Corporations Notice Unique Marketing Opportunity With EyeBlack

Corporations, Teams Seeing Marketing Opportunity With EyeBlack

EyeBlack.com, which markets stick-on, logo-displaying eyeblack that athletes use to protect themselves against the glare of the sun, "will sell a couple million pairs to a variety of customers this year," according to Darren Rovell of CNBC.  EyeBlack.com President & CEO Peter Beveridge said the company sells the product to "teams, players [and] fans, because the fans like to wear what the players wear, and then it's a great sponsorship or gameday giveaway product." Rovell said the company's "biggest orders" have come from "corporate America," including HBO, which recently used EyeBlack in marketing materials "to promote its NFL reality show, 'Hard Knocks.'" Beveridge: "Some of these companies are starting to see this as a great branding tool for them at events."  Rovell, who noted the company has "made logoed eye black" for about 400 college teams and more than 3,000 high schools, said, "Although the NFL and the NCAA currently don't allow players to advertise on EyeBlack, it could be a good marketing opportunity in the future" ("On The Money," CNBC, 9/26).