Onitsuka Tiger, a lifestyle and fashion brand owned by Asics, has selected Pitch, an integrated marketing agency based in Culver City, CA as its local Agency of Record and additionally named them the 2012 Global Agency of Record. Onitsuka Tiger will look to Pitch to help expand
from a niche position as a fashionable sneaker brand to become a formidable player in the sport-fashion category.
The Onitsuka Tiger team selected Pitch from an international field of agencies. Pitch becomes the first American agency to win global business from Onitsuka Tiger in six years.
The Request for Proposal (RFP) came out of Onitsuka Tiger headquarters in Kobe, Japan and was managed in North America by the newly minted Onitsuka Tiger executive team consisting of Senior Category Lifestyle Manager Natacha Alpert and Sales and Marketing Manager Colin Brickley.
Prior to being selected as the marketing agency, Pitch had recently completed a contract to conduct proprietary consumer research for the brand.
“As a company, I believe Onitsuka Tiger will be one of our most important initiatives and we consider Pitch to be an ideal fit with their unique ability to concept and deliver the next big idea,” said Kevin Wulff, CEO and President, Asics America Corporation. Alpert added, “We are ready to take Onitsuka Tiger to the next level and become visionaries for the brand, evolving our premium product. Pitch is the perfect partner for us because they are on the pulse of what consumers need with trend marketing and from a fashion perspective.”
“From the moment Onitsuka Tiger came to us with this assignment, we started working and we haven't stopped,” said Pitch SVP of Marketing, Rachel Spiegelman. “They are everything we look for in a new partner ¬ a great brand heritage combined with a passion for dynamic creative.”
