Red Lion has put another foot forward in the business of product design.
The Toronto agency was named AOR for Babsocks, a fledgling company created by two Toronto Maple Leafs fans last year. The company sells $20 socks festooned with the image of Maple Leafs head coach Mike Babcock.
“I think it’s quite a smart product in a city that’s frankly hockey-crazy,” said Matt Litzinger, president and chief creative officer of Red Lion.
Red Lion and Babsocks worked together on as assignment basis before the partnership was formalized. Red Lion will handle all branding and advertising mandates, as well as product design. Litzinger said for next year’s NHL’s season, Babsocks would launch into other wearables besides socks, and hinted they would extend beyond just featuring Babcock’s likeness.
This is the second product-design partnership for Red Lion. In April, the agency announced it’s designing products for Drake General Store.
Litzinger said Red Lion continued to look for partnerships that redefine the possibilities of the client-agency relationship.
“When we work with client partners where we’re trying to come up with solutions to their business, often that solution may not require advertising because the nature of how the world interacts with each other now,” he said.
On top of that, it’s fun, added Litzinger. “Just creating in this manner is fun—it’s fun for the agency, it’s fun for the clients… And I think sometimes that gets lost in the business of our business.”
