INDIANAPOLIS – Learfield Licensing Partners, a trademark management company specializing in collegiate licensing and branding, announced that its Specialty Brands division has signed an exclusive agreement with Tough Mudder, Inc., the leading active lifestyle brand and events company, as its North American representative for licensing. Learfield Licensing’s Specialty Brands division will develop brand opportunities for Tough Mudder while helping to secure strong partnerships for licensed products, including apparel and novelty products, across various categories and retail channels.
Learfield Licensing’s Specialty Brands division focuses on creating meaningful brand connections with consumers through strategic licensing and product line extensions outside of the college space. In addition to handling the day-to-day management duties of Tough Mudder’s trademark licensing program, Learfield Licensing’s Specialty Brands division will maximize licensing and marketing partnerships to increase awareness of the Tough Mudder experience and heighten guest connectivity. Tough Mudder’s unique brand ethos of celebrating teamwork, overcoming obstacles, and conquering “probably the toughest event on earth” will allow for impactful co-branding opportunities and increased visibility.
“We are pleased to team up with Learfield Licensing Partners to develop our licensing program and offer consumer products to the Tough Mudder community in new ways,” said Florence DiGiorgio, Tough Mudder, Inc.’s senior director of consumer products & partnership marketing. “We look forward to working with Learfield Licensing to enhance the Tough Mudder experience by providing fans with high-quality products they can purchase at retail.”
“We are thrilled to be partnering with Tough Mudder,” said Tony Johnson, executive vice president of Learfield Licensing. “By creating a truly unique experience for its loyal and passionate guests, Tough Mudder has become a global leader in a rapidly-growing sport that combines mental and physical strength, stamina and teamwork.”
“It is an honor to work with the dynamic team at Tough Mudder,” said Ryan Boyle, vice president of Learfield Licensing’s Specialty Brands division. “We look forward to helping develop authentic, high-quality products that will appeal to the millions of Tough Mudder fans across North America.”
About Learfield Licensing Partners
Learfield Licensing Partners is a world-class licensing firm whose services and success align perfectly with Learfield’s history, strength and reputation within the industry. We strive to provide the best practices and strategies in the industry to properly protect and promote our clients’ brands, and couple that with new resources and strategies for growth with help from Learfield, which has a deep presence in the college athletics landscape. Learfield manages the multimedia and sponsorship rights for more than 120 collegiate institutions, conferences and arenas, and supports athletic departments at all competitive levels as title sponsor of the Learfield Directors’ Cup. For more than four decades, Learfield has connected brands to the excitement, passion, tradition, fun and fans of college sports and now leverages multiple platforms and partnerships through distinct offerings through its affiliated companies.
About Tough Mudder
Founded in 2010 with the launch of the Tough Mudder Full event series of 10-12 mile obstacle courses, Tough Mudder Inc. has since grown to become a leading active lifestyle company and leader in sports video content creation and distribution. The brand includes: Mini Mudder, a 1-mile obstacle course designed for kids ages 7-12; Tough Mudder 5K, an accessible yet rewarding challenge packing signature Tough Mudder obstacles into a 3.1-mile course; Tough Mudder Half, an obstacle course challenge bringing the thrills of Tough Mudder to a 5-mile course; Tougher Mudder, a competitive start wave that takes place during all Tough Mudder Weekends; Toughest Mudder, an eight-hour, overnight competitive series; and World’s Toughest Mudder, a grueling 24-hour endurance competition. The brand also encompasses an extremely vibrant engaging social and digital community and serves as a destination for fitness, nutrition and wellness content delivered across multiple platforms. The Tough Mudder family of brands and online community is united by a commitment to promoting courage, personal accomplishment and teamwork through unconventional, life-changing experiences. With more than 2.5 million participants globally to date, Tough Mudder Inc. will host more than 130 events worldwide in 2017 in nearly a dozen countries, including Asia, Australia and more through its partnerships with IMG, Seroja and Sports Media and Entertainment 360 (SME360). More than 20 of the world’s leading brands are sponsorship and content distribution partners, including Merrell, Jeep, Vega, Kingstone Press, For Goodness Shakes, Bosch, Snapchat, Live Stream, CBS Sports, Sky Sports, ESPN Media Distribution and The CW. To join the conversation, follow Tough Mudder on Twitter at @ToughMudder, on Instagram @Tough_Mudder, on Facebook at facebook.com/toughmudder, on Snapchat at Tough.Mudder and on YouTube at YouTube.com/ToughMudder.