By Dave Lewandowski
indy500.com
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Many years and unused frequent flier miles ago, Terry Angstadt was the president, CEO and a member of the board of directors of Fila Sports Inc., a leading international brand of active sportswear and athletic footwear.
So the president of the Indy Racing League's commercial division understands the strength of the ties that bind sports and their fan bases, which includes significant markets of branded apparel and related merchandise. Now IZOD, an iconic brand in the Phillips-Van Heusen family, has become the title sponsor of the IZOD IndyCar Series - a non-endemic sponsor to boot - that will broaden the scope of the series through aggressive promotion in non-traditional motorsports channels.
"It's a young-focused, sports-inspired brand," Angstadt said. "The brand fit, the vision of the two management teams, the ability to go outside of motorsports to attract new fans and consumers, it's just phenomenal."
IZOD will utilize the stars and cars of the series in multiple initiatives while also drawing upon the rich heritage of the Indianapolis 500 to unfold multiple storylines and promote its product. An example is the IZOD "Winning Series" sportswear collection, inspired by Indianapolis 500-winning cars. On hangars at Macy's and other select retailers in March 2010 will be cool vintage shirts (for men):
•1911 Marmon "Wasp" (Ray Harroun driver)
•1939-40 Boyle (Wilbur Shaw)
•1948 Blue Crown Spark Plug (Mauri Rose)
•1954 Fuel Injection (Bill Vukovich)
•1961 Bowes Seal Fast (A.J. Foyt)
•1968 Rislone (Bobby Unser)
•1972 Sunoco (Mark Donohue)
There's also a women's line of IZOD IndyCar Series items for 2010.
The move by Phillips-Van Heusen to align its IZOD brand with the Indy Racing League follows a recent series of similar decisions to shift IZOD's marketing mix toward sports and sponsorship activation. In 2008, IZOD was awarded the naming rights for then-Continental Airlines Arena in New Jersey (renaming it the IZOD Center). Phillips-Van Heusen also recently announced its Van Heusen brand's sponsorship of the Pro Football Hall Of Fame fan vote, a first of its kind for any professional sport.
"A few years ago we did some fresh research," said Michael Kelly, executive vice president of marketing and creative for Phillips-Van Heusen. "It was more important than ever to reach consumers across the country you have to have a place in sports. For men, it just comes back to, 'What are their interests?' Sports, sports, sports, news … kind of in that order.
"For IZOD, that was an immediate play. Sports-spirited, outdoor, active brand. We immediately took some actions where there was opportunity, like taking the naming rights for the IZOD Center, where the (New Jersey) Nets play, creating a platform and opportunity for sponsorship there.
"We wanted a place in motorsports. We were looking at it but couldn't find a way in. That's when we met the folks at Indy and saw that there was an opportunity for us to be not just a place in through a pure purchase play but an opportunity to partner and really build something together and build each other's brands. That's our thing. We like that a lot. So this satisfied on a number of levels.
"It's just a very sexy sport. The design, what the drivers go through, what they're all about, the fact that they're from many nations, the fact that there's both men and women, they're young, there's next-generation drivers. There are a lot of sexy pieces to this.
"I have a picture I put on my desk of Paul Newman in a car. I'm going to leave it on my desk because that to me just signifies something about American racing heritage. It's very sexy."
***
2010 Indy 500 tickets: Tickets for the 2010 Indianapolis 500, scheduled for Sunday, May 30 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, are on sale now. Race Day ticket prices start at just $20.
Fans can order tickets online at www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com, call the IMS ticket office at (317) 492-6700, or (800) 822-INDY outside the Indianapolis area or visit the ticket office at the IMS Administration Building at the corner of Georgetown Road and 16th Street. Online orders can be made at any time. Hours for phone orders and the ticket office are 8 a.m.-5 p.m. (ET) Monday-Friday.
Tickets for groups of 20 or more also are on sale. Contact the IMS Group Sales Department at (866) 221-8775 for more information.
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