BONDS, the brand many of us associate with enormous Cotton Tail undies and Chesty Bonds singlets, has enjoyed a staggering renaissance over the past five years, and has just launched its largest ever summer campaign.
The label, which was established in 1915 and is now part of the Pacific Brands stable, has seen enormous sales growth thanks in good part to its association with the hugely successful 2000 Sydney Olympics.
Bonds general manager Sue Morphet said since the success of the Olympics, the brand had worked hard at product innovation and marketing to take advantage of renewed interest in its products, as well as wider social trends.
“We needed to capitalise [on the Olympics] and we were part of the revolution where girls treated their underwear as an important part of their wardrobe,” Morphet said.
Key to the growth strategy is the brand’s advertising and marketing activity.
Morphet said Bonds now spends 6% of its annual budgeted turnover on above-the-line advertising.
She said in the past three years, Bonds had achieved compounded growth of 25%. Three years ago it was spending only 2% of a smaller turnover on advertising.
Morphet said about one- tenth of the above-the-line budget was spent on PR, which she said formed an important part of the brand communications, especially as Bonds underwear crossed just about all the major supply chains from Woolworths to David Jones.
But perhaps the most important element of the advertising and marketing work was the employment of “spokesmodels” Sarah O’Hare and Patrick Rafter, who helped change perceptions of the brand.
“We were able to re-invent ourselves and become relevant to young girls,” Morphet said. We were their mum’s brand but not their brand of choice. We’ve turned a needs-based brand into a fashion brand,” Morphet said.
The new campaign for summer revolves around the hipster trunks for men and the new boxers for women.
Bonds has also extended its product range to include comfortable yoga-style trousers and t-shirts, which it has heavily supported with catalogues tipped-on to leading men’s and women’s fashion magazines.
