Marketplace Roundup

In DC, Sarah Kogod wrote Wizards G John Wall's new branding as "JW2" on his website and his social media tag "WALLin" appeared to be "products of Adidas marketing, because of their similarities to fellow Adidas athlete" Redskins QB Robert Griffin III's "RGIII" and #allin tag. However, Nclusive is the "digital agency responsible for Wall's site." Nclusive COO Justin Giangrande said, "The #WallIn campaign was based around the idea that he had actually been injured in the beginning of the year, and ... how do you get across the idea that John's coming back. Our creative team actually came up with that '#WALLin' campaign. It just so happens that I think Adidas is doing something similar and he happens to be an Adidas athlete as well." Giangrande added that the "JW2" concept was "also organic, and not meant to play off of 'RGIII'" (WASHINGTONPOST.com, 3/11).

SPIRIT IN THE NIGHT: Belvedere Vodka has struck a sponsorship agreement with the PGA of America to be the organization’s official vodka through '15. Belvedere will own marketing rights to the PGA Championship and other events as part of an integrated marketing program with advertising, social and digital media, country-club viewing parties across the country and in-store promotions. PGA Chief Business Officer Kevin Carter and Belvedere President Charles Gibb announced the new partnership today (Michael Smith, Staff Writer).

KNIGHTS' ARMOR: In Orlando, Paul Tenorio noted the Univ. of Central Florida "worked with Nike to design new football uniforms for the 2013 season." The new uniforms are "based off a template called 'The Beast' and have not been used by any other colleges." The uniforms feature a "shoulder insert, collar and a stripe down the side of the pant leg." The jerseys include "mesh on the front and sides, while the pants will feature a mesh inset side panel for better air flow." The uniforms also have "more spandex, including on the thigh and knee of the pants." They will include "three different jersey and pant colors" in gold, white and black (ORLANDOSENTINEL.com, 3/9).

VOTED MOST POPULAR: Angels VP/Communications Tim Mead said that in 33 years with the club, he has "never witnessed anything like the rush of public attention and outside demand that now engulf" LF Mike Trout. MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez noted endorsement deals with BodyArmor, J&J Snack Foods, Nike and Subway, among others, have "netted Trout an estimated endorsement portfolio of about" $1.5M in '13. In addition, Trout has appeared on 10 publication covers since '12. Mead said the frequency of media requests for Trout is "too many to be handled." He added that he "doesn't even field all of them" (MLB.com, 3/11).