Filmmakers Offer a Piece of the Sports Action
Sports Brands Meet the MySpace Generation
Sports action films of the snowboarding, skateboarding or BMX variety are often do-it-yourself affairs. Traditionally filmed, edited and distributed by those performing in them, they may even be funded by the protagonists' credit cards if no sponsor can be found. Now, though, the growing demand for companies to associate their brands with exciting sports that lie outside the mainstream is driving a more professional approach.
"The business had operated the same way for a long time - it was extremely antiquated and fragmented," says Casey Wasserman, chairman and chief executive of the Wasserman Media Group, which two years ago launched Studio 411, the first self-contained studio for sports action films.
"We got into the business not for what it was but for what we felt it had the potential to be."
Based in Los Angeles, WMG has interests ranging from managing top National Basketball Association and baseball athletes to negotiating the recent naming rights contract for London's Arsenal soccer club Emirates stadium. Its management division also negotiates multimillion dollar contracts for the top snowboarders, surfers and Motocross athletes it represents.
"We wanted to become more involved in these sports in a way which would serve our athletes and sponsors. Events and competitions are known to struggle so films were the clear choice," says Luke McDonough, Studio 411 chief executive.
In 2004 WMG acquired 411 Productions, a film distribution company that released seven to eight films a year. With the addition of finance and marketing departments, the renamed Studio 411 now offers all the services of a traditional film studio, such as upfront financing and a timed schedule of releases.
What further distinguishes the Studio 411 model is its success at attracting large corporate sponsorship and exploiting the opportunities offered by today's media. Though large corporations have always tried to connect with younger audiences, the relatively small sales of sports action films have have put them off; a successful DVD might sell just 50,000 units.
With Studio 411's tally of 25 film releases this year, however, it can offer sponsorship opportunities across four or five such films. "Suddenly [corporations] are reaching a significant target audience", says Mr McDonough. "It becomes something they can justify from the marketing budget."
As the founder and former chief executive of Ifilms, an online film website recently sold to MTV, Mr McDonough understands the new marketing opportunities presented by the MySpace generation. "Whereas your brand will reach 50,000 paying viewers in the first few months of the DVD release, if you offer free downloadable clips online to those who have a passing interest in the sport and who may or may not buy the DVD, you are suddenly hitting 300,000-400,000 with your brand."
Full report published in The Financial Times