Expected to be big at the Action Sports Retailer Trade Expo show next month: shoes.
Several shoe brands are expected to unveil lines at the annual trade show for apparel makers and retailers. Among them is skateboard company Element, part of Irvine-based Billabong USA.
Lake Forest-based Sole Technology Inc., which counts etnies and & #233;S among its skate shoes, also plans to have new styles on hand.
“Footwear is a significant part of our industry,” ASR director Kevin Flanagan said.
Roughly a third of sales in the $5.2 billion yearly skateboarding market and $3.4 billion surf industry can be linked to sneakers and sandals, according to Trabuco Canyon-based market tracker Board-Trac.
So I guess it’s no coincidence that teen clothing retailer Anaheim-based Pacific Sunwear of California Inc. recently took the wraps off a chain of shoe stores called One Thousand Steps.
PacSun’s buyers are set to be among some 7,000 others scouting ASR from Sept. 9 to 11 at the San Diego Convention Center.
The buyers are hoping to preview the latest garb from a number of Orange County’s surfwear makers, including Billabong, Huntington Beach-based Quiksilver Inc., Irvine-based Rusty and Costa Mesa-based Hurley International, part of Nike Inc.
Expect marketing overdrive. Usually companies have big ASR booths plastered with flashy ads. Workers chat up buyers, hand out stickers and party fliers or just hang out on couches checking out surf videos.
Then there are the fashion shows. Most companies, such as Billabong, hire models to wear their latest clothes on mini-catwalks inside their booths.
ASR’s set to have a skate ramp, where professionals for many of OC’s brands, such as Sole Technology, will compete and do tricks.
This year, ASR also plans to raise money for various charitable causes. Wristbands are set to be sold for SurfAid, a nonprofit. At ASR’s winter show in January, more than $40,000 was raised in three days for SurfAid, which was helping people impacted by the tsunami.
Fair Tally
This summer’s Orange County Fair hit its goal of drawing more than a million visitors, a 10% rise from last year. Admission sales were up 25% to $4.5 million.
Newport Beach-based Blue C Com-munications handled marketing and advertising for the event, including print and radio ads. The fair ran July 8 to 31 at the Orange County Fair & Exposition Center in Costa Mesa.
Jeff Bentley, Blue C partner and creative director, said the shop switched up its marketing this year in a bid to get people’s attention. The ad shop used billboards, signs, television and radio ads to tout the fair.
“Our integrated approach, along with a greater consumer focus this year, definitely played an important role in the fair’s success,” Bentley said.
The campaign, which used “It’s Callin’ You Out to Play” as a tagline, focused on fun stuff to do at the fair, such as carnival rides and games. The marketing also helped boost the fair’s admission, Bentley said.
New Clients at XPR
Ladera Ranch-based XPR LLC has landed three clients.
Former directors at PainePR in Irvine started the shop earlier this year. XPR’s new clients are Pasadena-based Insider Pages, Oxford Lodging Advisory & Investment Group LLC in San Francisco and KVH Industries Inc. in Middletown, R.I.
XPR plans to help Insider Pages with its launch in four markets, including Los Angeles and San Francisco. XPR is handling marketing and public relations for Oxford’s 15 hotels. For KVH, the agency is handling public relations after a review with several shops.
Software Sale
Irvine-based software developer Client Dynamics Inc. picked up New York-based MediaPost Communications as a client.
MediaPost plans to use Client Dynamics’ AdSpark advertising software to pitch clients.
The program searches the Internet for news and other information and gives it to Media Post’s salespeople so they have reasons to contact their clients, Client Dynamics said.
“Our entire sales team will be using AdSpark,” said Nick Friese, Media Post’s vice president of marketing and sales.
Honest Mechanics at 1
Costa Mesa’s Honest Mechanics has been juggling projects.
The shop recently wrapped up a campaign for the Orange County Department of Childhood Services, which included a brochure, e-mail marketing and Web work, according to creative director Bruce Mayo.
Honest Mechanics also recently won work from Whittier law firm Bewley, Lassleben & Miller. The shop’s assignment includes a brochure, public relations, a Web site overhaul, and “possibly some direct mail to attract new partners,” Mayo said.
Honest Mechanics recently turned a year old. Mayo and other OC ad veterans started the shop last summer.
