Apparel | Friday, December 19, 2008

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POP-UPS, PREFAB, AND PUBLISHING: The year that Supima changed the paradigm of marketing luxury fiber

By CeCe Shelburne

PHOENIX — It’s been quite a year.

If you’ve been anywhere near Women’s Wear Daily, the New York Times’ T Magazine, the Internet’s top fashion blogs, YouTube, or websites like Elle.com, then you’ve been hearing plenty about Supima during the last 12 months.

At a time when textiles, apparel, home furnishings, and retail make headlines for cutbacks, layoffs, and disappointments, Supima has been aggressively exploring new ways to promote its licensees.

And garnering plenty of positive press coverage.

The 54-year-old marketing and promotions company representing U.S. growers of extra-long staple Pima cotton, has been consistently scoring the few “good news” headlines to appear in both the business and consumer press. Among its recent hits:

• A new advertising campaign contrasting the softness and serenity of Supima cotton with the hectic energy of New York City. A follow-up to 2007’s award-winning “Sea of Cotton” campaign, the new images debuted with prime placements in T Magazine, the internationally distributed design supplement of The New York Times.

• A month-long pop-up store in New York City, which opened in mid-March and sold merchandise from Supima licensees while showcasing the brand message of superior strength and softness in a prime retail space in SoHo, one of Manhattan’s most-trafficked shopping neighborhoods.

• A packed schedule of special events timed to cross-promote the pop-up. Using the retail venue as a gallery space, Supima staged a fashion show for L.A. label Oligo Tissew, introduced Supima licensees to the New York fashion press through a series of cocktail parties, and threw a “Paint the T-shirt” event that gained extensive coverage in the New York Post.

• Planting a cotton field in Manhattan. To celebrate the opening of its pop-up, Supima surprised New Yorkers by planting a field of cotton next to one of the city’s major throughways, creating an instant and much-photographed tourist attraction designed to draw curious consumers to the nearby store.

• Supima’s first magalog, an upscale, controlled-circulation fashion magazine illustrating the brands in the pop-up store.

• The inaugural Competition for Emerging Designers, which challenged fashion talent to rethink the possibilities of Supima, culminating with a July 15 fashion show featuring 25 finalists sending their designs down the runway in front of an elite audience of invited fashion press and buyers.

• A second special-edition, controlled circulation PREFAB, the Supima semi-annual trade show held in Gotham Hall during New York’s Textile Market Week.

• An energetic blog, supimacotton.blogspot.com, which scored over 150 posts during its first year and immediately became an established link to everything from licensees’ and designers’ websites to Internet references and mainstream press about Supima and its licensees.

• Supima TV, a series of video posts on YouTube.com, featuring Supima’s partner mills in a broadcast interview format.

But that’s just the beginning.

Here are a few hints of what’s coming in 2009:

• The second Competition for Emerging Designers is already underway, with finals slated for Wednesday evening, January 14. In only its second go-round, Supima has significantly expanded its press coverage, added a prestigious panel of judges representing some of the top names in industry and academia, and attracted a truly international line-up of contestants.

 

• The unveiling of an ambitious program to cross-promote Supima’s licensee brands and retailers by giving them international exposure.

• A gorgeous new ad campaign that extends and develops Supima’s premium, all-American heritage.

• More micro-sites that use the flexibility of the web to link Supima to fashion blogs, top retail sites, and news posts.