops, etc...and they aren't
necessarily at the beach. Tie into other industries. There is a VERY strong
bond
between surf wear, skate wear, wakeboarding, and snowboarding.

Cheers,
K-

Philip Reid wrote:

> "Wayne Lundberg" <Waynelund@worldnet.att.net> wrote in message
> news:<clq5nh01a6u@enews4.newsguy.com>...
> > "Philip Reid" <phreid@earthlink.net> wrote in message
> > news:clmn4t0gcj@enews2.newsguy.com...
> > >
> > > Being too close to a project can sometimes inadvertently handicap you
> > > with blinders and I think this has happened to me.
> > >
> > > I own a surf wear company and I'm trying to get my product in retail
> > > outlets. However, being a demand driven industry ("we'll call you when
> > > our customers come looking for your product") I need to create a buzz
> > > about the product with my target audience (18-24yrd olds). I usually
> > > have no problem coming up with innovative and effective marketing
> > > initiatives but this really has me stumped!
> > >
> > > Any thoughts on how to create a buzz or at least find one or two
> > > sympathetic surf shop owners who may at lease look at my product?
> > >
> > > Thanks in advance for your time.
> > >
> > > Phil Reid
> >
> > Are you primarily a manufacturer of your own designs or do you purchase from
> > manufacturers?
> >
> > Wayne
> > >
>
> Thanks for all your comments.
>
> We create our own designs and they are manufactured overseas. Our
> current line consists of LS/SS t-shirts, hats, visors and board
> shorts. Its important to remember in this industry (as in others) we
> sell image NOT merchandise.
>
> With that said, does anyone have any comments/suggestions on an idea I
> had to start a viral (the most overused and abused word in the
> industry) marketing campaign? When you read this remember 1)we have a
> small budget and 2) we need to stoke the fire on the demand side,
> otherwise retailers (i.e. surf shops) wont look at us.
>
> Borrowing a few different components of what I've read, my idea was to
> "showcase" the products on the web site however, there will be no way
> for the end user to buy the merchandise, it's there for the retailers
> to view. There will be a "dealer inquiry" link for interested
> retailers. This will be a simple email link to me. I'll then follow
> up with a phone call/return email and a catalog if necessary.
>
> On the website there will be a place people (the "virus spreaders")
> can go to get a free sticker. The virus spreader will have several
> options of stickers. The sticker will be mailed and will(hopefully) go
> on the car, notebook, locker etc of the virus spreader and their name
> will go in our database. We'll give them a variety of stickers to
> choose from so we'll see which design(s) are popular and not so
> popular. Simply enter your name and address and we'll send you a free
> sticker of your choice.
>
> As one "virus marketer" says. "Tell 'em Sam sent you: Reward your
> steady visitors for bringing new visitors to your site. Create a
> special "referrer program" that your steady visitors can sign up for.
> Have them invite their friends to visit and if they do, have them
> mention the referee's e-mail address and the referee earns something
> free from your site."
>
> If the virus spreader refers 15/20 (??? suggestions) friends who ask
> for stickers, we'll send the referrer a free t-shirt. We'll also have
> a button that says "Send this page to a friend" so the person trying
> to earn a free t-shirt can simply add email addresses and send the
> site. Yes there are some db and admin issues but we can always end the
> promotion if it gets out of hand or too unmanageable. Additionally,
> for every t-shirt we send, we donate $1.00 to a charity.
>
> Another marketer said. "Send out news releases concerning a free
> service or product available on your site. The key here is to have a
> truly newsworthy event, contest, free service, or digital download. If
> your news release is carried by just 5% of the media you send it to,
> you could have your URL in front of tens of thousands of readers quite
> inexpensively."
>
> So then we hit the popular message boards and issue Press Releases
> announcing our free giveaway and supported charity.

In Response To:

"Borrowing a few different components of what I've read, my idea was to
"showcase" the products on the web site however, there will be no way
for the end user to buy the merchandise, it's there for the retailers to
view. There will be a "dealer inquiry" link for interested retailers.
=A0 This will be a simple email link to me. I'll then follow up with a
phone call/return email and a catalog if necessary.
On the website there will be a place people (the "virus spreaders") can
go to get a free sticker. The virus spreader will have several options
of stickers. The sticker will be mailed and will(hopefully) go on the
car, notebook, locker etc of the virus spreader and their name will go
in our database. We'll give them a variety of stickers to choose from so
we'll see which design(s) are popular and not so popular. Simply enter
your name and address and we'll send you a free sticker of your choice."

Actually I think the web concept (as i stands) is not there it really...

Why are you targeting the retailers as customers, but aiming the promo
to end users?
If end user demand is your goal, then your goal is to get warm bodies
into your duds as quickly as possible.

And letting the end user come away with only a sticker in a viral
campaing? "Forgetaboudit". When have you seen someone really passionate
about a sticker?

T-shirts better.. but still a weak draw. And even if it were strong,
it's tailored to the wrong target.

I`'ll try to post more on this later as time permits...

~zion~