The Miami Beach name and logo are about to show up on the most logical link-up imaginable: a sunscreen.
In the midst of one of the harshest winters on record, the City of Miami Beach next month will announce plans to lend its sun-drenched name and even the city's familiar logo to a new sunscreen line that will name itself after the city. In the wacky, multibillion dollar world of product licensing, this makes way too much sense. Imagine: a city known for sun and fun with its name and image on a bottle of sunscreen.
"It is one of those product ideas that is so painfully simple that you ask yourself: Why didn't I think of that?" says brand guru Pam Danziger.
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Get this: Every one of Miami Beach's 115 lifeguards has been asked to use the stuff. If that doesn't sell it, what will?
So, the nation's $1.5 billion sunscreen industry has a startlingly new entrant in an already overcrowded field. It's an industry hit by conflicting factors. Even as cash-strapped consumers are reluctant to spend more on many personal care products, there is increased interest by consumers across all demographics to protect their health and fight signs of aging.
But even though cities with glamorous names, from Hollywood to Beverly Hills, have licensed the use of their monikers and logos for products, it's hardly risk free, notes Debra Joester, president of The Joester Loria Group, a brand licensing agency. "The product has to be truly distinctive," she notes. What's more, she adds, success in geographic product licensing is "very hard to predict."
But the mayor of Miami Beach is absolutely crowing.
"The sun is what we know better than anyone in the world," boasts Mayor Philip Levine. And protecting folks from it — with the new brand dubbed Miami Beach — will become something of a marketing drumbeat. Several major national retail chains have agreed to se! ll the brand, including Walgreens and Bed, Bath and Beyond. It's also available online at www.MiamiBeachSun.com. A 6-ounce bottle of its SPF 50 Sport Spray Sunscreen fetches $14.99.
Never mind that Miami Beach is just 7 miles long and a mile wide. Never mind that it has just 90,000 residents — off-season. Miami Beach is home to cool celebs. Like P. Diddy. And Gloria Estefan. And, of course, David Beckham is shopping for a home in Miami Beach. "This is not a traditional place," says Levine. "We create buzz in unique ways."
Even with a sunscreen.
The Miami Beach brand also may have a bit of a local aura because it's even made locally. Ingredients include local salt water, sea kelp and seaweed, says Marcos Perez, the company's president. "It's not just Miami Beach on the bottle," he says. "It's in the bottle."
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