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Making “In the Life With Steven Jackson”

September 10, 2009 in Online Branding Strategy with 0 Comments

On Friday, the fourth and final installment of “In the Life With Steven Jackson,” which we co-produced, will air at http://inthelife.sj39.com.

The goal of the short documentary, which is essentially what “In the Life” is, was to give fans an unprecedented look into the life of one of the NFL’s superstars. It was also to realize Steven’s brand identity in a way that, to my knowledge, no athlete has done for himself before. What made the latter possible, really, was Steven. He is exactly the person who comes across on camera: an athlete with an incomparable work ethic and determination, a thoughtful, humble and occasionally hilarious person with a maturity well beyond his 26 years.

Cris Carter Gets Angry, Tries Yiddish

August 18, 2009 in Media with 0 Comments

I couldn’t let this go without posting about it.

In an interview today on ESPN, Cris Carter, formerly of the Minnesota Vikings, passionately discusses the signing of Brett Favre. He’s great in the interview, but as it’s wrapping up, he’s asked whether Minnesota has a chance to make the Super Bowl this year.

I could hear my late grandmother laughing at his response.

Lessons of the Stephon Marbury Experiment

July 30, 2009 in Online Branding Strategy with 1 Comment

It is very easy to look at Stephon Marbury’s week of webcam performances and mock him, or shake your head in disbelief, or simply pity him. But in terms of branding as it relates to professional athletes, what he’s done is fascinating because it’s such an extreme example of an athlete exposing his inner life so completely to the world.

There’s a lot to be learned from it, and the reactions that have followed.

Based on what I’ve seen, it’s clearer to me than ever before that for an athlete, maintaining a significant distance between yourself, and both fans and the media, is not just important — it’s essential. That might seem contrary to everything that’s happening online right now where pro athletes are concerned, but as I’ll explain, it isn’t.

A Word on Lamar Odom

June 16, 2009 in Clients, Lamar Odom with 4 Comments

This space is normally reserved for conversations about online branding, marketing and web site development, but I feel compelled to take a moment to acknowledge the accomplishments of one of our clients, Lamar Odom of the Los Angeles Lakers.

In the months before beginning Athlete Interactive, when I was still primarily a sportswriter, I wrote a long feature about Lamar, and that was the first chance I really had to speak with him for an extended period of time. Over the course of three separate interviews, all conducted after practice at the Lakers facility in El Segundo, Lamar answered every question I had with a shocking degree of honesty. Nothing seemed off limits, and he answered the most delicate questions — like those about his infant son Jayden, who had passed away only weeks earlier — with unhesitating vulnerability. As a journalist, particularly one covering professional athletes, it was an uncommon, if not unheard of, experience.

Bill Simmons, Don’t Hate the Players, Hate the Game

May 5, 2009 in Media with 0 Comments

In the latest issue of ESPN the Magazine, Bill Simmons writes an insightful column about the changing relationships between athletes and the media. The gist of the piece: the sports media has been effectively “boxed out” by athletes, that athletes now essentially insulate themselves from the media and only allow access when it suits their own needs.

“We learn nothing from today’s superstars beyond the spin,” Simmons writes, skewering Kobe Bryant for what he sees as a plastic performance in the documentary Kobe Doin’ Work, produced by Spike Lee.

SJ39.com Named 2009 Official Honoree of Webby Awards

April 15, 2009 in Awards with 0 Comments

The official web site of Steven Jackson, www.sj39.com, has been named a 2009 Official Honoree by the Webby Awards.

Described by the Los Angeles Times as “The only awards show for the Internet that matters,” the Webby Awards are the online equivalent of the Oscars, and being recognized from among nearly 10,000 entries is an honor we are extremely proud of.

Launched in the fall of 2008, SJ39.com utilizes a powerful combination of multimedia to convey the brand of the St. Louis Rams’ Steven Jackson. One of the NFL’s elite running backs, Steven is a powerful force on the field, and a thoughtful, engaging presence off it, and the site — as all of ours strive to do — speaks to the unique aspects of who he is.

Visit the site, www.SJ39.com, or go to the Webby Awards site to learn more.

For Athletes, Unless You’re Shaq (and Even Then), Twitter Isn’t Enough

April 3, 2009 in Online Branding Strategy with 3 Comments

I love Twitter. The second I was introduced to it, it was obvious just how significant it could be for our clients when it came to marketing themselves. Athletes, usually relegated to short, closely monitored public sessions by team PR staff, perhaps understandably unwilling to put themselves in contact with the masses, suddenly had a way to interact directly with fans without a media middleman, and build a loyal, always accessible following — all from the safety of a cellphone.

The implications of that are staggering, particularly from a marketing standpoint. For athletes, authenticity — a trait valued by marketers and which normally involves all sorts of branding gymnastics to achieve — became instantly achievable (assuming, of course, one tweeted the right way, and was actually doing the tweeting). There is no better example of this, as Tweeters around the globe know, than Shaquille O’Neal. THE_REAL_SHAQ, in his 1,000-plus twitter posts, musings, ticket giveaways and jokes, has produced the tweeting equivalent of a pointillist’s self-portrait, showing a still-growing legion of a half million followers who he is: utterly likable, and exceedingly real.

SHAQ IS NOT A STRATEGY
To draw conclusions about Twitter and its value to athletes in general based on Shaq’s success, however, would be misguided. Shaquille O’Neal is the Twitter equivalent of the Terminator, a virtually perfect Tweeting machine. If you were to construct the ideal athlete Tweeter, you’d be hard pressed to do better than a seven-foot tall, 300-plus pound teddy bear with the wit of a comedian, a smile that could sell toothpaste, and the generosity of Santa Claus.

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