By Kevin McCauley
French|West|Vaughan has picked up agency of record duties for global athletic brands Italy's Arena International and Switzerland's SKINS International ahead of the summer Olympic Games slated for London.
Arena, which has its North American headquarters in Portland, Ore., has positioned itself as the brand of swimwear choice among elite swimmers. Recently, it signed four-time Olympic distance swimming champ Janet Evans as ambassador for the brand and its sponsorship of SwimAmerica, a learn-to-swim program operated by the American Swimming Coaches Assn. Other American members of Team Arena are breaststrokers Rebecca Soni and Eric Shanteau and backstroker Aaron Peirsol.
F|W|V previously handled the Speedo and Jantzen swimwear brands.
SKINS makes "compression performance wear" to improve an athlete's strength, power and endurance. Its products are worn by the U.S. Olympic cycling team, Austria's Olympic ski team, U.S. Open champ Rory McIroy and NFL/NBA players.
Founded in Australia 16 years ago, SKINS moved its headquarters to Switzerland in 2009 to enhance its share of the European market.
Rick French, CEO of F|W|V told O'Dwyer's that "the opportunity to work with two international brands in support of their Olympic programs is something our entire agency is very excited about."
The independent Raleigh-based PR firm has extensive sports marketing expertise gained from work for the U.S. Polo Assn., Central Intercollegiate Athletic Assn., Professional Rodeo Cowboys Assn. and NFL stars Michael Vick and Simeon Rice. |