Eddie Bauer Sport Shop Tour

Overview

Eddie Bauer Inc. (EB), a leading international retail clothing brand, planned to launch a mobile tour to introduce its newest sportswear collection, the Eddie Bauer Sport Shop line, geared to a slightly younger audience than is typical for EB. The company sought to debut the new “rugged” clothing line through a promotional tour at sports and entertainment venues during August and September in the greater Seattle market area, where the Eddie Bauer brand was born. Eddie Bauer had originally contracted with KS Promotions to coordinate the sweepstakes and Mullen Advertising and PR of Massachusetts to manage the tour. But less than two months before the tour was to begin, Mullen backed out. KS Promotions brought in Clearpoint Agency to save the promotion and provide event management. Clearpoint was tasked with producing a final budget, hiring and scheduling staff, acquiring an EB edition Ford SUV and implementing the 16-venue tour (over 15 dates in two months) plan for the promotion scheduled to start in just 6-8 weeks. Clearpoint Agency had no time to waste.

Research

The Eddie Bauer Sport Shop event promotion was intended to support a tri-channel (catalog, online and in-store) sweepstakes conversion initiative that launched the new, younger Eddie Bauer outdoor clothing line. The event tour was aimed at a younger audience to support sales in the Seattle market as well as extend the brand. Same store sales in the area had not shown any growth over the past 3 years and EB was concerned that its audience was aging and they were not attracting younger people.

Attendees at the events were to be given sweepstakes game pieces that they could bring into the stores to win a prize. EB marketing wanted to see if redemption rates of game pieces and sales would be higher in a market area where there were events held compared to markets where no events were held. In all key markets direct mail pieces were sent out to support the sweepstakes.

Clearpoint’s research was focused on getting up to speed fast and finding out what we needed to do in order to execute smoothly and support the established goals. Although most of the venues had already been chosen, minimal contact had been made with the logistics management at those venues before Clearpoint came into the mix, and no staff had been hired to man the exhibits.

Clearpoint Agency’s research included:

• Review of tour plans and objectives
  
• Research of the Eddie Bauer brand, past and present
  
• Research of venue vital info including audience, demographics, physical layout of venue, venue capacity, time constraints, lighting, security, parking and permits
  
• Research of transportation routes
  
• Research of truck rental facilities, tow apparatus and other items to support the displays
  
• Work with KS Promotions to clarify the sweepstakes parameters, review sweeps articles
  
• Research of Seattle car dealerships for Eddie Bauer edition Ford Explorer lease
  
• Research of modeling agencies, schools and staffing firms where we might find the appropriate staff
  
• Research and contract negotiation for event insurance

There were several challenges along the way. Mullen had not been thorough and EB staff had not had time to check on things. We found we needed special tow apparatus that would fit an Eddie Bauer Edition Ford SUV to pull the exhibition trailer and supporting equipment to cart the displays, clothing and props. We contracted for these, worked with Ford’s ad agency, and got event insurance naming EB as additional insured. We assessed the degree of difficulty of putting up the displays, promoting the products and how many promo giveaways we would need at each venue. We found that EB had not anticipated that some promo items were not allowed at certain venues and they had not calculated that when they ordered them, so we made adjustments in what we would distribute at each location.

Planning

After researching the venues, displays, and the brand, we determined it was important to have two groups to handle the tour – one brawny and brainy to handle engineering and set-up logistics, and one, handsome and enthusiastic, to handle the clothing presentation and outreach to the crowds. We developed an interview outline and conducted preliminary interviews for both groups over the phone, then flew to Seattle to conduct in-person interviews for those who would become the logistics and presentation teams. We felt it was important to hire people who would look like both generations that EB was trying to attract with this promotion. We implemented training exercises, developed staffing schedules, determined clothing sizes (to wear Sport Shop line) and planned emergency procedures.

The tour’s objectives were to drive traffic into Eddie Bauer stores and to the Website, but they had no signage that even mentioned the Website and the promotional collateral was too complex for a person to understand quickly. In order to solve these issues we developed a script that our team would be able to say quickly, and designed new signage that would reference the Website.

Through the tour, consumers were to be given the opportunity to examine and possibly win an Eddie Bauer Special Edition Ford SUV and/or EB Teardrop Sporting Trailer, chosen because of its iconic nature that epitomized the outdoor-loving Eddie Bauer spirit. Prior to the tour launch in Seattle, Clearpoint Agency conducted a Mobile Tour dry run at Eddie Bauer headquarters. We determined time required for set-up and removal, ease of putting things together and exposure angles. After careful evaluation, Clearpoint Agency made revisions to the initial set-up and take-down processes and planned for higher staffing at some of the events where we had less time available for set-up.

Clearpoint Agency was asked to minimize Eddie Bauer corporate staff’s time dealing with the events. We were responsible for all venue contact and on-site support for the tour, as well as coordination and contract negotiation services as required. Clearpoint corresponded with venue officials and made arrangements for arrival and departure times, permits, exhibit specifics, setup and breakdown procedures, promo giveaways allowed, etc. Clearpoint also developed a recap sheet that would quickly outline results for EB corporate staff after each event.

Overall, Clearpoint Agency’s findings included revised personnel requirements, additional roles and responsibility for the Mobile Tour team, supplemental equipment
requirements, an FAQ, security and safety recommendations and policies, briefing books, crisis plans for team members, and a revised budget.

Execution

At each venue, the Sport Shop team set up an Eddie Bauer tour display designed to attract attendees visiting the various sports and entertainment venues – the trailer, an Eddie Bauer Ford Explorer and Sport Shop apparel were exhibited. Team members handed out free items such as key fobs, water bottles, koozies and coasters. At each display, people were given the opportunity to enter the Sport Shop Sweepstakes to win the Eddie Bauer trailer and a two-year Ford Explorer lease. Additionally, attendees received instant-win game pieces redeemable at Eddie Bauer retail locations.

In addition to the dry run, Clearpoint Agency principals personally oversaw four venues and provided recommendations based on the challenges uncovered, including additional revised signage, which allowed us to modify the set-up plan to a 4-corner orientation that would maximize exposure angles at individual locations. As the events rolled out, we maintained daily contact with our logistics manager, continued to develop plans for the upcoming venues, and conducted weekly review conference calls with Eddie Bauer and KS Promotions to let them know how things were going and what else we thought needed changed.

Results

Inventory was taken by Clearpoint staff at each event and reported weekly in recap sheets. In total, the Eddie Bauer Sport Shop Tour exhibited before nearly 385,000 people, distributing 34,000 instant win game pieces and 21,924 giveaways. In addition, we worked with KS Promotions to identify the turn-in rates of game pieces per store in venues near events – which was, in fact, considerably higher than in areas where no events were held. Best news of all was that the sweeps and tour combined to provide a very positive launch for the new outdoorsy line of clothing, and same store sales posted their first gain (7%) in more than three years.

It was a successful promotion. Clearpoint Agency was instrumental in garnering both the company and Sport Shop products strong brand recognition and positive feedback on the tour. The tour helped to drive traffic to the Eddie Bauer Website and into retail stores, which, in turn, enhanced sales. In addition, KS Promotions and Clearpoint Agency worked so well together that we formed a strategic alliance after the tour completion that has resulted in additional work and press coverage for both companies.

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