Polartec branches out into the world of cycling

Commonly known for it’s appearance in snuggly fleece Patagonias and the stylish North Face jacket, Polartec is now widening its market as it ventures into the cycling arena.

While Polartec has been around for around 100 years, it has been recently popping up in popular cycling brands. With a brand slogan as challenging as “ make the impossible, possible” , it comes as no surprise Polartec is taking on a new market.

One of the many brands Polartec has partnered with is Rapha, a premier cycling apparel and accessory company offering superior levels of “comfort, performance, and style”. Rapha has successfully branded itself to be more than just a company- but a cycling lifestyle. They offer cycle clubs, travel, and famous sponsorship with cycling events across the globe. Since 2012, they have been the official supplier to Team Sky, a professional British cycling team. Seeking the highest level of performance and comfort, Rapha sought out Polartec to design a jacket for riders during wet conditions.

As a result, they have created a cycling jacket with Polartec Power Shield Pro fabric. The fabric is a three layer material designed to be water repellent, insulating, and breathable. The outer membrane blocks almost all wind, while simultaneously letting air and moisture out without sacrificing design.

Polartec has even launched a new campaign #FollowContador featured on all of their social media platforms including Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram to make their way into the cycling market. The campaign encourages cyclists to enter the competition by tracking your cycling through 1000 km for a chance to train with Alberto Contador- a professional cyclist. By entering, Polartec is giving away free gear such as gloves, beanies, jackets, and tops as you work your way through the program.

The above video released by Polartec helps to adapt Polartec’s brand image from outdoor cold-weather gear to increased applications in sports such as cycling. By getting involved in a huge cycling event, they are increasing their brand awareness and adding an element to their brand identity. As their first major out-shooting from extreme sports, it is crucial that Polartec emphasizes the variety of applications of their product, as to not lose their current consumer. However not once in the video does it mention any co-branding efforts with their products.

Polartec has not been doing the branding alone, but has had limited engagement on social media with Rapha to further show their collaboration. The following post was the only post easily found to show the collaboration.

However, the co-marketing of the companies is still primarily limited to the technical and performance aspects of the design. In all social media and website marketing, the only parts that are mentioned are the technical qualities gained using Polartec fabric.

While Polartec has done a great job of reaching out into a new target market, Rapha has not heavily advertised or branded their jackets with the Polartec technology. On Rapha’s website you can search by the brand, but there is little information about Polartec as a company. Once a jacket is selected however, you can read about the performance abilities that comes with using the Polartec fabric.

For Rapha, partnering with Polartec was a stragetic collaboration. After hearing from their current consumers about the performance qualities they demanded, Polartec, a company well-established in performance fabrics was the logical decision.

For the collaboration of Polartec and Rapha to be successfully, both parties need to fully invest in marketing. An increase in co-branding of the two companies would largely increase the consumer base for both companies. Polartec would gain recognition in a sector where it has never been known before, and Rapha would gain the status that comes with using a high performance fabric. While the co-branding allows the companies to share performance qualities and a consumer base, both companies still maintain separate brand identities.

Moving forward there needs to be a combined marketing strategy that allows the consumer to see the applications of the Polartec material in the Rapha jacket. For example, there is no mention of Rapha in the #FollowContador campaign. Likewise there is no mention of Polartec on Rapha’s website. Overall, there is very little co-marketing efforts and the existing marketing messages are primarily coming from separate branding efforts. If the brands interacted with each other more on social media and through their marketing messages, the message would be stronger and more effective for both companies.

This post was created as part of the Textile Technology and Apparel Management Program at the NC State College of Textiles. All thoughts and opinions are my own. #NCStatetextiles.