Deron Williams: Hires Own Reporters

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Some may say there is never enough good press, and one person that knows this idea very well is Deron Williams of the Brooklyn Nets.  The NBA superstar was recently reported in the Wall Street Journal to have hired his own team of beat writers to cover him and spin stories in a positive light.  Their purpose, states the article, is to spread the gospel of D-Will on his website, DeronWilliams.com.  Why you ask? For several reasons I gather.  The most important being potential money from corporate endorsers.  Here’s how it works.  Deron Williams hires reporters and writers to create stories about his career as it happens.  The news articles are made to read more like newspaper stories rather than just an athlete writing on a blog or something, and they’re actually pretty good!  These stories are then published on his interactive website, www.DeronWilliams.com, with other Williams features and photos galleries.  Thus, creating a positive working portfolio for him and his agency, Excel Sports Management, to present to potential marketers. 

This isn’t entirely a new idea.  Most star athletes take to Twitter to connect to their fan base, but superstars such as Kobe Bryant have been known to hire their own press from time to time.  In fact, Athlete Interactive, the company that runs Williams’ site, publishes online sites for about 22 athletes, many of them Excel clients.  President of Athlete Interactive, David Neiman, said one of his goals is to help these athletes "maximize their financial opportunities"—or at least prevent them from doing stupid things that wind up costing them money."You can explain to them how to do it in a way so they're not shooting themselves in the foot," said Neiman.

Notre Dame: To Receive Highest BCS Bowl Payout

If you tuned in to this weekend’s NCAA college football games you witnessed some pretty exciting matchups. Being the final week of regular season play, many of the game results will end up having championship implications. No win was bigger on Saturday than that of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. The 22-13 victory over Southern California capped the Irish’s first unbeaten season since 1988. With most seniors usually being around 22 or 23 years old, I would venture to say many, if not all, of the Notre Dame roster was not alive back in 1988. Outside of Ohio State, who is banned from postseason play this year, Notre Dame is the only undefeated team, so they will be heading to the BCS National Championship game in January to likely face the winner of the SEC Championship.

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So what does this mean in terms of BCS bowl payouts? Well every football program in the nation is trying to get their teams in the hunt for a spot in a BCS bowl game because of the huge BCS bowl payouts those promoters and sponsors pay to the schools. If you are unfamiliar with the four BCS bowl games, they are the Rose Bowl, Orange Bowl, Sugar Bowl, and Fiesta Bowl. Then of course the top two ranked teams play in the BCS National Championship.  Most teams who reach these games receive over $23 million just to participate. Notre Dame, however, is a little bit different because they do not play in any BCS conference, such as the SEC, ACC, PAC-12, or otherwise. Notre Dame is an independent, and because of this status they are only to receive $6.2 million for their participation this year. Now, if you are thinking this is an unfair take for the Irish you’ll soon see why its not. 

In-Game Advertising: Let's Get Political

Today advertisers are doing everything they can to get in front of the consumers they desire the most. With today being Election Day in America I wanted to take a moment to investigate the advertising we all love to hate, political advertising.  I’m not talking about those pesky negative ads about how much the candidates are trying to end Medicare or raise the deficit.  I’m talking about advertising in video games.  This is not a new idea for this form of media.  In-game advertising or IGA, as it’s commonly referred to, dates back to the late 70's in computer games.  With the decline of commercials watched on television due to TiVo and DVR allowing us to skip breaks between content, video game advertising is on the rise.  Some sources forecast revenue from this advertising to reach $1 Billion by 2014.

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President Obama has demonstrated how crucial the swing states are in this presidential race by once again enlisting the virtual battlegrounds of the online video game world.  In a recent article it was reported that the Obama campaign would be running ads in popular video game titles from Electronic Arts to include the sports title Madden NFL 13 and Need For Speed.  These ads are aimed at encouraging the gaming demographic to vote.

Blake Griffin: Jordan Brand's Newest Star

Image Courtesy of: Jordan

Yesterday Nike announced that two-time NBA All Star Blake Griffin will be moving from Nike Swoosh Brand, which he signed with during his rookie season in 2009, to Nike Inc.’s Jordan Brand.  We all knew this announcement was just a matter of time when Blake was wearing the Jordan Super.Flys on opening night against the Grizzlies.  Griffin joins teammate Chris Paul, the Thunder’s Russell Westbrook, Carmelo Anthony, and some notable rookies.  Many believe Jordan Brand has recently made moves due to the departure of Dwayne Wade to Chinese shoe brand Li-Ning. 

Michael Jordan recently spoke on the topic via press release:

"We are thrilled that Blake is joining the brand," said Jordan. "Blake has captured the essence of what the brand stands for through his style of play and love for the game of basketball. He is an amazing athlete and person who we look forward to working with for many years."

Interview with Anthony Stevenson: Madden NFL Football

Madden NFL Football is easily one the most popular titles in all of video gaming history.  A lot of that has come from the ever-rising popularity of football in America and another part comes from the creative product managers and marketers who position the game perfectly for the evolving consumer market.  I got a chance to speak with one of the most pivotal people in this product management process, Anthony Stevenson of EA SPORTS in Orlando, Florida.

Hey Wear This (Sports): First and foremost, thank you so much for your time.  Let’s start off by telling me your current industry position/job title at EA SPORTS.

Anthony Stevenson: Director of Marketing.

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HWT: How long have you been with EA?

AS: About 6 years.  My first launch was Madden NFL 08.

HWT: So you just had your Madden NFL 13 release about two weeks ago, just out of curiosity how are your sales numbers stacking up compared to previous years?

AS: We’re thrilled with the success of Madden NFL 13 to date.  We’ve broken day 1 and week 1 sales records and smashed previous highs for online usage. Sales are up high single digits vs. last year, which is quite a feat considering the downward industry trends this late in the console cycle.

Robert Griffin III: The Product

If at some point you’ve never heard the name Robert Griffin III, or as many know him as RG3, you more than likely have by now.  If not you don’t watch much television.  That's because Robert Griffin III is said to be the most marketed NFL rookie of all time.  That means higher than other highly visible rookies including Reggie Bush, Michael Vick, and even, dare I say, one Timothy Tebow.  All this before he has even played in an official NFL game.  

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Griffin’s marketing agent, Mark Heligman at Creative Artists Agency said, “The primary factor is that Robert had the desire to do it. He was interested in marketing from Day 1."

Interview with Ryan Earls: NFL Agent

Negotiation is a highly important factor in the world of sports.  And in professional sports it is usually an agent that has the responsibility of making their athlete client not only employed but also satisfied with the salary and other bonuses offered by the organization.  Hey Wear This (Sports) recently caught up with NFL Agent Ryan Earls of Cover3 Representation to answer a few questions about the job of an agent.  

Hey Wear This: Thank you for taking some time out for me.  Can you tell me your name and current industry position/job title?

Ryan Earls: Ryan Earls, CEO Cover3 Representation. NFLPA Certified Contract Advisor.

HWT: How long have you been working within the sports industry and more specifically with athletes?

RE: 2 years

HWT: Many professional athletes believe they are undervalued and have been building an ego since their prep years.  How do you separate the person from the problem, or should I say ego from the problems at negotiation table?

RE: This one has not been an issue for me. I spend a lot of time making sure I represent guys who don’t feel entitled. This has eliminated many of these types of headaches. It's also important to go over expectations with a client about what you think may happen so you are both mentally prepared to deal with all scenarios.

HWT: Have you heard of cases where an athlete was just too difficult to deal with and lost endorsements or other deals because of it? If so please explain.

RE: Chad Johnson. I don’t think anyone wants to sign him to an endorsement deal at this moment.

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Tiger Woods: No Longer Highest Paid Athlete

The reigning world’s highest paid athlete, Tiger Woods, has lost his crown.  This year’s “Fortunate 50” released by Sports Illustrated reflects Woods relinquishing his title for the first time since the publisher started its financial tracking of athletes in 2004.  In fact, Tiger Woods is not even number two in the recent estimates.  That spot goes to rival golfer Phil Mickelson.  

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The report is compiled using a total of the athlete's salary, winnings, bonuses, endorsements and appearance fees.  So who is number one you ask?

Adidas is "All In" with Latest Ad Campaign

Global brand Adidas is “all in” with its newest ad campaign.  A campaign that the company says is its most expensive ever. Commercials for the campaign feature an array of endorsed athletes and musicians.  It is the first time in the company’s history that the manufacturer will showcase their Sport Performance, Originals, and Sport Style sub brands together in one campaign.  

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Ben Saunders: An Inspirational Explorer

I came across a motivational piece recently on TED.com about an adventure athlete and Brand Ambassador for Land Rover named Ben Saunders.

In 2004, Ben became the youngest person ever to ski solo to the North Pole, and in October of this year he plans to a lead a three-man team to be the first ever to make a “return journey” to the South Pole on foot in an expedition named Scott 2012.  

Cristiano Ronaldo: World’s #1 Athlete…in social media

27-year-old international soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo has to deal with constant debates whether he is the best player in the world or not.  Though there is no question that the 2008 FIFA World Player of the Year is number one when it comes to his social media exposure off the field.  Cristiano has over 42 million “likes” on Facebook.  Which are a whooping 8 million more “likes” than any other athlete worldwide.  By comparison, other massive branded athletes such as Michael Jordan and David Beckham have only 17.3 million “likes” apiece. 

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Then there’s his Twitter account.  Cristiano has over 8 million Twitter followers, which is more than Lebron James, Tiger Woods, and Lance Armstrong combined!

2012 Olympics Cause Endorser Frenzy

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The Summer Olympics only occur once every four years, and with the 2012 Olympic Games in London just around the corner America’s highest skilled athletes are enduring their hardest of training regiments. The world will be watching as the torch is lit in late July, and advertisers are taking notice of the future marketing potential these athletes have going into the summer games.  Before the 1970's endorsing Olympic athletes was completely illegal, however to better the image and interest of the games the Olympic Committee released some guidelines for endorsers to follow and it has since been marketing gold!

With swimming being the number one sport in television ratings during the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing, Procter & Gamble signed the most decorated Olympian of all time, Michael Phelps, to a seven-figure deal to represent their Head & Shoulders shampoo brand.  He is not alone in the pool though, other swimmers have cashed in too.  44-year-old Dana Torres is in the pursuit of making her unprecedented 6^th Olympic team and will have some help with her recent partnership with Ben Gay and McDonalds to name a few.  Ryan Lochte has increased his exposure with the help of Gatorade.  Lochte is touted as the "Fastest Swimmer in the World” in Gatorade’s new ad series “Win From Within” seen below.

TaylorMade Golf Promises 17 Yards With New Campaign

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The newest in social marketing campaigns have struck the PGA Tour!  The latest guerrilla tactic was used by TaylorMade Golf to promote a new line of clubs called RocketBallz or RBZ for short.  In this weekend’s WGC – Cadillac Championship TaylorMade sponsored golfers were asked to wear hats with simply the number “17” on the front.

After some research on the web one could find the “17” represents the number of yards the new Rocketballz 3-Wood would gain their respective users in a golf shot over the other leading competitors.  These hats also featured the hashtag “#RBZFactor” embroidered on the side for use on Twitter and other social media outlets.  With nearly every tour pro covered from head to spike in sponsor names and logos, TaylorMade is doing what it takes creatively to separate themselves from other brands.