By The Letter

The year: 2000. The event: the millennium. The marketing concept: Introduce a line of merchandise targeting individuals graduating at the turn of the century. The anticipated return: big.

"We think that by June 2000, we will have done $100 million in sales," says Rich Soergel of the San Diego-based licensing and marketing company Class of 2000 Inc. "That's our prediction."

The 37-year-old Soergel expects he and his partners will score with all sorts of licensed products--apparel, jewelry, linens, foods and the like--emblazoned with their Class of 2000 trademark. "We wanted to come up with a product line that tied into the year 2000," Soergel explains. "And this not only encompasses `2000,' but `the class of' as well--which is a whole group of people."

Lest you wonder, this doesn't prevent schools from issuing their own merchandise for students. "We're going to defend our mark in the retail market--stores, clothing shops, gift shops--anything outside of the school market," Soergel clarifies. Class of 2000's target audience? The graduates themselves, as well as their parents and loved ones shopping for gifts.

Although some Class of 2000 merchandise is already in stores, Soergel says many more products are slated to be released next spring. "By fall of '98," he promises, "everything will be out."

This article was originally published in the October 1997 print edition of Entrepreneur with the headline: By The Letter.