DISCUSSION
Russell Athletic champions high school underdogs
Written by RetailWire Staff
Source: Russell Athletics
As retailers prepare for the back-to-school rush, athletic apparel brands are hoping to win big on high school sports. But Russell Athletic’s new high school football-related advertising campaign is far afield from traditional sports marketing.
The brand has launched an integrated marketing campaign aimed, not on last year's big winners, but at those who nearly made it. According to a press release, Russell Athletic’s “Team On” campaign and accompanying #SettleYourScore hashtag are targeted at 101 high school teams nationwide that lost a state championship by a single touchdown or less. Six of these schools are partnering with Russell Athletic.
Coaches and team members involved in the partnership appear on billboards and video advertisements, their faces shown in close-up to indicate they are “staring down” the previous year’s losses, according to the release. At the beginning of the next season, the teams will exorcise the demons of the last year by tearing down the billboards and revealing their new team mantras. The students are also being supplied with perspiration-activated practice gear that “reveals inspiration” when they sweat and will have their stories told on a brand website.
In the press release, the brand purports to be defending team sports from the “ego, hype and selfishness” of the modern era.
Whether or not the campaign does this — the students are, after all, still focused on winning the big game — it does offer a narrative arc of a team potentially overcoming the odds. And because of the focus on the eventual win, the campaign can avoid falling victim to the oft-repeated cliché about Millennials believing everyone deserves a trophy.
Cultivating brand loyalty among student athletes at the high school level is something big name apparel manufacturers are taking seriously these days. Last year The Baltimore Sun reported that Under Armour was partnering with schools in the Baltimore area to outfit high school athletes with Under Armour-branded uniforms. In response Nike, which has traditionally dominated that market, launched a high school basketball event to compete with a similar one put on by Under Armour.