Foothill Ranch-based Sole Technology Inc. has stepped up marketing to girls.
The company, which makes skateboarding shoes and clothes under different brands, has been sending out e-mail blasts promoting new garb for its etnies girl brand.
Julie Shumaker, marketing manager for etnies girl, said the move is part of a push to broaden “brand awareness in the mainstream and lifestyle markets.”
“We’ve made tremendous efforts to work closely with our retail partners” in getting the clothes to them and getting the word out “to their customers,” Shumaker said.
Sole ramped up the design team for etnies girl, including bringing on a designer who revamped the clothing line and re-launched the collection.
“We expanded our style offering,” Shumaker said.
The company went beyond T-shirts and sweatshirts to dresses, sweaters and pants.
Clothes for the holidays include trendier prints such as plaid.
The move has brought in more business for Sole, which is selling its girls garb to more stores, Shumaker said.
Sole also hired workers and reworked current jobs.
“People who may have been split in their job duties are now specifically dedicated to etnies girl,” Shumaker said.
The result: The brand can “move faster and more efficiently to reach the demanding marketplace with relevant product that is competitive,” Shumaker said.
Sole plans to build on that momentum next year, she said.
Juxt Networking
It’s hip for teens and twenty-somethings to chat on popular online social networks, such as MySpace.com or Facebook.com.
Now more companies want to be hip, too.
Newport Beach-based Juxt Interactive, which does Web work and interactive marketing and design, has seen an uptick in business from clients that want to use “social networks to spread the message,” said Josh Mooney, Juxt chief marketing officer.
The firm is “slammed” with those types of projects, according to Mooney.
Juxt recently launched a campaign for Cherry Coke on MySpace.com and is working on two others for Costa Mesa’s Vanguard University and New Era Cap Co.
There are “lots of cool ways to use social media” in marketing, Mooney said. Particularly if companies want to reach Generation Y buyers, who spend “so much time inside social networks,” he said.
“Kids don’t want to leave a site they’re on to have an experience with a brand,” Mooney said.
Companies can target “very specific” audiences with campaigns on MySpace.com or other social networks, he said.
It could also be cheaper than traditional advertising.
Companies don’t have to spend “a ton of money” on Web banners that drive kids to other sites, Mooney said.
Juxt also recently wrapped a marketing campaign for Wal-Mart, which is set to launch during the holidays.
More Wet Seal
Last week, I gave a glimpse of some of the things Foothill Ranch-based Wet Seal Inc. is doing to drive shoppers to its Wet Seal stores.
Here’s an update on the company’s Arden B. chain, which focuses on young women.
During the past few months, the company cut down on discount sales, which helped profits but slowed traffic and overall sales, according to Eric Beder, an analyst at Brean Murray, Carret & Co.
Things are going to change.
Arden B. management is experimenting with 20% to 30% discounts,instead of 50%,to lure shoppers.
The move could “potentially attract a somewhat more sales-driven customer,” Beder said.
Plus, the chain continues to refine its offerings.
In the next few months, Arden B., which typically has filled its stores with trendy fashions, will lean on basic tops and bottoms to “drive business,” Beder said.
In other news, Wet Seal has been hunting for a chief executive to replace Joel Waller, who is leaving in February.
The company “has made progress” and is expected to have a candidate in place when Waller leaves, according to Beder.
Ad Club Spokesman
The Orange County Advertising Club has a new spokesman.
Bart Young, chief executive of the Young Co. in Laguna Beach, was tapped to handle the agency’s public relations.
Speaking of the ad club, the group partnered with the Advertising Production Association to host an “OC Comm Expo” on Sept. 25 at the Hyatt Regency in Irvine.
The trade show, which focuses on marketing communications, will have exhibitors from several industries, including print, media, interactive, software, videography and photography.
New Client
Antarra Communications in Garden Grove picked up a client.
The public relations and marketing shop was tapped by Irvine-based Thermo Tx to create a campaign for the company’s new FDA-approved pain management products.
The company chose Antarra because it has experience working with medical devices and sports medicine industries, said Dr. Henry Chang, senior partner at Thermo Tx.
Antarra is set to help Thermo Tx with media relations, creative services and branding.
