BACK TO SCHOOL: With new partnerships in place for more than 10 leading U.S. colleges, Life is Good is returning to its roots.
Founding brothers John and Bert Jacobs started their company by selling T-shirts door-to-door in college dorms on the East Coast in the late Eighties. The initiative is also in keeping with the brand’s ethos to practice positivity and help children in need. Last fall, the Boston lifestyle company launched a cobranded women’s and men’s T-shirt line with the University of Notre Dame. In addition to the school’s logo, colors and images, shirts feature the Life is Good logo.
The company expects to have 15 collegiate deals in the next few weeks and 30 in the next year or so, according to Luke Heffernan, director of best-in-class partnerships. The initiative is in step with the company’s plans to donate 10 percent of its annual net profits to help children who are dealing with poverty, violence or illness.
Related Galleries
Life is Good’s expanded roster includes Arizona State University, Baylor University, the University of Georgia, Gonzaga University, the University of Miami, Michigan State University, Texas A&M University and the University of Oklahoma. The founders also have deals in place with their alma maters — Villanova University for Bert Jacobs and the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, for John Jacobs. Later this summer, Auburn University, Texas Christian University, and University of California, Berkeley, will become part of Life is Good’s college lineup. The cobranded assortment is now being sold online and in select retailers and campus bookstores.
Life is Good will also be introducing new categories of products through deals with WinCraft and Tervis. Flags, banners, license plates and frames carrying the logos of the different schools will be introduced by WinCraft this fall. And tailgate fans will no doubt welcome the January launch of cobranded collegiate tumblers and other drinkware from Tervis.
Life is Good executives are still figuring out how they will market to the college crowd with special events. Last fall, the Jacobs brothers packed up a renovated Airstream trailer for an eight-week Life is Good tour, which included a stop in South Bend, Ind., for a Notre Dame football game.