Samuel T. Cooper and his Sons established Jockey International as a hosiery company in Ludington, Michigan, the United States of America in 1876. Soon after, his sons took over the company and constructed a new headquarters in Kenosha, Wisconsin, about 305 miles from Ludington. They also began making union suits, which became one of the company's greatest sellers in America by the 1930s. It also adopted the moniker "Jockey," which denoted athleticism and adaptability.

They will spread their global reach in the coming years to every nook and cranny of the globe. In the 1970s, they briefly entered the Indian market, but they swiftly departed and returned to post-liberalization India in 1994.

They came to India through an arrangement with Page Industries Ltd, which was created by Sunder Genomal and his brothers and quickly became Jockey International's single largest licensee in the years to come. Jockey opened its first store in India on Bengaluru's Commercial Street.

Marketing Plan for Jockeys

Before and after the 1980s, Jockey's marketing methods may be loosely separated into two eras. Prior to the 1980s, they promoted Jockey as a sign of athleticism and masculinity.

They wanted to demonstrate that wearing a Jockey signified you were a tough guy. However, they realized after that period that they had alienated a large potential market in the common man who wants to wear innerwear for more of a basic utility purpose, and so their marketing strategies from then on focused on promoting Jockey as something open to anyone and fashionable to wear for everyone.

This may be observed in how, before to the 1980s, Jockey aggressively promoted themselves with athletes (particularly baseball players) like as Babe Ruth, Yogi Berra, and Jim Palmer. However, after that time, their commercials began to focus more on the regular man, the average school-aged child, the mother of two children who is also the executive president of a company, and so on.

This strategy is one of the main reasons for the Jockey brand's success among Indian women when they re-entered the market in 1994 because unlike other brands that relegated it to the basement as something to be ashamed of, Jockey spoke to retailers all over India to keep them in the forefront of their stores. This went a long way toward dispelling the misconception that Indian women of all ages are ashamed of their underwear.

Pricing Strategy for Jockeys

Jockey has always targeted the middle-class segments of society around the world as their primary market, keeping pricing at a level that is attainable as one progresses up the social-economic ladder.

This worked wonders in nations like India, where a large number of people were able to achieve middle-class status or even higher with the new jobs created as a result of the liberalization measures in 1991. As a result, Jockey is considered a symbol of the entire middle class. Their product is priced between Rs 499 and Rs 999.

Product Strategy for Jockeys

Jockey's most well-known product is its V-Shaped brief underwear, which was first introduced in Chicago in 1935 and quickly became a hit. It has been their signature product since then, and they have sold variations of it based on where they were in the world at the time.

They have also stayed true to their roots by producing a variety of shorts and socks, as well as a large number of T-shirts with simple patterns for home usage in a variety of colors.

They have created and made bras and lingerie specifically for ladies so that they are comfortable wearing them. They've also developed a separate collection of innerwear, shorts, and skirts for children.

Advertising for Jockeys

Jockey has always been a strong proponent of harnessing the power of advertisements, whether through billboards along the city's major thoroughfares or television commercials.

When they ran advertising in the Saturday Evening Post in 1911, they discovered the power of visual advertisements.

Public relations firms such as L&K Saatchi & Saatchi, DDB Mudra Group, and others have assisted them with different television advertising.

They also have a strong presence in the digital marketing area, where they use catchy hashtags to draw attention to their efforts. These hashtags are primarily found on social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram.

Conclusion

Here's a quick look at how Jockey has used several marketing methods to promote its brand. Jockey International has reaped the benefits of this since the company has one of the largest global media presences in the innerwear market.

It has also paid off from an Indian standpoint, as Page Industries, the Indian subcontinent's sole Jockey licensee, surpassed the 100 crore rupee sales record in 2005 and had a successful Initial Public Offering (IPO) in 2007.