Relativity Goes Rogue

On the heels of another successful Rogue release in The Last House on the Left, Relativity Media, LLC CEO Ryan Kavanaugh announced today that Rogue Pictures, the recently purchased film studio specializing in lower budget genre films, will expand into a lifestyle company.  In the effort to fully leverage the distinctive look and product of the Rogue banner, Kavanaugh revealed that the company will include a clothing line, social networking ventures, and continued production of motion pictures which appeal to 15-25 year old audiences.

“As we delved into this, we learned the name Rogue resonates with young people not just as a movie brand, but also as an overall lifestyle brand, in a manner that we have never seen before” said Kavanaugh.  “It encourages fans to embrace films and fashion across all avenues of their lives, especially within the digital space. Through www.RogueLife.com, we are able to effectively engage in a conversation with our 15-25 year old audience.”

As the Rogue lifestyle brand launches today, it will be promoted across media platforms in programming that appeals to the target 15-25 year old demographic.  In addition to partnering with media outlets like The Jimmy Kimmel Show and KROQ to launch the brand, Rogue promotions will include a Rogue-designed rock and roll tour bus, which will serve as publicity for Rogue pictures.  The tour bus will offer free products, celebrity meet-and-greets, and information on upcoming films and projects. The bus will be wired with full digital capabilities including live streaming to the RogueLife digital platform.  This new network will serve as a hub of a strategic set of web 2.0 spokes including MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, Digg, all of which will be leveraged to drive traffic back to activity on the Rogue network.

Kavanaugh continued, “Creating the Rogue style is a fairly simple concept. We work directly with the consumer in creating exactly what it is they want to see and wear. In giving the consumer a voice, it goes to the very heart of what Rogue stands for: it’s not our brand, it’s theirs.”

The Rogue clothing line will kick-off featuring hoodies, t-shirts and hats. Initially these items will be available for purchase online by June 2009 and expansion into stores is planned for later in the year.  Eventually, the clothing line is expected to include jeans, sneakers and other apparel items for the 15-25 year old trendsetter. Plans are being solidified now as to whether it will be a line under another label or be its own standalone brand.

The RogueLife platform will be able to feature different articles of clothing throughout the design process to make sure that the consumer’s voice is heard and Rogue can quickly and effectively give the consumer exactly what it is looking for.

Capturing the fiercely independent and creative spirit of today’s savvy 15-25 year old trendsetters, the Rogue brand embraces the convergence of pop culture, music, and fashion. Like these culturally, artistically, and digitally enlightened trendsetters, Rogue embraces culture, history, and style with a smirk. With the ability to harness the pop culture-making power of the big screen and directly connect it with the mass grassroots (mass-roots) communication power of social networking, the Rogue brand provides the ultimate in digital connectivity.

“It is a perfect circle,” said Scott Lambert, President of the Business Group at Relativity and involved in the current Rogue expansion. “The consumer themselves are actually creating their own brand. We are just giving them the conduit to do it.  It is literally a full circle, the consumer is in touch with us and we are in touch with the consumer, in real time,” he continued. “As long as we continue to provide access to unique, desirable and very exclusive content, we believe we will always maintain the business plan everyone strives to find: a plan where the consumer is telling you before hand exactly what they want”.