In terms of adopting technology, the sports industry is far behind its competitors. It’s no wonder why that in 2013, there were still people running along the sidelines with chains. I bet 5 years ago, if I told someone that we would still be using chains on the sidelines of NFL games, they would laugh at me. But here we are today, and I just used chains and 2013 in the same sentence.
However, on the bright side, there are companies that are using technology to potentially revolutionize the sports industry. One example of this may just be a new company called Opendorse.
The new process of obtaining professional athlete endorsements is now available for all brands and companies in a matter of minutes, and not months. Opendorse allows businesses shopping for athletic sponsors to find the right athlete for its product in one place. Any brand can browse the Opendorse marketplace to find the perfect athlete to create an endorsement. Once they’ve found a good match, the process is simplified from sending proposed contracts back and forth on paper to a simple online transaction.
The process can also be used for an athlete to advertise his or her willingness to endorse products and businesses, without time-consuming negotiations. There are already many high profile brands such as Adidas and Best Buy using opendorse to partner with professional athletes such as Denver Broncos Eric Decker and Philadelphia Eagles LeSean McCoy. We should expect to see more strategic partnerships announced soon.
I had the chance to talk to 2 of their clients and here is what they had to say about opendorse:
“With opendorse, there is no easier way for me to review a brand interested in my endorsement. I just click approve and my message goes out for a brand who values my voice. Boom, that simple.” -Prince Amukamara (New York Giants, NFL)
Kevin Kern, Society43 Social Media Manager, said: “The sales resulting from this endorsement exceeded our expectations. We sold out of all our Limited Edition Nebraska sunglasses in less than 1 week! Not only is the site easy to use and find the athletes we need, the staff at opendorse is awesome!” Kevin is referring to the tweet below from Cincinnati Bengal, Rex Burkhead Opendorse on this is hopefully going to be a game changer in the sports marketing industry.
Awesome Limited Edition #Huskers shades by @Society43 http://t.co/DCGSPgFN9J Inspired by the new helmet design pic.twitter.com/nVIuumeI7y
— Rex Burkhead (@RBrex2022) September 27, 2013
Opendorse is certainly taking its first few steps in the right direction and looks to be getting high praise from key early adopters. For now, you can visit Opendorse and explore the newest addition to the world of sports technology.