Sparkle Country

It happens every day to celebrities — people approach them in stores, on the street, in airports, asking, “Are you….?”

Country singer Lee Ann Womack doesn’t always get recognized for her crooning. Sometimes, it’s paper towels.

Womack’s four-year-old deal with Georgia-Pacific’s Sparkle paper towels breeds familiarity. “I’ve had people come up to me in Nashville and Memphis and say nothing about singing,” Womack says. In one restaurant a fan declared, “You’re the Sparkle lady!”

That’s exceptional brand recognition. Most brands — like country singers — take years to get famous. Womack’s long relationship with Atlanta-based Georgia-Pacific is noteworthy in the entertainment business, but it had humble beginnings. Womack wasn’t well-known in 1998, and Sparkle was still a relative young’un in its category, only 12 years old.

Sparkle marketers were on the lookout for a female country spokesperson — preferably a mother with small kids — to reach shoppers at mass merchandise chains, where 70 percent of country music sales take place and paper towels are a staple.

“You fish where the fish are,” says Steven Sage, director of consumer promotions and customer marketing for Georgia-Pacific Consumer Products. “[Paper towels] is a very low-loyalty category, and country music fans are definitely loyal. Lee Ann made sense. She was up and coming, we were up and coming.”

Womack’s camp passed on several offers from other marketers before settling on a 15 million-circulation FSI that introduced her as Sparkle’s “spokesmom.” (Ryan Partnership, Westport, CT, handled.)

“There was something about the Sparkle relationship that seemed like it would work for both sides,” says Womack, whose kids are 11 and three years old.

The mom connection was key to the success of Sparkle’s most extensive tie to a country artist, says Donna Parano, vp-management supervisor for DVC, the Morristown, NJ-based agency that handles Sparkle’s Womack promos. “She is an everyday mom who struggles with the same issues as consumers,” she says.

The relationship evolved as Womack’s career blossomed. In 2000, she won the Country Music Association’s prestigious Song of the Year award for her hit “I Hope You Dance.” And then in 2001, she received CMA’s Female Vocalist of the Year honor. The accolades catapulted her singing and packaged-goods career.

“It was much easier to get senior management support after the awards and it was a nice confirmation that we had picked the appropriate person,” Sage says.

Two-Timing

Womack’s sudden popularity meant more recognition for Sparkle, but also anted-up marketing efforts to keep the Texan singer happy. Georgia-Pacific ran a full-page ad in USA Today congratulating Womack for her Female Vocalist award, then organized a contest that supported her I Hope You Dance CD, dangling tickets to the next CMA Awards in Nashville. (Fans made music videos singing favorite songs from the album; the winner was randomly chosen. DVC handled.)

In 2001, Sparkle became exclusive sponsor of Womack’s 17-day Holiday Tour and included her in all its advertising. (Ad spending jumped to $1.2 million for January-March 2002 from $302,000 for all of 1998, per Competitive Media Reporting, New York City.) Womack starred in her first 30-second TV spot for Sparkle in 2001.

“Her popularity and [winning] Female Vocalist of the Year added tremendous value to Sparkle,” Parano says. As a small player in the cluttered $2.2 billion paper towel category, “we need to get their name out there.”

Georgia-Pacific is providing unprecedented support for Womack’s current U.S. tour, distributing 3,000 custom CDs (and brochures of the star’s tips for a healthy home) at each of the 40 concerts through October. Womack’s picture is on three million packages through this month — her first appearance on-pack. Georgia-Pacific also painted one of Womack’s tour trucks with Sparkle graphics, and gets onstage and in-venue signage. Radio ticket giveaways via DVC support. This month Sparkle wraps a six-month sweeps in Country Weekly magazine awarding a trip to the November CMA Awards, a $500 shopping spree, and a diamond necklace. Fallon and Edelman, both New York City, handle ads and p.r., respectively.

Heart-Breaking Records

Sparkle’s sales are up 40 percent since Womack signed on, topping $178 million in 2001 (up from $127.7 million in ’98), per Information Resources, Inc., Chicago. Market share is 8 percent, up from 6.3 percent in 1998.

“Lee Ann and her team have integrated their resources with Sparkle to provide tremendous value for all parties,” says Rick Murray, CMA senior director of strategic marketing. “And Sparkle has provided Lee Ann with an opportunity to extend marketing of her image, records, concert tours, and overall brand as an artist via advertising and marketing channels that she would not normally have access to.”

“Being seen on television and putting a face with the name and the music — especially outside the country world — is immeasurable,” says Erv Woolsey, president of Nashville-based Erv Woolsey Co., Womack’s management agency. Adds Woolsey vp and Womack business manager Scott Kernahan: “We would never have been on TV as much as we have been.”

Keeping the Faith

This long-term alliance is unique. “We can count on one hand the number of celebrities who are able to partner with a brand for multiple years and grow the association each year by introducing new elements,” Murray says. Country music fosters longer relationships than other entertainment segments, but a four-year-old partnership is still uncommon.

“I showed up for the first photo shoot not knowing how long I would end up working with them,” Womack laughs. “Now that I know more about the industry, I find it surprising that we’re still working together. It’s a very pleasant relationship.”

And flexible. “We’ve never had a signed contract, but we are looking for a longer relationship now and trying to work more closely with the record company [MCA Nashville],” Sage says.

“As long as it keeps working, we will continue the relationship,” echoes Womack. “It raises my profile and exposes me to so many more people.”

The real key is making it work for consumers, Murray points out. “There is no force-feeding of values by either the brand management team at Sparkle or by Lee Ann to make the relationship work,” he says. “Consumers are very aware of the genuine, honest nature of the partnership and have responded positively.”

And Womack certainly isn’t singing the blues — even if some fans simply recognize her as the “Sparkle Lady.”