How Sports Sponsorships Allowed KT Tape To Turn Selling Kinesiology Tape Into A Multi-Million Dollar Business

Throughout the summer, colorful pieces of tape have been popping up across the bodies of some of the world’s best athletes.  Upon first glance, fans may think that athletes are trying to make a statement with the bright pieces of tape strategically placed upon their bodies.  Rather, the tape masks the athletes’ injuries.  Bright in color, yet discrete,KT Tape, is a kinesiology tape that hit the market in 2008, but made its biggest splash in the sports industry this summer.

During the 2008 Olympics, the buzz around kinesiology tape began, when it started showing up on athletes’ bodies.  Most notably, members of the US women’s volleyball team, including Kerri Walsh Jennings, were shown wearing kinesiology tape.  As broadcasters scrambled to figure out what exactly was on the players’ bodies, a group of men in the United States looking for a new businessventure quickly realized they found their next opportunity.  ”I was watching and suddenly became aware that the NBC announcers were spending a lot of time trying to figure out what it was. There were millions of people who went online to do more research to figure out what it was.  It turned out that it was something that Kerri Walsh’s physician put on her following rotator cup surgery that allowed her to go out and play, while limiting the risk of injury or re-injury,” KT Tape’s co-founder and chief marketing officer, Jim Jenson, noted.

Recognizing the growing interest the general public and broadcasters alike had in the tape, Jenson and KT Tape’s three other co-founders decided to dig into the product and industry a little deeper.  At the time, the group was winding up a venture they entered into in the gift card industry.  Through that venture, the group had developed strong relationships with retailers.  ”Everyone has a gift card; they’re ubiquitous.  So, working with them, we had an opportunity to work with every retailer.  We knew how to do business with mass retailers and understood the nuances of what they needed,” Jenson explained.

With that knowledge, upon seeing the interest Walsh’s kinesiology tape generated, the group began researching their next venture.  ”As we did our due diligence, we learned that kinesiology tape is a clinical product that has been around for over 30 years, but that it was exclusively available in the clinical setting.  We then formed a medical advisory board, and as we began meeting with them to understand the product and how it’s used, we asked them if this was a product that is appropriate for non-clinician use.  Our medical advisory board’s resounding answer was, ‘yes,’” Jenson said.

At that point, Jenson and KT Tape’s co-founders began designing the product.  The group, with the assistance of medical experts, began re-designing the tape from the ground up.  And they did this at a lightning-fast pace.  ”From start to finish–from the time we saw it at the Beijing Olympics to the time we took our first purchase order–was four months,” Jenson said.

Arguably, KT Tape’s first purchase order demonstrated the success that the company would have in the marketplace with its product.  The company’s first purchase order was delivered to East Bay, a division of Foot Locker FL -0.24%.  Thereafter, in November 2008, KT Tape signed a sponsorship agreement with Kerri Walsh Jennings.  This summer, the company signed a three-year partnership with the United States men’s national soccer team to become its official kinesiology tape supplier.  This partnership took KT Tape to the World Cup, at which it also supplied tape to the English, Chilean and Mexican national teams.  KT Tape was also seen on the world’s number-one and number-two male tennis players, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, this summer at the U.S. Open, as the ATP’s lead trainer, Clay Sniteman, is a member of KT Tape’s medical advisory board.  ”Part of our strategy is identifying clinicians who are really involved in either collegiate, professional or Olympic sports.  Those relationships open up doors and gives us the opportunity to support teams,” Jenson said.

With the roster of athletes using its products growing, business is also booming for KT Tape.  In 2009, the company made $682,000.  In 2012, that number jumped to $9.1 million.  A big reason for the company’s growth is not only its sports partnerships, but its founders’ ability to get the product into America’s largest retailers.  In July, KT tape signed a partnership with Target, which brought its products into all 1,700 Target stores nationwide.  ”We had a relationship with them and have worked with them over time.  They have seen the category grow and have watched the data to see how quickly it’s growing.  We are very hopeful that we’ll be able to grow the program at Target the same way we’ve been able to elsewhere,” Jenson said.

As KT Tape’s business rapidly grows, its founders’ goal for their business may surprise you.  Rather than rattling off goals of going public or selling the company, the first goal that Jenson lists when asked about the future of the company is educating the general public about how kinesiology tape and KT Tape’s products can make life easier for them.  ”We really fundamentally believe that KT Tape will take its place alongside other sports medicine items in the medicine cabinet.  We have a long way to go, because there are still a lot of people who don’t know what it is or have a background in taping.  We believe our role is to educate.  That’s where we are really focused,” Jenson explained.