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Copyright 1998 Information Access Company,
a Thomson Corporation Company;
ASAP
Copyright 1998 Capital Cities Media Inc.
WWD

May 15, 1998

SECTION: No. 97, Vol. 175; Pg. 4B; ISSN: 0149-5380

IAC-ACC-NO: 20614273

LENGTH: 1245 words

HEADLINE: FASHION'S DEEP POCKETS.

BYLINE: Lockwood, Lisa

BODY:
NEW YORK -- Designers, denim and diamonds are sprinkled throughout the top fashion and accessories spenders, but when it comes to number one, Nike wins in a cakewalk.

In 1997, Nike outspent all fashion and accessories advertisers (as well as beauty companies). Its U.S. media budget was $ 211.2 million, the bulk of which went toward footwear, according to Competitive Media Reporting, the source of all budget figures in this article.

Levi Strauss, with a U.S. media budget of $ 100 million, was the biggest denim spender, while DeBeers Diamonds made the top 10 with a $ 60 million budget last year.

Top spenders in the designer world were Calvin Klein and Ralph Lauren, followed closely by Tommy Hilfiger. Also making the top 100 list were such European firms as Gianni Versace, Gucci, Prada, Chanel, Salvatore Ferragamo and Giorgio Armani -- all of which rely heavily on magazine advertising.

Cotton Inc., the Wool Bureau and DuPont Lycra also made the top 100.

Watch companies, too, found time to spend. Timex, Movado, Rolex, Tag Heuer, Raymond Weil, Esquire, Seiko, Swatch and Concord all made the top 100.

Today's megabrands are spending across a wide spectrum of media, heavily skewed toward magazines, with doses of network and cable TV, newspapers, Sunday magazines and outdoor venues. Radio advertising has also become more popular, particularly among companies like Calvin Klein, Movado, Levi's and Seiko.

The apparel, footwear and accessories sector spent a total of $ 1.4 billion in advertising in 1997, up 3.3 percent from the prior year. Magazines accounted for $ 755.8 million, up 13.8 percent from a year ago, but outdoor advertising was up a whopping 36 percent to $ 18.6 million.

TV brought in $ 566 million in 1997, down 8.6 percent from the prior year. Of that, network TV accounted for $ 326 million, down 15.7 percent; spot TV, at $ 57 million, was off 17.4 percent; syndicated TV ads generated $ 40 million, up 48 percent, while cable TV jumped 5.8 percent to $ 143 million. Network and spot radio advertising in the apparel, footwear and accessories category generated $ 10.4 million in revenues, up 16.8 percent from the prior year.

Last year, Nike spent the bulk of its media budget -- $ 154.4 million -- on a combination of network, spot, syndicated and cable TV. Most of that was for Nike footwear. The company spent $ 46.7 million in magazines. It also spent about $ 32 million advertising its apparel division last year, with a mix of magazines, newspapers, outdoor, spot TV and radio.

"Apparel will still be an important part of the media mix in 1998," said a Nike spokesman.

Levi, Strauss & Co. allocated some $ 86.9 million of its $ 100 million budget to TV last year. The money went toward a campaign entitled "They Go On," which chronicled episodes in the lives of free-spirited folks who wear Levi jeans. The ads ran on network prime time, Fox NFL broadcasts, MTV and syndicated programming.

For 1998, TV remains Levi's No. 1 media choice, but the company will expand its presence in outdoor, print, Internet and radio.

This month, Levi's spent $ 8 million for an outdoor campaign that broke last week. Billboards that went up in 17 major U.S. cities represent "our first shot at reasserting ourselves as America's authentic blue jean," said Mark Hogan, director of consumer marketing.

In the ads, created by TBWA Chiat/Day, Levi's takes aim at today's powerful designer brands such as Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger and Ralph Lauren. "Calvin wore them," "Tommy wore them," and "Ralph wore them" are the company's copy lines, along with a visual of Levi's red hangtag.

DeBeers, armed with a $ 60.4 million budget last year, advertised heavily on network and cable TV, as well as in magazines. As the U.S. diamond market continues to experience unprecedented growth, the DeBeers 1998 marketing agenda is to increase demand for the diamond solitaire market segment.

This year, DeBeers will continue its signature "Shadows" TV campaign, with revised copy focusing more exclusively on the diamond solitaire. The effort will launch nationally later this year. In addition, DeBeers will continue to run the Women's Diamond Engagement.

Calvin Klein, which spent $ 52.7 million on U.S. media last year for its fashion, fragrances and accessories, has a big presence not only in magazines, but in newspapers, outdoor, spot and cable TV and some radio. The bulk of Klein's spending went toward its fragrances, which accounted for $ 43.3 million.

"For fall, it will be the same strategy of key fashion and lifestyle publications, outdoor for jeans and underwear, and TV will be focused on fragrance," said a Calvin Klein spokesman.

Polo/Ralph Lauren spent $ 55.8 million throughout all classifications in 1997, including Chaps by Ralph Lauren and fragrances.

Polo's strategy for 1998 remains similar to last year's. The company will predominantly advertise in magazines, as well as billboards, buses and train stops for Polo Jeans and fragrance. This year Polo will continue to advertise its boys' brand on cable TV shows such as "Nickelodeon." Polo will also run ads in Sony Theatres for its Polo Jeans and fragrance.

Tommy Hilfiger spent $ 39.2 million on media last year for its fragrance and apparel lines. Hilfiger's budget was heavily skewed toward magazines, supplemented by outdoor venues and spot and cable TV.

For fall, Hilfiger has entered a multimillion-dollar strategic alliance to feature the young cast members of a new sci-fi film in the Tommy Jeans marketing and TV and print ad campaign. The movie, from Dimension Films, has as its working title, "The Untitled Rodriguez/ Williamson Project." The deal was brokered by the William Morris Agency.

Hilfiger will spend in excess of $ 20 million on its jeans campaign for back-to-school and holiday, and Dimension will reportedly spend an equal amount to support the campaign.

According to CMR, Donna Karan spent $ 14.6 million on media for all its products last year, but Dee Salomon, Karan's vice president of marketing and media, said that figure is "on the low side."

"For 1998, we're doing a combination of print and outdoor, and a little bit of radio for our jeans advertising," Salomon said. One new venture for the company was a 12-page insert that ran in the May issue of Vanity Fair. It came in a polybag with a DKNY logo on it.

Salomon said Karan's 1998 budget has increased, but will be "significantly up," for 1999 when the company launches DKNY underwear, fragrances, activewear and children's wear.

Guess spent the bulk of its $ 18.7 million budget last year on magazine advertising. It supplemented that with Sunday magazines, newspapers and outdoor venues in all major markets. It will continue its reliance on print and outdoor to get its message across.

Liz Claiborne spent $ 29.9 million in media for all its divisions, including all Claiborne lines, Dana Buchman, Elisabeth and fragrances. For its apparel lines, it spent the bulk of its money on magazines in ads featuring Niki Taylor.

According to Al Shapiro, vice president, corporate marketing, Liz Claiborne will spend approximately $ 33 million for all Claiborne brands in 1998, including Liz Claiborne, Dana Buchman and DKNY Jeans. That figure covers production, creative development costs, agency fees and media. As reported, the bulk of the media expenditures will be in national magazines and outdoor in selected markets, said Shapiro.

LANGUAGE: ENGLISH

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