Fueled by our personal passions, trend research, and decades of experiential brand marketing – we at Javelin have forged a strategic partnership with the creators of Ink-N-Iron, a lifestyle experience celebrating car and tattoo culture with authenticity.  Three days of hotrod/ratrod/streetrod car shows, a traditional 1940’s pin-up pageant, serious musical talent, burlesque and more make this seven year old Long Beach festival “the” gathering place for kustom kulture.  Ink-N-Iron is the Burning Man of authentic retro cool.

The right brands with the right message can deliver an authentic live brand experience to consumers in this culture that reveres iconic Americana.   The impact on mass culture has already achieved critical mass.  Not only are celebrities like Kat Von D, Guy Fieri, & Jesse James deeply immersed, but unexpected brands like Callaway, Restoration Hardware and Sephora have invested heavily in this space and are ahead of the curve.

Javelin will take this world-class experiential program on tour in Summer 2011, offering brands a custom opportunity to reach consumers in a deeply personal way.

With our strategic partners, Coolfire Media, we are developing VEGAS CADDIES, an original reality show pitting caddies against one another on the greens and under the neon lights of Las Vegas – where late night temptation can lead to early morning elimination.

Separate but related is THE CADDY EXPERIENCE, a branded, experiential caddy program that is also one of the most robust brand ambassador experiences on the market…directly aimed at a highly desirable target.

At Javelin we champion the entrepreneurial spirit by continuing to take shrewd, calculated risks – at times for clients, at times for ourselves.  Own The Moment Productions is our brand incubator, where exciting new ideas are examined, prodded, exploded into reality, and then grown to maturity.

Incubator - photo from Axelhouston on Flickr

The mission of Own The Moment Productions is very simple.  We will innovate, create proprietary content, develop strategic partnerships, and deliver what’s next in experiential.  And we’ll have a blast doing it.

Want to come along for the ride?  Buckle up.  It’s going to be fast and it’s going to be loud.

Inspired by all-American hot rods, TRIM fabricates premium apparel, bags and accessories.  Each piece is trimmed with authentic New Old Stock upholstery (original automotive fabric that was never used) linking the item to a specific make, model and year of classic Detroit horsepower.  Every detail across the collection, including the vintage color palettes, stitched chevron denim pockets, tuck and roll upholstered bags, and chromed logos is an homage to the collection’s inspiration.

TRIM at St. Louis Fashion Week

A critical piece of our Brand Incubator program, TRIM is Javelin’s first foray into brand ownership.  We are immersed in the culture of the target consumer as well as the ins and outs of launching a fashion brand.

Garmentos at last!

As a veteran experiential marketer at Javelin, I find the Nike Women’s Marathon an impressive example of a premiere proprietary event, complete with exceptional consumer experience and holistic brand integration.  In October 2009 more than 20,000 runners took to the streets of San Francisco for the annual event.  It has become so popular that in 2008 Nike took the cue of well-established NYC Marathon and instituted a lottery process for entering the marathon.

Nike Women’s Marathon Lottery Process

Targeting women 25 – 32, the Nike Women’s Marathon begins with “Expotique”, a three-day exposition where participants sample wine and appetizers, indulge in manicures and Ghirardelli chocolate, and of course check out all of the latest Nike gear.  Now in its sixth year, the Nike marathon draws runners from around the world while helping raise funds for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

Nike Women's Marathon - tent

Experiential highlights of the proprietary event include:
•    Coat Checks
•    Foot Care Stations with new socks
•    DJ Stations
•    Family Cheering Sections
•    Little Sister Lane, where  hundreds of middle school girls cheer for the runners
•    15 Live Music Stations
•    Scenic Photo Station by the Golden Gate Bridge

Determined To Win

Elated to Finish

At the finish line, an 80-foot Nike-branded tunnel with digital wall panels and music educated consumers about Nike +, which are shoe sensors connected to an iPod, that track time and mileage.  To top it all off, tuxedo-clad San Francisco firefighters gave each runner crossing the finish line a robin’s egg blue Tiffany & Co. box. Inside each box lay a silver Tiffany & Co. necklace engraved with the words “Run like a girl.”

San Francisco's Finest and Tiffany & Co. Jewelry

Additional Finisher Perks:
•    Healthy Snacks
•    Heat Sheets
•    A Powder Room
•    Massages
•    Yoga Stretch Sessions
•    Mini Facials

The San Francisco event has reached maximum capacity but via Nike + technology and Nike retail stores, thousands of additional consumers are able to participate in simultaneous virtual marathons.

Overall, the Nike Women’s Marathon does an outstanding job of driving consumer awareness of new product lines (Nike +, shoes, apparel, etc.) while providing an exceptional brand experience.

Nike Women's Marathon

Experiential marketing agencies like to talk about taking risks, being entrepreneurial, creating brands and being passionate. At Javelin we like to talk about it too, but we also actually do it.

NOT THIS KIND OF PASSION…

PLAYTHING OF PASSION

In the past two years Javelin has taken stake in the hot rod inspired fashion line TRIM INDUSTRIES; partnered with a Long Beach California kustom kulture event called INK-N-IRON; and created a golf enthusiast property that includes a TV show, Vegas Caddies, and a supporting tour event, The Caddy Experience.

These three endeavors all came about by pairing our personal passions (the stuff we love) with strategic insight and street smarts. There have been numerous benefits to the agency including a creative recharging, a sense of breaking new ground and being innovators. We’ve also been able to share these opportunities with brands we were not currently engaged with, including YAHOO, Harley-Davidson, Dickies, Kimberly-Clark, MillerCoors and Monster Energy.

Perhaps more importantly, there have been benefits for our existing client base. We’ve been able to offer them fresh thinking, new opportunities, and something that is completely proactive and separate from our traditional scope of services.

By following our passions and taking some calculated risk, we have expanded how we think about the agency and how clients think about us.

A few months back the Javelin partners made a move—and some noise—by taking a stake in TRIM, the up and coming high-end fashion line. For us it was a business decision mixed with passion. We wanted to feel the rush of having a voice in developing a brand – and we wanted to indulge our need for a fashion fix. To date, the ride has been far better than imagined.  As experiential marketers, we are now getting to live a new experience…the full throttle fashion industry.

Recently the brand was picked up in Los Angeles by GLORY, arguably one of the hottest retailers on the planet, where Brad Pitt, George Clooney and a host of other A-listers shop regularly. As if that weren’t heady enough we’re also feeling the love from other trendy locals, a few hot bands like Ha Ha Tonka and Kings of Leon, and the righteous endorsement of Richard Rawlings—the sine qua non of road rally racing. He just digs us.

The global online retail store was launched on the website this week, so check out the merch and then stop by the blog to soak up some of the culture that fuels the heart and soul of the brand. Other ongoing developments, including appearances at Fashion Weeks around the country, will be featured here and on the TRIM blog.

Javelin is now at the vortex of the young brand experience. It is we who are taking the ride, not giving it, and it is grand. The learning and passion that comes from working with the line is energizing our staff, the press, and – best of all – our clients. There is another dimension to our story now, and new bona fides to add to the existing arsenal. In short, we’re loving the return on our investment to date and look forward to sharing the experience with you.