HIP HOP MAKES THE CORPORATE SCENE

Keep your eyes on the world of Hip Hop. Its importance is now breaking the glass ceiling of the corporate world. Just follow the money, so to speak. We just learned that Honda has teamed up with hip-hop/R&B musicians the Black-Eyed Peas. The promotion will include giving away the Honda that appears in the band’s video “Pump It.”

A tricked-out Honda Civic Si Hybrid has been completely customized, and will appear at all venues where the band is performing. Fans can sign up online at hondacivictour.com or at a customized kiosk at the concert site for a chance to win the car itself.

Nike is also wooing this Hip Hop customer (only on the dance floor) with a new dance-clothing line for Women.

In a recent music video, R&B artist Rihanna struts in a tight cropped shirt, baggy khaki pants and a white fedora. The outfit looks fresh off a streetwear designer's rack, but Nike Inc. says it is actually made for a sweaty gym workout.

The Beaverton, Oregon sportswear company has created shoes and sexy apparel designed for female fitness-aerobic dancers. The line will include tissue thin tank tops, low-rise baggy pants and flirty short skirts that are meant to look good in the gym and in nightclubs. Pants and tops can be tucked up or left long, and many of the pieces can be layered on top of each other, allowing dancers to customize their look.

The pieces help dancer’s agility and coolness with performance fabrics that wick away sweat. The $36 "Fantastic Fedora" is lined with a headband to remove perspiration.

Women's products made up 20% of total Nike-brand sales ending May 31. The company also sees big opportunity in fitness walking and yoga, and says the entire women's division has seen double-digit growth. Nike had revenue of $13.74 billion last year.

The attitude shift is helping Nike grab a bigger piece of the women's active market, which is rapidly outpacing sales of men's active products. While sales of women's sports apparel grew 9% to $17.4 billion in 2004 from 2000, sales of men's sports apparel dropped 11% to $13.4 billion, according to the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association.

Retailers are giving more floor space to women's products. David Campisi, president of Sports Authority Inc., says its women's division, helped by strong sales of the Nike line, posted double-digit revenue growth in 2005.

Female consumers are "willing to spend more and buy more," Mr. Campisi says. The average purchase from women tends to be higher than for men, he says, in part because women like to buy color-coordinating products.

Along with its merchandise, Nike is hoping that its series of fitness-dance DVDs and gym classes lures more female consumers by tying in to popular culture. To push the dance concept, Nike enlisted Rihanna to star in its "Nike Rockstar Workout -- Hip Hop by Jamie King" DVD, its fourth in a series of fitness-dance workouts. Later this month, an hour-long extension of a Nike-branded routine will be taught in dozens of 24- Hour gyms. The workout was created by Mr. King, a choreographer to celebrities such as Madonna and Ricky Martin.

According to many young people, "It's cool to dance now.” Gyms are outpacing themselves with classes that range from salsa to cardio striptease.

Hello Hat vendors, what are you doing for this active head strong customer? Are you giving her something to wear on the dance floor? Have you talked to this customer? If you tell women they need hats to exercise in, they will buy them. Who ever thought that sane people would go out and buy huge plastic balls and roll around on the floor with them? From a purely realistic perspective it seems nuts, but then again, people will buy anything or do anything if they think it is either cool or healthy.

Where is your Hat Campaign?