Impressions - Sports Fan Retailer - December 2014 - 21

and friends," Giangola says. "There is a
genuine, very strong sense of community
in college sports."
In some sense, leagues - both professional and collegiate - are in competition
with each other, fighting for the attention
of sports fans. Very few sports fans have
just one team. Pointing to growth in the
"other sports" category, which grew 17%
in 2013 - and generating more licensing
revenue in 2013 than any professional
sports league except MLB and the NFL -
The Licensing Letter explains that sports
fans may consider themselves "avid fans"
of only a few sports, but may also follow
up to eight.
And while a more interested,
well-rounded fan population is certainly a good thing, it also means that pushing the product envelope is all the more
important to garner the attention of the
many sports fanatics that exist.
ONES TO WATCH
Tackling the women's market has been a
big focus in the licensed sports product
industry during the past few years.
"To a great extent, female fans were
under-addressed beforehand," says Marty
Brochstein, senior vice president, industry relations and information, Licensing
Industry Merchandisers' Association
(LIMA). "Now, everybody is paying more
attention to fashion trends and there
has been a sophistication of the product.
We're a long ways away from just making it pink."
Female consumers don't just want
styles are that fitted to their figures, they
expect such. And now, they're looking to
build wardrobes. "We continually try to
diversify our women's offering by adding
compelling, progressive products to ensure that we offer something for everyone," says Lisa Piken Loper, vice president
of licensing, NBA. "We now offer maternity, plus, junior and kids [sizes] in a variety of styles and fabrications, as well as
swimwear, home goods and accessories,
including handbags and jewelry."
There's also a concentration on teaching
women how to use these tees, fashion tops,
handbags and jewelry, to assemble outfits.
SportsFan Retailer

"We're seeing a shift toward helping
women understand how to dress more
leisurely; it's not as easy as buying active bottoms," The NPD Group's Cohen
says. "The goal is to help them know how
to pair them with the right shoe or the
right top."
The NFL has even launched marketing campaigns specific to this objective,
bringing in ambassadors like Jordin
Sparks to showcase different styles and
looks. The NFL also uses ambassadors
for its teen and tween demographics -
also big growth-opportunity sectors -
with a twist.
"We take a slightly different approach
with our tweens and juniors," Holloway
says. "We do a lot with the 'selfie-ish' kind
of thing and 'show me your style.' The
league calls on its younger fans to show
them how to incorporate [merchandise]
into their wardrobe, as opposed to us
showing women how to incorporate it
into their wardrobe."
From fashion tees with foils, and fun
accents and bracelets, to jerseys, school
supplies and video games, trend-setting
tweens and juniors are a collective group
looking to incorporate fandom into their
trendy closets and emulate the athletes
they admire.
"There are several kid-specific licensees
in the marketplace today, but much of the
growth has come from many top licensees
in the adult space simply putting focus
on the kids' area," Giangola says. "Kids
want to wear the same product they see
on their favorite athlete, parent, older
sibling or other adult."
And while there's a slew of kidtargeted merchandise out there, Mayer
says there's still room for improvement.
"There's a huge opportunity to reach
the children's market - but just about
no sport has done a very good job on
that yet. Just as it took coming up with
merchandise that appeals to women,
there's room for more creativity on the
children's front."
No matter what age or gender they are
- or what team they cheer for - sports
fans share a similar spirit, respect for
tradition and love of the game.

A New Ballgame

Sports-related social media is
booming, and Facebook, Twitter
and the like are blowing the fanengagement game wide open, antiquating traditional approaches and
resulting in professional sports Hall
of Fames across the country seeing ﬂat or decreased attendance
through the years, according to
The Licensing Letter.
The NFL has released a homegating app that features products
with recipes and suggestions, like
how to plate food for a game. The
league also has a dedicated Twitter
channel, @nﬂfanstyle, featuring different looks from fans. And the NBA,
along with entertainment company
Rovio, just launched NBA Ham Dunk,
an NBA-themed update to the Angry
Birds Seasons mobile game.
Using digital devices at games
and following their teams on social
media only increases fans' dedication and enables their fandom
to reach new heights. Seeing this
trend, The Licensing Letter says licensed content will evolve from a
tool for engagement into a major
source of revenue for professional sports leagues - similar to the
path taken by video games. - L.M.

"Trends in the sports licensed [product]
business aren't truly driven by fashion,
age, demographics, geography or even
on-field performance," Jankowich says.
"Our industry's growth and success is
driven by passion. Changes in demographics or fashion tastes can - and do
- influence what we do. But in the end,
the passion and affinity a fan, alumni,
student or parent has for their school or
team always needs to be our focus and
primary concern."
Lauren Mitchell is associate editor for Impressions magazine. For more information
or to comment on this article, email Lauren
at Lauren.Mitchell@Emeraldexpo.com.
December 2014 21

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