Sports media brand Overtime has built an e-commerce business that the company says will reach more than eight figures in annual sales by 2023 through partnerships with brands like BAPE, Snapchat and Paramount to expand its reach.
Led by Tyler Rutstein, Chief Brand Officer and Head of Commerce, Overtime began selling merchandise in 2019 that caters to its core audience of Gen Z and millennial sports fans.
The media company first made a name for itself by distributing high school sports videos, then producing its own programs and running its own sports leagues. Like some others in the media, it has expanded into merchandise, selling hoodies, t-shirts, joggers, shorts, compression socks and more. Overtime is on track to generate an estimated $100 million in revenue this year, primarily from advertising as well as e-commerce sales and sports rights fees.
Rutstein, who worked at Adidas and Reebok before the extension, said the company distinguishes its products by focusing on quality.
“When we started, I said, we’re not going to be a media company that just makes products,” Rutstein told Business Insider. “We will be super intentional about product quality and packaging.”
Over time
For example, each of Overtime’s e-commerce orders comes with an athlete credential card with a QR code that takes shoppers to the company’s online store. The card has become something of a status symbol. Some customers wear it or attach it to their backpacks or clothing, Rutstein said.
Overtime has partnered with brands like Paramount and Snapchat to expand its audience
Rutstein said partnerships have played an important role in the brand’s growth and evolution.
Overtime plans to launch a major collection in July in partnership with Paramount to celebrate the 25th anniversary of SpongeBob SquarePants, for example. The collaboration will feature hoodies, T-shirts, shorts and more. Overtime said the deal was reached because Paramount was attracted to Overtime’s innovative approach to apparel and ability to reach Gen Z and millennials.
“Through partnerships, we’ve been able to expand our audience, of course, to these brands that are legacy or traditional streetwear brands,” Rutstein said. “They like to put a new spin on things, and we always put a new spin on things.”
Over time
Overtime has also partnered with social media app Snapchat on a feature that allows fans to try on virtual Overtime gear and change their Bitmoji, a personal avatar within the app. Overtime recently released its second Bitmoji release, and so far, 42 million Snapchatters have tried on its Bitmoji apparel, the company said.
Other brands Overtime has partnered with include BAPE, a Japanese clothing brand; PSD Underwear, which makes underwear and sportswear; 7-Eleven, a chain of convenience stores; and Billionaire Boys Club, a fashion brand founded by singer-songwriter Pharrell Williams.
Over time
Overtime’s fashionable products have won over Gen Z and millennial audiences; 83% of the brand’s fans are under 35, the company said.
“We have our classic hoodie, which I think of as the new varsity jacket for the high school runner,” Rutstein said. “It’s kind of a signifier… I’m an athlete.”
The company drops products in lieu of text, TikToks and more
In addition to partnerships, Overtime is growing its business by listening to the needs of its audience on social media, such as the demands it saw in direct messages and reviews for compression shirts.
“We recently expanded into performance apparel, and people have been asking and begging us to make arch compression shirts for a long time,” Rutstein said. “We just started doing that, and that’s been a big part of our growth and expansion.”
Another strategy Overtime uses to increase sales is to meet customers where they are, whether through text messaging or social media. Rutstein said texting has been a particularly effective strategy for reaching customers. Overtime sends customers text messages with the latest news and even research.
“No matter where they come to us, we must be able to resolve and answer their questions no matter where,” Rutstein said. “I want the experience to be seamless and in our voice.”
Rutstein said Overtime releases merchandise monthly and each release looks different.
“It always looks different,” he said. “Sometimes we just throw out products…sometimes we do a big campaign with editorial images of athletes…sometimes we just have TikToks and we just do one TikTok, or one SMS.”
