How Fashion Brands Are Winning the Winter Olympics

0:07Hello 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. And I'm executive editor Brian Baskin. As athletes take to the ice rings 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 winter wear grows into a core commercial category. 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.

0:51Joining us to unpack how brands are using the Winter Olympics as a marketing platform are reporters Haley Crawford and Mike Sykes. Haley, Mike, welcome to The Debrief. Hi, Sheena. Hi, Brian. Thanks for having us. Thanks for having us. 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?

1:26Oh my God, this question. This question is incredible. 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. 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 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.

2:16And then like Nike was there with Levi's doing a bunch of things with Jordan Brand. Like it was just a lot this weekend. 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. I thought it was amazing. We have to talk about that performance. It seems like everyone loved the performance.

2:52The outfit may be 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? 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 this massive platform in the Super Bowl, considering that it's a fast fashion brand that you could find in the mall.

3:28But 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 magnitude of the performance. Like I can see both sides of it. I will say I, I'm a bit disappointed, I guess, but like, it didn't really bother me that much. So Haley, from a marketing perspective, I mean, this must've been a coup for Zara, first of all. I mean, what, what are your thoughts beyond that?

4:05Yeah. Beyond Zara, I think, you know, the Superbowl more generally this year from an amplification perspective, you know, we saw LTK bring in 140 creators, I believe that they flew to kind of film content beyond just what people were seeing on screen. And as we know, everyone's experiencing things in 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 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.

4:41All right. Thank you. So we'll get back to Kenneth Walker and New England's defense in a bit, but I think it's time to get to the main event here, the Winter Olympics. So 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.

5:19Yeah, 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 fan wear perspective. We saw brands like Roots and Offseason producing these kind of fanware collections. J.Crew also partnered up with Team USA or US Ski and Snowboard on a capsule collection that sold out within 24 hours. So from a fan perspective, you know, people were really able to get involved.

5:54And 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.

6:23And you mentioned China, which now, 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 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 held there? 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 Heli Hansen, but maybe something that's a little more fashion forward.

7:03we'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. And what have been the most effective ways that these brands are getting their name out there at this giant winter sports event? Yeah. So I think just from, from the perspective of like, just having a presence at the games, Like 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 different federations that are participating in the Olympics.

7:43And it's not, you know, 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 as they perform and do their thing while millions of people are watching across the globe. Like that that is the sort of marquee way, I think, that that we're seeing brands sort of participating in this. But then there are others that are on the periphery, like Haley was saying, that are just doing different activations and having different events around the games that are also sort of activating. And it may be like a smaller way, but maybe a more connected way with the people who are actually out there and sort of on the ground doing all this.

8:32Something 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 so brands are kind of getting creative with, yes, like creating these capsule collections that they released before the games, but also getting involved with people beyond just the athletes themselves. Like, yes, of course, an athlete can be wearing, you know, 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.

9:03So 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. Can you talk about Rule 40, by the way? I don't know that everyone knows. 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 official logos is sort of huge. It's hard to get.

9:34The Olympics are quite strict about how you can use their different marketing materials and what you can and can't do as a brand and athlete. 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, et cetera. 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.

10:11However, 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. There are also rules for the athletes. Like maybe a brand doesn't care so much about a faux pas.

10:43But 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? Basically, like athletes are just not able to sort of advertise product, right, for these different brands that they're working with. Say, for example, if Michaela Schifferin was wearing the Climaworm 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 like that. For a period of time, right? 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.

11:25You'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 it's still a little bit tricky, even though the rule is relaxed a bit. athletes have a lot more that they have to work around than some of these brands.

12:04We 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 LVMH Olympics. 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 I'm curious whether that's carried over to these Olympics. We are in another fashion capital after all. 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 is changing.

12:46Brands 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 Milan games 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.

13:35And 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 this will go and whether they spring this forward again or not. We'll be back with more of The Debrief right after this.

14:02And you guys interviewed a couple or maybe one or two of the brands that are part of this pilot, like Oakley. What did they say the opportunity looks like for them in real time? 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 make a small quick post saying that, hey, so and so athlete just just one goal. Congratulations. What a great Olympics.

14:39And 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 can sort of play around with it that 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 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 would have in the past. I can really see clearly as I come down the slopes. Hashtag not Olympics.

15:14Anyway, go on Brian's side. Hashtag not an ad. Not an ad. 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. 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.

15:53And it already, I think, is probably on back order. Um, so brands like Roots are really tapping into this moment as well, um, with their Canada collection. Like, yes, it's, you know, an annual thing that they always do. And they were an official Olympic sponsor, um, in the nineties and in the early two thousands, but, you know, this kind of gives them another moment or gives them permission to kind of really participate once again. And we should talk about the dark side of this. Um, what's your opinion on Tate McRae shilling for team USA? I didn't realize she was kidding. I feel like I keep a very thorough roster, as you know, Brian, of Canadian stars.

16:28And 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, secret Canadians, who knew? Not the controversy Brian was looking for here. Hailey is not offended. She's 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 fan wear? 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?

17:06I think there's a huge opportunity. I mean, fan wear is nothing new. I think people have wanted to show their affiliation with 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 offseason launching. So this was started only a year ago, actually, as an NFL fan wear 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 that someone actually wants to wear in their day to day.

17:46and that you don't only have to wear it at the stadium for it to make sense. And I think they took the same approach with their Team USA capsule, launching really wearable jackets and sweaters and things that fans can actually wear. Yes, when they're cheering on 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 US Ski and Snowboard collection. It's highly wearable, and I think from a product perspective, that's super important. And it just kind of broadens the opportunity for brands to get involved there as well.

18:17Mike, 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 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? Yeah, for sure. I definitely think that that's sort of the evolution of what fanwear looks like. Not even just with the Olympics, but we see that, like you said, Sheena, with the NFL. We see that with Formula One.

18:51We see that with the NBA. Offseason, 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 this puffer jacket that has this team logo. It has 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 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 jersey or a T-shirt.

19:37Did you say jersey? Jersey, like a shirt jersey. Yeah. 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. I will not be doing that. 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 sports or particular athletes that we're going to see beyond the games themselves? Yeah, I think that'll definitely be a thing. I don't know where you stand on it, Haley.

20:15But I feel like, like you said, Brian, every few years there is like 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. Like it's still obviously very early. And so like, I mean, obviously you'll get like the figure skating in there and like curling is definitely having like a little bit of a moment. Like you can see it sort of bubbling up. It always does, though. I don't know if people. Yeah. I mean, it's like 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, OK, like, I don't know.

20:56So it's always interesting to watch. But then, like, is it going to last? I don't know. 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 going to win big and be the star du jour after the Olympics. Right. And I think what we saw with Alona 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.

21:31It 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. So I 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 after all that advertising mania is gone. You have a little more room to make a statement probably too. I'll throw the figure skater, Ilya Malinin, I think I'm pronouncing that right, in there as well.

22:05I think he's being set up as one of the faces of the U.S. team. And, you know, he does backflips on the ice that seem 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. Absolutely. And I think it's such a big opportunity for brands. One agency I spoke to, Smith & Saint, represents Suni Lee, the gymnast who had a huge moment after Paris. And I think she is like the example of how, you know, fashion brands can tap sort of a rising star and hitch their wagon. She, you know, following the Olympics, starting campaigns for Love Shack Fancy, for Victoria's Secret Pink, for this New York-based indie designer, Dauphinette.

22:43She 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 she, 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. Okay. I think we can end things there. Haley, Mike, thank you so much for joining us.

23:17Thank you so much. Thanks for having us. Please be sure to check out Haley and Mike's coverage of the Winter Olympics and the Super Bowl at businessoffashion.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 Bria. I'm Sheena Butler-Young. 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.