NEW BEDFORD, Mass., March 26, 2007 – AHEAD is making a lot of noise in the golf shops this season with the "GET A.H.E.A.D." sweepstakes. Starting today, consumers and retailers will be able to register at www.aheadweb.com for the opportunity win two custom-made Orange County Choppers. The "Get A.H.E.A.D." sweepstakes is a branding campaign designed to showcase the entire line of products: apparel, headwear, accessories, along with their innovative design and embroidery.
"The golf trade knows us pretty well, but now is the time to better develop the brand among consumers," noted Ken Shwartz, CEO, AHEAD. "The sweepstakes is a non-traditional, but effective approach for reaching out to consumers and giving them a broader understanding of the brand."
The sweepstakes is designed to give consumers a greater awareness of the breadth of products under the AHEAD umbrella. AHEAD, a leader in the golf headwear category with its innovative designs and ornamentation is looking to further expand its presence in the apparel categories. Since its entrance into the apparel category five years ago, AHEAD has enjoyed double-digit growth with its classic men’s Authentic and women’s Kate Lord lines. Now with apparel accounting for 30 percent of the company’s sales, AHEAD is looking to continue to fuel this growth.
"I knew no matter how well we did with headwear, the market was limited," continued Shwartz. "The awareness for the brand is strong enough to parlay into product extensions, and the largest opportunity is apparel."
Consumers can enter the sweepstakes by visiting www.aheadweb.com. "GET A.H.E.A.D." has been designed to engage the consumer brand awareness by having them register for the sweepstakes by first clicking through some quick informational web pages about the brand and product lines. Consumers will then be asked to take a short quiz about the brand, which rewards correct responses with additional sweepstake chances. Contestants will be able to win bonus chances by referring friends to enter. The grand prize is an Orange County Chopper built by The Learning Channel American Chopper TV stars Paul Teutul Sr., Paul Teutul Jr. and Mikey Teutul. Other prizes include gift certificates redeemable at participating sweepstakes retail locations. "We believe these additional prizes will reward our retailers by getting golfers right back into their shops asking for our products," added Shwartz.
The GET A.H.E.A.D. sweepstakes runs from March 26 – September 30, 2007 with the winners selected on October 3, 2007. The sweepstakes will be supported with displays in 3000 retail locations, along with a direct mail and internet campaign. A separate drawing for participating retailers will award one lucky retailer one of two OCC choppers and 49 runner-ups with an authentic AHEAD leather jacket.
AHEAD® is a designer and marketer of branded headwear, apparel and accessories. Headquartered in New Bedford, Massachusetts, the company operates four distinct business units: the AHEAD Authentic® apparel line; the Kate Lordâ?¢ Collection of fine women’s hats, apparel and accessories; the AHEAD® "Heavy Metalâ?¢ line of golf accessories; and the company’s unparalleled line of AHEAD® Headgear. AHEAD is a sponsor of PGA Authentic and a supporting partner of PGA Golf Retirement Plus.
Contact:
Jackie Beck, 860.304.3643, jackiebeck00@hotmail.com.
