SMT Conference: Fantasy Sports Companies Integrate Sponsors

Walker Says Advertisers Have Been Slow To Understand Fantasy Sports

Selling advertising around fantasy games is difficult, but fantasy game companies are making headway by integrating sponsors into their games in a way that allows brands to provide added value to gamers, panelists of fantasy experts said Friday at the SBJ/SBD FSA Sports Media & Technology Conference during a session entitled “Fantasy Sports: Where Do We Go From Here?” RotoHog President & CEO Kelly Perdew said, “If you're able to put the sponsor in the game, not just a banner ad, it helps a lot.” Yahoo Dir of Fantasy Sports David Geller said his company had success integrating Toyota into its fantasy gaming by making the auto maker the sponsor of customized avatars or team logos. Integrations like that, Geller added, work because “the advertiser feels they are providing some added value to the user. They're not just putting their name on a game.” Fantasy Sports Ventures Exec VP & GM Clay Walker said that advertisers have been slow to understand that fantasy game participants aren't inactive men who spend their days on the couch. Walker added, “The industry has not caught up. These are ideal consumers, affluent, educated and they buy everything, but the advertising community hasn't caught up to that. In some ways, it has to do with the legacy (of the) fantasy player, not the guy it is today.” Watercooler Fantasy GM Bryan Bennett said the company pitched MillerCoors on the largest deal they had done to date by integrating the brand into their game on Facebook. Bennett added, “Custom television reports became available only if you became a fan of the Coors Light page on Facebook. The ability to add that value and integrate the brand in a meaningful way that added to the experience of the user was something MillerCoors was definitely interested in.”

ROOM TO GROW: Two spaces ripe for growth in the fantasy space are the college football and college basketball areas. Perdew said that he “doesn't know of a lot more heartfelt, passionate compelling experiences than someone going through college. ... Tying that passion to a game you can engage in and play and have bragging rights about (makes sense). I think it will go big.” Walker added, “There's a huge passionate audience that will follow it religiously.” Geller said the area is growing and Yahoo is still considering whether or not it is ready to invest in a draft and ranking of college players. He added, “It's a space that's interesting but we really need to see proof that it's really the next wave.” Fanball.com Senior VP/Marketing & Business Development Ryan Houston said that his company launched college football on SnapDraft and added, “So far, so good, but it's only been a week.” The panelists agreed that the NCAA does not need to get involved to make college fantasy work and that games could be created outside their oversight.