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The Business of Fashion Podcast
How Fashion Brands Are Winning the Winter Olympics
00:23:50
Olympic rules spark creative marketing. BoF’s Haley Crawford and Mike Sykes explore how fashion labels use the Winter Games to sell winterwear, plus they dive into Bad Bunny and the biggest style highlights from the Super Bowl.
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- [00:00]
A
Foreign.
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B
Hello, and welcome to the debrief from the business of Fashion, where each week we delve into Our most popular BoF professional stories with the correspondents who created them. I'm senior correspondent Sheena Butler Young.
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And I'm executive editor Brian Baskin.
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B
As athletes take to the ice rinks of Milan and the mountains of Cortina, fashion brands are entering a competition of their own. The Winter Olympics have become one of the industry's most important global marketing moments, especially as winterwear grows into a core commercial category.
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A
But strict Olympic rules limit how brands can show up during the games, pushing many to rely on unconventional methods ranging from outfitting the teams at the opening ceremonies to telling post game stories weeks or even months after the Olympics finish.
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B
Joining us to unpack how brands are using the Winter Olympics as a marketing platform are reporters Hailey Crawford and Mike Sykes. Hailey, Mike, welcome to the debrief.
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C
Hi, Sheena. Hi, Brian. Thanks for having us.
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D
Thanks for having us.
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A
All right. I know it says on the title of this episode we're talking Winter Olympics, but I think we have to talk about the super bowl first. So I have a question for you, Mike. I'm curious if you think Kenneth Walker winning MVP as a running back signifies a permanent shift away from the quarterback centric value model in the modern NFL, or is that just a byproduct of the Patriots failure to set the edge in the fourth quarter?
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D
Oh, my God. This question. This question. This question is incredible.
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A
What I actually want to ask you is you and Sheena both wrote in the run up to the game that this would be fashion's biggest super bowl ever. And I'm curious if you two thought it lived up to expectations.
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D
I personally think it did. I don't know where you stand on it, Sheena, but I do feel like there was a. This was definitely the. The fashion super bowl, like the definitive fashion super bowl for me. Like, I know that over the last few years, like, obviously there's been a presence there, but this felt sort of official in a way to me that it hasn't really ever, to be completely honest, between the partnership with Abercrombie and their fashion show and then the GQ bowl and everything with Tom Brown and then like Nike was there with Levi's doing a bunch of things with Jordan Brand. Like, it was just a lot of this weekend.
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B
Yeah, I would second what Mike just said. Like, I couldn't tell if it was New York Fashion Week already or not. It just felt like there was so much going on. And then also Bad Bunny and The culture from that you talk about the intersection around culture and sport and fashion. It felt very present in his performance and I could see Zara having quite the business in ivory suits in the next couple of months. It was, I thought it was amazing.
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A
We have to talk about that performance or really what we. Everyone. It seems like everyone loved the performance. The outfit maybe a little polarizing. I was definitely surprised when I found out that was Zara. And I'm still not quite sure how I feel about it. It's so different than what you usually hear after one of these big cultural moments about what the artist is wearing. Mike, what do you think? I mean, why Zara? And do you think that was a good move?
- [03:12]
D
I have mixed feelings on it myself. I think there are two sides to this. Obviously people are a bit upset about Bad Bunny choosing Zara for, for this massive platform in the super bowl, considering that it's a fast fashion brand that you could find in the mall. But at the same time, I feel like there's like the accessibility play of it where like this performance is supposed to be about inclusivity and part of that is accessibility and affordable products. And plus Zara is also a Spanish brand. So you mix that in as well and it kind of makes more sense just considering like the, the cultural magnitud performance. Like I, I can see both sides of it. I will say I, I'm a bit disappointed, I guess, but like, it. It didn't really bother me that much.
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A
So, Haley, from a marketing perspective, I mean, this must have been a coup for Zara, first of all. I mean, what, what are your thoughts beyond that?
- [04:06]
C
Yeah, beyond Zara. I think, you know, the super bowl more generally this year from an amplification perspective. You know, we saw LTK bring in 140 creators. I believe that they flew in to kind of film content beyond just what people were seeing on screen. And as we know, everyone's experiencing things and double time watching on TV and watching on social media. And so we saw, you know, creators coming in and hosting Get Ready with Me moments with makeup brands as well as. As fashion and kind of watching them interact with everything from, you know, an ebay booth to different pop ups happening on the ground from Abercrombie to the GQ Bowl.
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A
All right, thank you. So we'll get back to Kenneth Walker in New England's defense in a bit, but I think it's time to get to the main here the Winter Olympics.
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B
So should we should start? Probably. Big picture. So both you, Haley and Mike wrote a Story alongside our Milan correspondent Eric Silvers. And it basically reframes the Winter Olympics as not a classic sports sponsorship opportunity, but as like a worldwide category advertising moment for winter wear. Can you help us unpack? Maybe start with you, Haley. How the Winter Olympics became such a critical moment for fashion and not just sports, but fashion brands.
- [05:19]
C
Yeah, we definitely saw this year become such a moment for winter wear as a category specifically, you know, beyond just being, you know, a space for brands to slap their logo on, you know, athlete, you know, performance wear, we're seeing it really as a broader moment to spotlight winter gear. Whether it's from a fanware perspective. We saw brands like Roots and Off Season producing these kind of fanware collections. J. Crew also partnered up with Team USA or US Ski and Snowboard on a. On a capsule collection that sold out within 24 hours. So from a fan perspective, you know, people were really able to get involved. And I almost think, you know, what we saw happen with running over the past couple of years with brands like Bandit, it became such a cultural moment and a lot of people jumped on the running bandwagon. It almost seems like we're seeing that with winter wear. And, you know, there's a huge global movement towards skiing. We're seeing it have such a moment in China. And so for brands that, you know, are, yes, performance driven brands like Adidas, you know, it's such a big moment. But also those like J. Crew who can get involved from more of a lifestyle perspective, it's such a big opportunity as well.
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B
And you mentioned China, which now I thought, I thought this was fascinating in the story. It has 750 active ski resorts. Who would have known? And it represents a huge jump over the last decade. In many ways, is. Is China sort of the case study as to why the Winter Olympics is an opportunity like the way that industry has grown after the Olympics were. Were held there.
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C
Yeah, absolutely. I think there's been such a jump in skiing resorts opening over the past decade in China. And winter wear is so important to that consumer. Of course, the performance aspect, but also the fashion side is so key here. And not just having, you know, maybe more gear from a brand like a Helly Hansen, but maybe something that's a little more fashion forward. We've seen that that consumer is so interested from not only a performance perspective, but also from a fashion forward perspective of having gear that's equally stylish as it is performance driven on the slopes.
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A
And what have been the most effective ways that these brands are getting their name out there at this giant winter sports event.
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D
Yeah. So I think just from the perspective of just having a presence at the Games, we've seen a bunch of brands like Adidas, for example, that we wrote about that launched this 700 piece collection just with, I think it was six or seven different federations that are participating in the Olympics. And it's not an ad or a commercial or anything like that that will make the brand sort of stick out, but just to have your logos on some of these athletes as they perform and do their thing while millions of people are watching across the globe. That is the sort of marquee way I think, that we're seeing brands sort of participating in this. But then there are others that are on the periphery, like, like Haley was saying, that are just doing different activations and having different events around the Games that, that are also sort of activated in maybe like a smaller way, but, but maybe a more connected way with, with the, the people who are, who are actually out there and sort of on the ground doing all this.
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C
Something else I'll add is that there's Obviously this Rule 40 that blocks a lot of brands who aren't official sponsors from advertising during the Games and of getting creative with, yes, like creating these capsule collections that they release before the Games, but also getting involved with people beyond just the athletes themselves. Like, yes, of course an athlete can be wearing one of the 700 Adidas pieces around the Olympic Village or while they're performing. But I know NBC and Meta also flew out a number of creators to also produce content on the ground. So Olympic sponsors have been tapping them as well to sort of showcase their products on a different type of person who's going to be present during the Games too.
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B
Can you talk about Rule 40, by the way? I don't know that everyone knows. I, I certainly am not an expert in Rule 40. And I thought it was interesting when Mike and I were working on the NFL story, that Abercrombie's CEO said the biggest perk of their partnership with the NFL was the ability to use the shield. And I was like, well, why is that such a big deal? It's a big deal because having access to, you know, official logos is, is sort of huge. It's hard to get. The Olympics are quite strict about how you can use their, their different marketing materials and what you can and can't do as a brand and athlete and.
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C
Absolutely. So basically the brands who are official sponsors, of course, have a little more leeway in terms of how they can advertise and actually use the name Olympics or use the Olympic rings in their marketing, in their products, etc. But let's take a brand like Roots. It's a Canadian brand and every year they produce a Canada collection. They're of course, since they're not an official sponsor, as part of Rule 40, they're not allowed to use the word Olympics or tie themselves in any official way to the Olympics. However, they can kind of get a little creative with the marketing lingo and so on their website, you know, they'll put Rooting for Canada and do play on words of their brand name Roots, but also just sort of use the timing leading up to the Olympics and their natural sort of Canadian association to winter sports. Obviously it provides a natural connection there and they have, you know, some winter landscape prints on some of their products that just blend themselves well to whether you're cheering on at home or in Milan.
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B
There are also rules for the athletes. Like maybe a brand doesn't care so much about a faux pas, but if you're an athlete and you get something wrong around what you can and can't do, you could be kicked out of the Olympics, right?
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D
Basically, like athletes are just not able to sort of advertise product, right? For, for these different brands that they're working with. Like, say, like, for example, like if Michaela Shifrin was, was wearing like the Climb, a warm Adidas jacket or whatever, she couldn't put out a post saying, hey, like, look at my nice cool jacket or whatever, it's keeping me warm, whatever. Like, you're not allowed to do things.
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B
Like that for a period of time, right?
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D
Like, right for a period of time. There's like a, I think there's a 90 day window before the game starts and then like through the games, like you're not allowed to, to sort of advertise these things as, as an athlete you're allowed to wear the gear and you're allowed to wear the gear that your federation is putting out. So if your team is sponsored by Adidas, for example, you can wear something from that 700 piece collection or if you're an Adidas signature athlete or whatever, you can wear sort of Adidas training gear outside of competition. But while you're in that competition, you're not allowed to sort of wear your own sponsored brands. As an individual athlete, you have to sort of fall in line a little bit more. So, so it's still a little bit tricky. Even though the rule is, is relaxed a bit. Athletes have a lot more that they have to work around than some of These brands.
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A
We should talk about the context of how that's changing though. And especially in the wake of those 2024 Summer Games, which felt at times like the L. I mean, they had Louis Vuitton and Dior branding all over the place at the opening ceremonies, I think even during the Games themselves in a way that we'd never really seen before. And I'm curious whether that's carried over to these Olympics. We are in another fashion capital after all.
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D
It definitely has so far. And this is something that has been happening since 2015, 2016, really shortly after the Rio Games, there was this thinking from the IOC that the landscape has changed. Brands are sort of more involved with these athletes lives and in these federations. And so to sort of capitalize on that and open the Olympics up to a new and younger consumer, we should allow these brands to sort of market a little bit more around these athletes and at the same time use our logos and our likenesses to sort of put the Olympics on a different platform than it has been traditionally in the past. And I think we are seeing that so far in the the Milan Games is as well, as far as how it springs forward, I will be curious to see because this in particular this year, the pilot program that they're doing, the Countdown to Milan or the Road to Milan, whichever one is called it has 30 brands in it. And so that's an expansion on the 2024 Games. Do they expand again as they move forward? Because I feel like 30 is a lot like that's a lot of brands. And so I'm curious to see how will go and whether they spring this forward again or not.
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B
We'll be back with more of the debrief right after this.
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E
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C
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F
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B
And you guys interviewed a couple or maybe one or two of the brands that are part of this pilot, like Oakley. What do they say the opportunity looks like for them in real time?
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D
So with Oakley specifically, they talked about the social aspect of it and being able to sort of share and celebrate in the athlete's success even if you're not sort of able to have an athlete sort of showcase and display their goggles, their Oakley goggles while they're going down the slopes. Like they can still make a small quick post saying that hey, so and so athlete just won gold. Congratulations, what a great Olympics. And like you can put your Oakley branding all on that. You can couple that with Olympics branding. There are so many ways that they can sort of play around with it that give the company a little bit of a spotlight in the periphery of the Games. And the more that the athletes win and they they wear Oakley, the more you're able to to do that. So while it's not like the biggest opportunity, it still is an opportunity and it's much better than no opportunity at all, which is what some of these brands were. Would have in the past.
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B
I can really see clearly as I come down the slopes, hashtag, not Olympics. Anyway, Go on, Brian.
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C
Ty.
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A
Hashtag, not an ad.
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B
Not an ad.
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A
There's also good old nationalism, which has been an Olympic staple as long as there's been for marketing as long as there's been Olympics. Haley, you're Canadian. Tell us about Roots.
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C
Well, as a proud Canadian, it's definitely a great time to be a Canadian brand. There are shows like Heated Rivalry, which are obviously having a huge moment on the global stage. And so I just think Canada is having such a moment, and I think brands are really tapping into this. We saw this brand province of Canada is creating or recreating this Canada fleece that the actor Hudson Williams wears in the show. And it already, I think, is probably on backorder. So brands like Roots are really tapping into this moment as well with their Canada collection. Like, yes, it's, you know, an annual thing that they always do, and they were an official Olympic sponsor in the 90s and in the early 2000s. But, you know, this kind of gives them another moment or gives them permission to kind of really participate once, once again.
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A
And we should talk about the dark side of this. What's your opinion on Tate McRae shilling for Team USA?
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C
I didn't realize she was. I feel like I keep a very thorough roster, as you know, Brian, of Canadian stars. And she. I actually didn't realize I was Canadian until this past weekend. So I'm not. I can't say I was super shocked to see that until I. Wow.
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A
Secret Canadians. Who knew?
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B
Not the controversy Brian was looking for here. Hailey is not offended. She is not offended. A lot of the story and a lot of our conversation is kind of about how brands have to get craftier. They're getting craftier to tap into the opportunity. Can we talk a little bit about the shift towards fans and, like, fanwear? Can we talk a little bit about what the opportunity is there and then how do you actually execute that in terms of fans wearing it?
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C
I think there's a huge opportunity. I mean, fanware is nothing new. I think people have wanted to show their affiliation with, you know, a given sports team forever. We just published a story on how Logomania didn't go anywhere. It just evolved. And I think we're seeing that with brands like off season launching. So this was started only a year ago, actually, as an NFL fanware brand kind of riffing on jerseys. And I think that they essentially launched a Collection alongside Team USA and kind of launched, you know, I think in terms of, rather than just having, you know, a jersey with a player's name on it, like their whole brand ethos is making something cute someone actually wants to wear in their day to day and that you don't only have to wear to the stadium for it to make sense. And I think they took the same approach with their Team USA capsule, you know, launching really wearable jackets and sweaters and things that fans can actually wear. Yes. When they're cheering on their, their team. But I think it's kind of evolved to be just a broader lifestyle piece that has kind of this longer term appeal. Same with The J. Crew U.S. ski Snowboard collection. It's highly wearable. And I think from a product perspective that's, that's super important. It just kind of broadens the, the opportunity for brands to get involved there as well.
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B
Mike, this came up a lot in the NFL coverage too, that we were doing, which is that like, in order for these organizations, whether it's the Olympics as an, as a institution or the NFL as an organization to expand their audience, they have to like, make fashion a bigger component. And not everyone wants to wear a jersey or like a T shirt. So do you think that's kind of where things are headed next?
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D
Yeah, for sure. I definitely think that that's sort of the evolution of what fanware looks like. Just not even just with the Olympics, but we see that, like you said, Sheena, with the NFL, we see that with Formula one, we see that with the NBA. Off season, I will say is like a very prominent example in my mind of that. Just because the product that they make is so unique. As far as, like, you don't really see it reminds me of what the starter jackets used to be in the 90s for people. It's like puffer jacket that has like this team logo and it has like a vintage vibe to it, but it's obviously not really. And so, like, I think we will see over these next few years a lot of brands sort of building on that, that sort of momentum and taking team logos and putting them on unique product that isn't just a jersey or isn't just, you know, a shirzy or a T shirt.
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B
Did you say shirzy?
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D
Jersey? Like a shirt jersey?
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A
Yeah.
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B
Every episode of the debrief, we learn something new. Brian and I will go on a suburban mall trip for our jerseys. Maybe this weekend.
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A
I will not be doing that. Speaking, speaking of off season, no pun intended, what do we think are Going to be some of the after effects of the Winter Olympics. I mean, I saw a headline the other day that curling wants to be the next pickleball. I mean, are there, are there sports or particular athletes that we're going to see beyond the Games themselves?
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D
Yeah, I think that'll definitely be a thing. I don't know where you stand on it, Haley, but I feel like you said, Brian, every few years there is always an athlete or a sport or something that sort of comes out. And I feel like we haven't arrived at that point yet with these games in particular. It's still obviously very early. And so, I mean, obviously you'll get the figure skating in there. And curling is definitely having a little bit of a moment. Like, you can see it sort of bubbling up.
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A
It always does, though. I don't know if people.
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D
Yeah, I mean, it's like the. Honestly, y', all, like, curling is the weirdest sport to me. It's like they're like brushing ice and I'm like, okay. Like, I don't know. So it's always interesting to watch. But then like, is it gonna last? I don't know.
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C
Yeah, good points. I feel like I've seen been seeing way more speed skating content online. I feel like it was kind of a random sport to me too, but now it's popping up on my social feed all over the place. But I think in terms of post games also, you know, it's really hard to track the athletes who are gonna win big and be the star du jour after the Olympics. Right. And I think what we saw with Ilona Mayer, the American rugby star at the Paris Olympics, she, you know, totally popped off for creating all this viral behind the scenes content in the Olympic Village. It was super funny and people loved her. So she kind of got all these brand deals with Maybelline and Paula's Choice and all these different brands think a lot. What a lot of, you know, talent agencies and brands do is sort of track these athletes also to see who will be the new big one and who should we partner with. Sort of in this post Games window too. Once Rule 40 goes away, it's less crowded.
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B
After all that advertising mania is gone, you have a little more room to make a statement probably too.
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A
I'll throw the figure skater, Ilya Malinin. I think I'm pronouncing that right in there as well. I think he's being set up as one of the faces of the US Team and. And he does backflips on the ice that seemed to work for Benson Boone. I mean, I think he's got potential as well to be one of these people who sticks around after the Games are over.
- [24:34]
C
Absolutely. And I think it's such a big opportunity for brands. One agency I spoke to Smith and Saint, represents Suni Lee, the gymnast who had a huge moment after Paris. And I think she is the example of how fashion brands can tap sort of a rising star and hitch their wagon. She following the Olympics, starting campaigns for Love, Shock, Fancy for Victoria's Secret, Pink for this New York based indie designer, Dofinet. She went to the CFDA Awards with them. So she really, really got super involved in the fashion world and sort of built this whole other part of her public Persona that really just reflected her own personal style, kind of tying herself to all these different kind of, I guess you could say, quote unquote, girly brands that she just naturally connected to. And so I think that's a great example also of how brands can sort of track, you know, okay, who wins big and who makes sense for us as a brand. And let's connect with them after the Games.
- [25:29]
A
Okay. I think we can end things there. Hailey, Mike, thank you so much for joining us.
- [25:34]
C
Thank you so much.
- [25:35]
D
Thanks for having us.
- [25:36]
B
Please be sure to check out Hailey and Mike's coverage of the Winter Olympics and the Super Bowl@businessofashion.com these and other stories are available to BoF Professional subscribers only and you can find the links in the episode notes. You've been listening to the debrief, produced and edited by Olivia Davies and Eric Brea. I'm Sheena Butler Young.
- [25:54]
A
And I'm Brian Baskin. We'll be back next week with a new episode. Thanks so much for joining us and be sure to follow us wherever you get your podcasts. Hi, this is Jonathan Fields from Good Life Project. If you're not using Ironclad for contracting, you could be leaving millions on the table without knowing it. Every contract holds renewal dates, pricing terms and obligations you can't afford to miss. But good luck finding them when it matters. Ironclad's AI instantly surfaces what matters so you can act before opportunities slip away. That's why they're trusted by OpenAI, L' Oreal and Salesforce. Find the savings hiding in your contracts@ironcladapp.com podcast. That's ironcladapp.com podcast par le tu francais hablas espanol?
- [26:45]
F
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