PLAYGROUND LEGEND? PA-based basketball shoe and apparel
company AND 1 is named one of BRANDWEEK's "Marketers of the
Year" for '99, and Terry Lefton writes that "what's
intriguing about" the company is that "as it approached the
$100 million mark, a point where many brands lose the
consumer bond that made them distinct, it got more into
guerrilla tactics." AND 1 co-Founder & CEO Jay Gilbert said
the company strategically decided to "get the brand back at
the playground level where it belongs. ... [W]e decided if
we were going to be the ballplayers' brand, we'd have to
speak to them directly -- that means where people are
playing for the love of the game, not the NBA." Lefton adds
while AND 1 is "still barely an eyelet on a Nike sneaker,"
it has "generated buzz among retailers and consumers and
grown in a down market" (BRANDWEEK, 3/27 issue)...."Nightly
Business Report"'s Susie Gharib reported that Nike "advanced
1 7/8, and it was helped by a strong buy recommendation by
Bank of America." Nike closed at 35 15/16 ("NBR," 3/27).
ON CAMPUS: In Detroit, Francis Donnelly reports that MI
State Univ., "by reaching the Final Four, anticipates
earning more than" $1M in NCAA tournament revenue and
$250,000 in merchandise royalties (DETROIT NEWS, 3/28).
...Total Sports, which formally joined the NCAA Corporate
Partner Program last week, has also become a corporate
partner of the Big 12 Conference (Total Sports).
