Caught On Tape: Oakley’s Liesl Holtz, Women’s Sports Marketing Manager

kristina

• November 13 2008
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Liesl Holtz (second from right) schmoozing with her athletes at the premiere of Uniquely at Oakley headquarters.

When it comes to the women’s market, there’s been a lot of buzz over at the Oakley camp this year. They rolled out a new marketing campaign, a full apparel line complete with footwear, swimwear, and accessories, and then wrapped it all up with the release of their all-girl, travel-inspired movie “Uniquely,” directed by John Roderick and produced by Oakley women’s marketing maven Liesl Hotlz. More details and photos from the premiere can be seen HERE. Transworld Business caught up with Liesl to discuss the project, the women’s program, and what’s next for the girls of Oakley.

TWB: Why do a movie like this, and why now?

LH:At Oakley we are so fortunate to be able to work within multiple sports. Across all sports our team is really tight and we consider ourselves like family. Among all the different disciplines there are so many similar attributes and personalities and to bring all the girls together within action sports to expose that seemed right.

We launched our “Uniquely” campaign about a year and a half ago with the purpose to expose each woman athlete not only as the professional that they are, but also their personalities, habits, hobbies, and convictions that make them individual and—for lack of a better word—unique. To make this video a mix of the dynamic lives they live, travel, adventure, and experience was our goal…and thank god I did it last year before the economy crashed…ha!

TWB:How does this movie fit into the overall marketing scheme for your women’s program, and for Oakley as a whole?

LH:In the last three years Oakley has made a strong commitment to our women’s program. We have expanded our product line as well as our marketing efforts to talk to our female consumers. We hope this movie exposes that, as well as helps viewers identify with who we feel the Oakley woman is.

TWB: How do you measure your success on a project like this?

LH: Marketing is always hard to measure, but feedback within the industry has been so positive. Everyone is so excited and impressed in the way we were able to pull off a very difficult project conceptually. In overall exposure, it is hard to put a number to it, but we have set up some measurements within our distribution methods that we are utilizing in media, events, and downloads off of oakleywomen.com.

TWB: Why did you choose a free download as your distribution model?

LH: We were not going for payback or profit on this project. We are going for exposure, branding, and getting as many eyes on this as possible. And secondly, the women’s video market just isn’t there.

TWB: In a company as large as Oakley, it seems like the female, action sports athletes would take a back seat to higher-profile athletes. Does this movie represent a growth in relevance for women in action sports? How do you see this category growing or changing in the future?

LH: I don’t feel our action sports athletes ever have taken a secondary role within Oakley. In fact, quite the opposite. Yes, our mainstream athletes get more exposure based off the nature of their sports, but our dedication to all of our athletes and the service and exposure we try to create for them is equal.

We recently launched our first women’s signature line ever with Gretchen Bleiler, and next season will be expanding that line as well as introducing a team-inspired series with Marie-France Roy. Our major marketing campaigns in the last year have included Sage Erickson in surf, Ashley Fiolek in MX, and Laura Hadar and Gretchen in snow. Coming fall is a full campaign with both GB and skier Grete Eliassen, and spring will showcase surfer Claudia Goncalves. Our focus on women within and influenced by action sports is a top priority.

TWB: How do you select the girls to be placed on the Oakley team, and how do you select who gets a part in the movie?

LH: Sport performance is first priority within the team. We have a group of very beautiful women and each of them is on the top of their sport. From GB to MFR to Karina Petroni to Ashley Fiolek to Lauren Perkins to Amber Wing…they are all incredible athletes. Second is vision. I want each of our athletes to succeed at the highest level. Within marketing at Oakley, I can help develop that, but ultimately it is up to the athlete and how badly they really want it for themselves. Third, they have to believe in our brand. We have a very technical brand for our sports performance lines and an expansive lifestyle line for after sport. I believe in both aspects of the brand and I expect the team to as well. Fourth, they need to fit within the team well. We are all very like-minded people and spend a lot of time together, so it’s crucial we all get along.

TWB: How long were you working on this project? What’s next?

LH: This project had extremely short deadlines and we busted our asses to get it done. We conceptualized in December and headed to Japan first week of February. We finished filming in August and delivered the movie October first. Literally, neither John nor I came off the road all year. GB killed it and spent three weeks in Japan only to fly directly to Russia for another two weeks. The timelines were short, but it kept us focused.

Next? I’m still trying to recover, but I’ve got some things up my sleeve. I don’t sit down for long…