Dishin Digital…CAA Makes The Big Play With Weplay…Gillette Reaches For The New Stars…

March 28, 2008 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

The marriage of social networking and sport as celebrity may have reached a new level with CAA’s announcement yesterday of WePlay, a social networking site designed to reach out to millions of active kids and their parents, as well as pulling in hours of childhood photos and video and current “look backs” from some of the biggest stars in sports today who have taken an equity position in the venture. Those athletes, ranging from Tony Parker to LeBron James to Derek Jeter, will have a chance to create pieces and dictate content which can directly reach a huge portion of young people interested in sports and communicating online. Unlike other ventures in the past where athletes became endorsers of sites which sold goods and promoted images, the site appears to have it all…unique original and archival footage, the ability to communicate with a peer group in real time, and the ability to merchandise sponsorship and partnerships to a large, active audience. Great concept which could be groundbreaking in the marriage of the professional and grassroots side.

It Seemed Like A Good Idea…The Start-Up Business of Sports…

March 7, 2008 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

It is looking like another idea that has its base in a very noble concept…spring football in football rich states with athletes who have four year degrees…may soon be biting the dust.  The All America Football League went through a variety of very public miscommunication steps this week, and from most accounts the concept will not get off the ground this spring.  Having now lived through a very public sports start-up that has built brand name in a new sport (The International Fight League in Mixed Martial Arts), I offer up some very basic tips for those looking to launch.  Also, as a colleague once pointed out, name the last start-up sports league that has actually turned a profit for its investors….outside of the main names…NFL, NBA, NHL, NASCAR, MLB. select minor league baseball leagues…we cannot think of one (including MLS, WNBA, AFL, Dew Tour, Crocs AVP Tour, WTA, ATP etc. etc.)  What does that say?  It aint easy.

AFL Springs Into Season With Great Viral Effort…as well as some additional soccer items

February 22, 2008 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

PR Move of the Day:  The post-Super Bowl football frenzy in the U.S. has continued from National Signing Day through this week’s NFL Combine and the  on-going melodrama of the Patriots videotape gate, and with the fledgling AAFL starting up shortly (nice piece in the Houston Chronicle)  and the AFL in camp, there is more for football fans on the horizon.  However in order to cut through the clutter of March Madness, baseball opening day, NASCAR, MLS getting going and the winding down of the NHL and NBA seasons, non-NFL offseason football still needs to find unique ways to draw interest.  This week’s solid effort comes from the AFL who, along with their partner ESPN, have started to produce and distribute a great series of behind the scenes training camp pieces featuring the Philadelphia Soul, and their co-owner Jon Bon Jovi.  The pieces show the personality of the athletes and do a solid job of bringing in both the hardcore football fan and the casual one who happens to be hitting ESPN.com for any number of reasons and is a great example of a brand leveraging its media partner for exposure.

Yale Scores Points With Athlete Social Networking…

February 12, 2008 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

I was lucky enough to attend the University of Florida Law School Sports Symposium last Friday, and in addition to being able to hear some great words from people like author Mark Isenberg, agent Glenn Schwartzman, AAFL Florida President Wayne McDaniel, UFL President Mike Huyghue and former New Orleans Saints Exec and current city council president Arnie Fielkow, I was so impressed with the way current and former Gator athletes like Jai Lucas, Darren O’Day and Cole Figueroa handled themselves and spoke so eloquently on the role and responsibility of student athletes.  I mentioned to Associate A.D. Mike Hill (who was also great on a panel) about what huge assets these student-athletes were as spokespeople for the Gators, and what bright futures they had ahead of them in business when their careers were over.  Wouldn’t it be great for them to have a peer to peer alumni network set up online at this point for them to see what’s ahead?  Then today I received an email from U of O grad student Ryan McReynolds who found exactly that set up by Yale University.  A peer to peer social network for current and former Yale athletes, the link to which is here.   The site, which not many schools have yet established, makes sense on so many levels…it provides the University with a vehicle to communicate directly with athletes current and former…it can serve as a repository for best practices for former athletes looking to assist current athletes in everything from internships to training routines to the everyday issues that student athletes face and dont have a place to turn sometimes etc.  Most importantly, it shows good practical responsibility by universities looking to find new ways to establish a digital program that will help the student-athlete reach graduation.  Nice job by the Eli’s.  By the way, great job by Darren Heitner and Scott Ehrlich to get Friday’s Symposium up and running.