Last year we wrote about the great growth of OYO Sports, filling a need and then thriving on the unique-LEGO-like collectable market for sports. The company secured the licenses for a majority of the leagues to create player by player images with the popular building blocks and use the images through very creative video to bring iconic sports events back to life. This week OYO, working with Collegiate Licensing Company (CLC), the licensing affiliate of IMG College and the NFL PA will take another fun and bold step with the mini-figure business in and around the NFL Draft.
For the first time, fans will see licensed product from the likes of Jameis Winston, Sammie Coates, Amari Cooper, Todd Gurley, and other college stars right after they make their step to the pros and their names are called on the stage in Chicago.
The CLC schools (and players) currently featured: Alabama/Amari Cooper, Auburn/Sammie Coates, Clemson/Vic Beasley, Georgia/Todd Gurley, Florida/ Dante Fowler Jr., FSU/Jameis Winston, Nebraska/Randy Gregory, South Carolina/ A.J. Cann, and West Virginia/ Kevin White will be featured in brief videos for OYO to re-enact the players walking across the draft stage using stop-motion video and audio from Thursday’s draft, which will then be shared widely. through social media of the schools of the selectees and other outlets.
At the draft, OYO Sports is also working with the NFL to put pro team OYOs in the players’ hands as they walk off the stage in Chicago, which will, if possible, really amp up the next level of engagement and may be the first non-traditional marketing contact each player has as they go to do press. OYO will also have a presence at Draft Town; an OYO booth will be set up with games, prizes, and product for kids to interact with the brand and win prizes. In addition, OYO plans to have pro product ready for the top–15 picks at the main store at the Draft, an immediate ROI on the licenses and a first-rate instant collectable for all involved.
There will of course be the immediate jersey sales, sneaker pushes and other aspects tied to the glitz and glamor of the Draftees and this amazing special night for the NFL. OYO takes the engagement to another level, and amplifies the power of the players to both a collectable audience and to a young engaged fan who the NFL will covet. Their engagement with the professional league’s had demand for the mini-figures exceed supply in 2014 and made them one of the hot surprises in sports business in 2014. This expansion, and the planning to be in the right place with the right partners at The Draft shows IYI’s commitment to grow and engage fans in a unique way, giving them a great opportunity to grow the business and the engagement of fans not just in football but in all their lines, with creative action and thought.
Is their risk in such a collectable market? Sure. But OYO has made the business simple to understand, affordable to take advantage of and fun to engage with, three areas which give them a leg up in a collectable industry which needs new thought and fun implementation.
Another nice score for a startup that’s thriving.
