Dive Brief:
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As DTC brands experiment with sports marketing, NBC Olympics has chosen Indochino to provide suits to more than a dozen NBC Olympics and Telemundo broadcasters for the Games of the XXXII Olympiad in Tokyo between July 23 and Aug. 8, according to a Friday press release.
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Several NBC Olympics and Telemundo broadcasters, including Ahmed Fareed, Akbar Gbajabiamila and Andrés Cantor, visited the Indochino showrooms over the past few months to choose fabrics, select preferred design elements and get measured, the brand said.
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Per figures from Statista, the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro garnered 3.6 billion viewers, of which 26.5 million in the U.S. watched the opening ceremony.
Dive Insight:
Indochino's tailored clothing, affordable pricing and history of dressing celebrity athletes and sports teams factored into NBC's decision to choose the brand, NBC Olympic stylist Amy Acton of the Acton Style Group, said in a statement. The brand seemed like the ideal fit for styling the large, diverse group of talent, Acton said.
"Millions of fans will be tuning in each night to see the world's top athletes compete, and we're proud to help NBC's on-air talent look and feel their best as they cover the pinnacle of international sporting competitions," Drew Green, president and CEO of Indochino, said in a statement.
Many DTC brands struggled to reach profitability before COVID-19, but Indochino's collaboration with NBC is a culmination of the DTC menswear brand's years-long expansion. Last month, the brand teamed up with Nordstrom to open 21 apparel shops in stores.
Indochino joins other brands like Dr. Squatch and Dollar Shave Club in implementing sports marketing campaigns. In the past, the Olympics offered retailers a valuable ad opportunity but at a higher cost. However, in 2020 it was announced that the Tokyo Olympics were postponed for a year due to the coronavirus pandemic, causing concern for brands.
