Performance apparel brand Rhone has named Kepler its first-ever media agency of record, it shared with ADWEEK.
The win follows a three-month competitive review involving eight agencies. It marks Rhone’s first dedicated media agency partnership (the brand worked with IMA-Home on the creative side) as it looks to expand its women’s collection, deepen its mental fitness focus, and scale across digital and retail.
Rhone’s 2024 media spend is estimated at $27 million, nearly all digital, per COMvergence.
“We’ve reached an inflection point,” Bethany Evans, Rhone’s chief marketing officer, told ADWEEK. “We needed a media partner that could help us scale intentionally without losing the soul of the brand.” Rhone, a privately owned company, declined to disclose growth figures.
Kepler will lead strategy, media buying, and measurement across Rhone’s ecommerce business, Amazon presence, in-store retail, and wholesale partners.
“We’re currently focused on deepening brand relevance while expanding our reach across new and existing audiences,” Evans said. “That means continuing to grow our direct-to-consumer business, driving awareness and engagement for our women’s line, and cementing our position as a leader in the mental fitness space.”
Kepler will use its proprietary AI tool, Kip AIR, to optimize Rhone’s positioning in a new world of AI search engines, with the goal of helping it “understand how emerging AI platforms perceive and recommend their brand,” said Remy Stiles, North America CEO at Kepler.
Evans said Kepler stood out in the review because in addition for having a reputation for being innovative, “they also understood how important brand marketing is to us.”
Stiles added that most of the team that pitched the account will also service it. “We build our pitch teams with the future in mind, ensuring consistency from day one,” she said.
Rhone was founded in 2014 as a premium men’s activewear brand. In 2025, it is amping up its marketing investment to support an expanded women’s product line, launching campaigns with NBA veteran Kevin Love and LPGA stars Lilia Vu and Lauren Hartlage. It’s also doubling down on its Mind & Muscle wellness events series.