Oakley Inc. revamped its advertising and went with a softer look to pitch its new sunglasses for women.
The Foothill Ranch-based company scrapped typical ads featuring macho athletes for glamorous women wearing Oakley shades and clothes.
The women strike different poses on Oakley’s divas-only Web site, www.oakleywomen.com.
“As we launched women’s (sunglasses), we were thoughtful on how we portrayed the brand,” Chief Executive Scott Olivet said.
The move is part of Oakley’s push to appeal to more females.
“Women either buy or influence purchase decisions,” Olivet said
The company first tried to go after women with clothing a few years ago.
But it had some fashion flops and retrenched.
This time, Oakley wants to lure a wider audience with sunglasses, its bread and butter, Olivet said.
“If you’re going to go after a new consumer, you do it with your core strength, you do it with eyewear,” he said.
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Oakley’s site for women: “We’d like to have a better balance in the company,” Olivet says |
Oakley also plans to launch its first women’s goggles later this year, Olivet said.
The company has been upping the number of female workers devoted to designing the sunglasses and clothing lines, Olivet said.
“We’d like to have a better balance in the company,” he said.
Women’s apparel is “an untapped opportunity for Oakley” since the company in the past hasn’t “devoted resources to this sub-segment,” analyst Claire Gallacher at Caris & Co. said in a recent report.
Olivet, who took the reins as chief executive last fall, is leading Oakley’s push.
The executive is looking to refocus the company on sunglasses.
Other moves include expanding Oakley’s retail division, making two acquisitions, revamping clothing lines and nixing most of Oakley’s footwear.
O’Leary Boosts Ranks
Irvine-based O’Leary and Partners spent the past year staffing up.
The advertising firm hired six workers as clients upped their spending and the shop brought in more work, President Jim Harrington said.
O’Leary now has 67 people.
Among O’Leary and Partners’ recent wins: La Habra-based Paul’s TV and Appliance Center Inc., Mexico’s Grupo Bimbo SA and its Oroweat and Francisco brands, and San Diego’s WD-40 Co., including for the company’s Spot Shot, Carpet Fresh and WD-40 brands.
A few shops, including incumbent Cramer-Krasselt in Milwaukee, previously handled the WD-40 business, worth some $15 million yearly.
The work offset the loss of Phoenix’s DriveTime Automotive Group Inc., Harrington said.
The outlook for 2006 is for a 10% jump in billings, slightly better than 2005, he said.
Last year, O’Leary and Partners’ billings grew 8% to $85 million.
The shop also had opened an office in Dallas to serve the U.S. arm of Mexico’s Grupo Bimbo, Harrington said.
Y & R;’s Film Work
Irvine’s Young & Rubicam Brands recently wrapped up a campaign promoting the Newport Beach Film Festival, which runs Thursday to April 30.
The shop worked with ka-chew!, the commercial division of Hollywood-based Klasky Csupo Inc., to create TV spots, print ads, bus shelters, theater trailers and more.
The commercials are running on cable programming, including Adelphia Commun-
ications Corp. and Cox Communications Inc.
Print ads are slated for local publications, including OC Weekly and the Orange County Register.
Graves Looking Ahead
Lake Forest-based Graves Advertising expects billings to grow 5% this year, according to President Geoffrey Graves.
The firm works mostly with homebuilders and developers and is taking a “more aggressive approach in terms of budgeting and campaigns” as the housing market slows, Graves said.
Graves Advertising grew billings 14% in 2005 to $12.5 million as current and new clients ramped up marketing, Graves said.
Among the shop’s recent wins is the Barone Group.
Graves Advertising also added two workers to its staff, which now is at 14 people.
The firm has added database management, response fulfillment and Web marketing services, according to Graves, who said he’s invested in a lot of computer gear.
Bits and Pieces:
Irvine-based Post Modern Group promoted Michael Pearce to senior vice president of operations. Jason Szymanski saw a promotion to vice president of operations Madison Alexander PR in Irvine was recently named the agency of record for Breach Security in Carlsbad and TriGeo Network Security Inc. of Idaho.
