NEW YORK — Better knitwear manufacturer Joseph A. is doubling its advertising budget to launch a nationwide marketing campaign.
The knitwear company, which does $150 million in annual wholesale volume, is spending more than $6 million this year for a new television commercial and to place TVs in malls across the U.S. to spread its message, and to hire employes to represent the brand at malls.
About half the budget went to produce the 30-second commercial, which is to bow today on the “Today” show and on “Good Morning America.” The spot will air twice as often as last year’s commercial. It is set to Robert Palmer’s “Simply Irresistible,” and for the first time mixes graphics with shots of models wearing Joseph A. sweaters.
Joseph A. started advertising on television three years ago and the campaign became a central part of the business.
“We were starting to revolutionize how stores merchandise the products on the floors,” said Elan Eliau, founder and chief executive officer of Joseph A. “Our first ads were really a catalogue where you see 16 or so sweaters, and stores backed up the concept that they were a catalogue by stocking all the sweaters. Women would come in and ask for specific sweaters they saw on TV. When you think about what you see on TV, this sets us apart — very few companies in our field do commercials.”
Eliau said the evolution has gone from customers asking for sweater styles to asking for Joseph A. “A light went off for us that it is time to change the concept of what we are doing as a commercial and take it to the next level,” Eliau said. “I want this commercial to be about brand image. It’s not about the sweaters; it’s about looking good and feeling good.”
The full national television campaign is being launched in mid-October, which Eliau considers “prime time for the retail climate.”
“This is not just what we are doing for a week, it’s for a whole season,” he said. “This is all about investing in the brand.”
Starting in November, the commercials are to be played continuously on plasma televisions that Joseph A. will place in space it plans to rent in common areas of about 20 major malls. The idea is to create the next level of mall kiosks, which the company will continue to use. The deals are still being negotiated, but Eliau said he is determined to put at least five televisions in each of the malls.
Related Articles
You May Also Like
For the spring campaign, the company also hopes to feature a celebrity — no choice has been made — who would talk about Joseph A. knits and the trends of the season. That spot would alternate with the 30-second commercial on the mall televisions.
The company plans to host at least three fashion show weekends at major malls in November
Joseph A. is hiring 10 to 20 full-time coordinators to represent the brand in department stores, an initiative that will cost from a half-million dollars to $1 million in the first year. They will start in the next month.
“Even if all they do is just help to get the product out on the floor quicker, it is absolutely worth it to us,” Eliau said.