Los Angeles Firm Dresses Men for On-Air Success

CBS sportscaster Greg Gumbel—a cutoff blue jeans and sandals kind of guy—doesn’t want to be a fashion plate off the air. On camera, however, a well-groomed Gumbel doesn’t pull any punches.

“It’s important that people who convey a message on television don’t look like idiots,” Gumbel said. “I’ve seen people on other channels who have no idea what they’re doing. They must be vampires—they have no mirrors in the house.”

That message is one Gumbel’s bosses at CBS Sports have taken to heart by teaming up with marketing firm Ward Rhobe Management Corp. For the past 10 years, the Los Angeles-based company has brokered partnerships between leading apparel designers and media giants to outfit on-air talent in exchange for television credits.

“Media companies have said they’re not in the business of fashion, but they know it’s important in their presentation,” said Ward Rhobe president Rich Valenza.

With national sports ratings waning for the past five years, it’s not unusual that broadcast media executives have fashioned a host of marketing strategies right down to the threads on their anchors in an effort to retain viewer interest.

“It’s another tactic to create ’front of mind’ awareness and brand identity for the television station,” said Dean Bonham, chairman and founder of sports and entertainment marketing firm The Bonham Group in Denver. “They’re creating a signature look for their station.”

CBS Sports began working with Ward Rhobe in 1992 at the Winter Olympics in Albertville, France. Since that time, Ward Rhobe’s commitment has expanded to broadcasts of NFL games, the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship, the U.S. Open Tennis Championships, the Tour de France and golf events. Ward Rhobe also has had contracts for work on two Super Bowl telecasts and other Olympic broadcasts, including the 1996 Atlanta Games. (Recently, to comply with his exclusive four-year, $250,000 CBS contract, Valenza had to relinquish his commitment with NBC to consult on the 2002 Olympic Games in Salt Lake City.)

For the different broadcasts, Valenza acts as the costume designer, managing the clothing from long-time clients Polo Ralph Lauren, Joseph Abboud and others. Valenza sifts through the 120 suits, 200 shirts and 200 ties in the CBS wardrobe room and deals with the challenge of matching the clothing with the broadcasters’ distinct personalities.

“[Anchor] Jim Nance, who likes dark suits, blue shirts and gold ties, has told me 100 times he would wear this day in and out, but I can’t let him do that,” Valenza said. “By the third week, you need a red tie.”

Valenza gets paid through his contracts with CBS and other media entities. He doesn’t charge a fee to the apparel companies, whose sole expense is providing clothing for the stations. Of course, clothing costs can mount when sizable quantities of apparel are required (for example, the 2,500 polo shirts for last spring’s NCAA March Madness telecast that were supplied by Portland, Ore.-based Pendleton Woolen Mills), but manufacturers say the payoffs are worth their investment, especially compared to traditional public relations budgets.

“Rich is working with our brand awareness in mind,” said Traci Young, vice president of marketing and creative services for Joseph Abboud. “I don’t think that’s the notion of costume stylists. There’s a security in knowing that Rich can look after our project and maintain the integrity of Joseph Abboud.”

Apparel companies in the midst of transition also realize the marketing power of these partnerships. Ward Rhobe signed on last month with New York-based Lord & Taylor, which is looking to reposition its brand as a purveyor of more fashionable attire.

Earlier this year, Ward Rhobe struck up the partnership with Pendleton to have the company provide casual apparel for CBS. Pendleton, which has been pursuing a multi-channel business model through its updated Web site, growing number of retail stores and stronger commitment to its catalog, also struck a licensing agreement with CBS Sports to merchandise CBS-logo clothing in its stores.

“We’re not doing as [many] general PR kits as we’ve done in the pasthellip;.We’re more focused and we’ve been pleased with the PR value so far in our co-partnership,” said Mort Bishop III, Pendleton president. “Our CBS displays have been selling better than expected.”

No stranger to fashion, Valenza has relied on his contacts to forge these apparel partnerships. A Pennsylvania State University graduate, his background includes marketing and sales-related positions with Burdines department store, designer Henry Grethel, Robert Stock Ltd. and Perry Ellis.