Several Orange County apparel brands in attendance at the Agenda trade show in Long Beach this month shared news from their marketing departments:
Costa Mesa-based Element, owned by Billabong International, recently “restructured its marketing team into two silos”—skate and lifestyle—in order to reach a “consumer that is fashion savvy, not just focused on skate but also really loves design,” according to Candice Betancourt, the brand’s director of lifestyle marketing. Element Eden, its women’s apparel line, now has a dedicated marketing budget and its own graphic designer.
Electric Visuals in San Clemente will increase its digital media spending this year and reduce print advertising to reach a ration of 70:30. It was at about 50:50, said Ian Fouoke, the brand’s manager of global lifestyle and surf marketing. Its design team is developing a Kelly Slater signature collection—two sunglasses and two watches—scheduled to arrive in stores in the spring of 2016. The pro surfer is already featured on Electric’s website as a “brand ambassador.”
Rusty North America’s new marketing campaign, “Metal Aloha,” is “a little mix of aloha that we have in traditional surf: the florals. But it has the metal edge to it, a juxtaposition,” said Mitch Hayes, the brand’s marketing director. The campaign was shot in Hawaii and will feature “guys in boardshorts and girls in denim jackets.”
Irvine-based Lost Enterprises’ new women’s brand—Sea Gypsies by Lost—will hit retailers, such as Tilly’s and Hobie, next month, said Jaime Barba, the company’s national sales manager. The brand is working with Shout PR of Costa Mesa to spread the word.
Men’s apparel line Vissla and sunglasses brand D’Blanc—both under Paul Naudé’s Stokehouse Unlimited umbrella—are getting ready to launch marketing campaigns. Vissla’s was shot in Nicaragua and focuses on its “creators and innovators,” such as artists, surfers and surfboard shapers. Video for D’Blanc’s spring line was filmed at the Line hotel in Koreatown, according to Keegan Fong, digital marketing director for both brands.
PacLife Tweaks Fund Name
Pacific Life Insurance Co.—the guys with the whale logo—shortened the name of their mutual fund from Pacific Life Funds to Pacific Funds. The renaming was “an opportunity to distinguish the mutual funds business as its own distinctive product line,” the company said.
Newport Beach-based Pacific Life, part of Pacific Mutual Holding Co., is one of the largest insurance companies in the U.S. and the largest private company based in Orange County. It had about $7.5 billion in revenue and $541 million in net income in 2013. It spent $14.7 million on media buys in the first nine months of 2014.
LPA’s New Site
Irvine-based architecture firm LPA Inc. launched In+Site, an online platform showcasing “the company’s communities, places and people in a collection of posts and pictures.”
The Tumblr-like platform is part of LPA’s 50th anniversary celebration, which will also include the launch of the LPA Foundation to support “educational, social and environmental research and progress,” according to the company.
“The foundation will be an important part of LPA’s legacy” said Kevin Sullivan, principal at LPA, “as it reflects LPA’s commitment to a sustainable built environment for future generations.”
LPA, founded in 1965, has more than 220 employees in offices in Irvine, Roseville, San Diego, San Jose and San Antonio. It ranked No. 1 on the Business Journal’s most recent list of the 36 largest architecture firms, with $44 million in OC billings for the 12 months ended in June 2014.Â
Bits & Pieces
Tim Keef left his post as head of online marketing at Red Digital Cinema Camera Co. in Irvine to join University of California-Irvine Extension as director of marketing and communications. His duties will include planning of new branding and messaging. … Mazda North American Operations in Irvine wrapped up its second Mazda Drive for Good fundraising drive, netting about $4.9 million for national charities, including St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, the American Red Cross, and the American Heart Association. … Red8, the consulting and systems integration division of Costa Mesa-based technology services provider Insight Investments LLC, redesigned its website—redeight.com—as part of a rebranding effort that kicked off last year. … Peggy Trott, general manager of the Inn at Laguna Beach, was named the chairwoman of Visit Laguna Beach’s board of directors.
