Starbelly.com Selects Agencies

Start-up business-to-business and consumer e-tailer Starbelly.com selected the FCB Direct unit of Foote, Cone & Belding Chicago and KemperLesnik Communications as its marketing communications partners.

Starbelly.com decorates to order, allowing customers to put their company logos or designs on products ranging from shirts to sweaters and briefcases to coffee mugs.

The agencies will create and implement an online and off-line branding campaign to promote Starbelly.com.

Combining Foote, Cone & Belding’s advertising and direct marketing experience with the public relations and promotional event expertise of KemperLesnik, the firms will target consumers and corporate buyers.

They will also create awareness among the media, technology analysts and financial analysts. Billings were not disclosed.

All product selection, design and ordering at Starbelly is done via the Internet and products are shipped within seven days of order placement.

Starbelly.com does not carry inventory of the blank products it decorates; it operates on the just-in-time model.

Merchandise is offered from manufacturers such as Champion, Hanes, Lee, Eastpak, Gerber Childrenswear, London Fog, Bill Blass, Rawlings and Cross Creek.

“We look forward to working with them to develop, launch, and build their exciting new brand,” said Clive MacLean, executive vice president and managing director of FCB Direct.

Starbelly recently received $8 million in funding from two Internet venture capital firms Chase Capital Partners and Flatiron Partners.

FCB Direct clients include Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Coors, Kraft Foods, Illinois Bureau of Tourism, Quaker Oats, S.C Johnson, 3Com and YesMail.com, among others.