Sponsorship Is Key To Esports Industry’s Growth   BY ADAM GROSSMAN 
 






















    



 
   
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BY ADAM GROSSMAN

Sponsorship Is Key To Esports Industry’s Growth

While esports continues to mature in its development, the OWL does highlight a challenge to its future growth. Much of the revenue articulated in the OWL example is accrued by Activation Blizzard as the game publisher of Overwatch. Game publishers receive the bulk (if not all) of the franchise, streaming, and broadcast fees for esports leagues rather than having that revenue shared among the teams as is the case with most other professional sports leagues.

     

 
    NBA Makes A Good Bet On Gambling Sponsorship   BY ADAM GROSSMAN 
 






















    



 
   
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BY ADAM GROSSMAN

NBA Makes A Good Bet On Gambling Sponsorship

One of the biggest challenges in the era of big data is monetization. How do you monetize information at a time when so much data is being created? One answer to that question is to find an immediate use case where the information an organization generates addresses a critical business challenge. That is exactly what the NBA has done in its new deal making MGM Resorts its official gambling partner. This new relationship is generating significant attention because it is the first of its kind in a major professional sports league. Yet, that is really not the most significant component of this deal.

     

 
    Blockchain’s Potential Impact On Sports Media And Sponsorship   BY ADAM GROSSMAN 
 






















    



 
   
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BY ADAM GROSSMAN

Blockchain’s Potential Impact On Sports Media And Sponsorship

Even though we have Block in our name, Block Six Analytics is not a blockchain company. However, we do see blockchain technology impacting our business in ways that are likely to surprise many in the sports industry. More specifically, blockchain could alter sports media and sponsorship in counterintuitive ways.

     

 
    What Is Managed Should Be Measured In Sponsorship   BY ADAM GROSSMAN 
 






















    



 
   
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BY ADAM GROSSMAN

What Is Managed Should Be Measured In Sponsorship

Famed management consultant and professor Peter Drucker is arguably most well-known for the axiom, “What gets measured gets managed.” That is one reason why the results of a recent study of sports partnerships by the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) are so surprising. The ANA found that only “37% of respondents reported having a standardized process for measuring their return on sponsorship.” So why are so few sponsorships being measured?

     

 
   Giving The Companies What They Want For Sponsorship Valuation  BY ADAM GROSSMAN 
 






















    



 
   
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BY ADAM GROSSMAN

Giving The Companies What They Want For Sponsorship Valuation

Multiple people sent B6A a copy of AdAge’s most recent post titled “MARKETERS DEMAND MORE (AND MORE) FOR SPORTS SPONSORSHIPS.” This article focuses on Anheuser-Busch InBev's (AB InBev’s) new approach to sponsorship where “leagues and other so-called rights holders get paid more if they reach certain goals, like making the playoffs.” The reason that AB InBev is implementing this strategy reflects a fundamental shift in how partners approach the space. In particular, partners want to know the answer to this question: Why is a specific sponsorship good for my specific company?

     

 
   Why A Run On Beer In Russia is Good for Budweiser  BY ADAM GROSSMAN 
 






















    



 
   
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BY ADAM GROSSMAN

Why A Run On Beer In Russia is Good for Budweiser

It is never a good thing to run out of beer. To run out of beer during the world’s largest sporting event seems to be a particularly big “problem.” However, that appears to be exactly what is happening in Russia during the 2018 World Cup. So why is supply not keeping up with the demand and why is this potentially good news for the World Cup’s official sponsor Anheuser-Busch InBev?

     

 
    Block Six Analytics’ Media Analysis Platform Outperforms Google and Amazon Computer Vision Products   BY JOSHUA L. HERZBERG AND ALEXANDER CORDOVER  Block Six Analytics’ (B6A) Media Analysis Platform ( MAP ) analyzes sports video bro

BY JOSHUA L. HERZBERG AND ALEXANDER CORDOVER

Block Six Analytics’ Media Analysis Platform Outperforms Google and Amazon Computer Vision Products

Block Six Analytics’ Media Analysis Platform, MAP analyzes sports video broadcasts to compute how long in-stadium signage appears on screen. However, other computer vision products like Amazon’s Rekognition and Google’s Cloud Vision can also perform this task. Both offer text localization (finding text in a video frame) and optical character recognition (reading the text) services akin to what MAP offers. But which product is most accurate?

     

 
    Branded Content Pays Off For The Players’ Tribune   BY ADAM GROSSMAN 
 






















    



 
   
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BY ADAM GROSSMAN

Branded Content Pays Off For The Players’ Tribune

Content rights holders should take notice of branded content’s impact and how both companies and agencies are viewing its success. Branded content is certainly not the only way to deliver higher levels of engagement. However, quality and engagement is an increasingly important factor when buyers are making purchasing decisions about advertising and sponsorship. 

     

 
    Visit Rwanda Via Arsenal   BY ADAM GROSSMAN 
 






















    



 
   
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BY ADAM GROSSMAN

Visit Rwanda Via Arsenal

One of the more surprising sponsorship agreements to come to fruition recently is a deal that will feature “Visit Rwanda” on the sleeve of Arsenal’s jersey while also making “Visit Rwanda” the official tourism partner of this English Premier League team. Why would the Rwanda Development Board want to be the sponsor of a team hundreds of miles away from the country?

     

 
    Betting on New Revenue   BY ADAM GROSSMAN 
 






















    



 
   
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BY ADAM GROSSMAN

Betting on New Revenue

The U.S. Supreme Court decision that the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 (PASPA) is unconstitutional will have a dramatic impact on the sports industry. The new revenue is not just from taking fees on the bets themselves. In fact, some of the big winners of the PAPSA decision are sponsorship rights holders.

     

 
   Rating NBC’s New TV Measurement Valuation Approach  BY ADAM GROSSMAN 
 






















    



 
   
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BY ADAM GROSSMAN

Rating NBC’s New TV Measurement Valuation Approach

NBCUniversal is a good example of how content providers are changing their approach to advertising valuation. By understanding its customers’ businesses and developing success metrics based on achieving companies’ brand and revenue goals, NBC is putting itself in a better position to communicate value and generate incremental revenue growth.

     

 
   Fanatics Finds A Successful New Relationship With Aston Villa  BY ADAM GROSSMAN 
 






















    



 
   
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BY ADAM GROSSMAN

Fanatics Finds A Successful New Relationship With Aston Villa

Aston Villa recently announced that it signed “a kit manufacturing deal” with Fanatics. What seems like a standard merchandise / apparel deal on the surface, however, “may be at the forefront of a revolution” in sponsorship and licensing in sports. This is not just because the Fanatics logo will not be on the jersey of the English soccer club team.

     

 
    Fortnite Helps Demonstrate The Value Of Potential Esports Partnerships   BY ADAM GROSSMAN 
 






















    



 
   
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BY ADAM GROSSMAN

Fortnite Helps Demonstrate The Value Of Potential Esports Partnerships

Esports rights holders can use Ashland University as an example of why companies should become esports partners. In particular, rights holders can show non-endemic sponsors how partnering with a team or league helps these companies generate more revenue or more effectively reach their brand objectives in novel ways that create competitive differentiation. 

     

 
    PGA Takes Approach That Is Not Par For The Course   BY ADAM GROSSMAN 
 






















    



 
   
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BY ADAM GROSSMAN

PGA Takes Approach That Is Not Par For The Course

Earlier this week, the PGA Tour announced that it was changing its slogan from “These Guys Are Good” to “Live Under Par.” Changing one of the most prominent features of the PGA Tour brand after 20 years would be news on its own. What is potentially more interesting, however, is the thought process behind the change.

     

 
   Does Pay For Performance Make Sense For Sponsorship?  BY ADAM GROSSMAN 
 






















    



 
   
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BY ADAM GROSSMAN

Does Pay For Performance Make Sense For Sponsorship?

Yesterday, Anheuser-Busch announced a decision to utilize "a new sponsorship model that promises to shake up the industry. It is built on incentives for performance on the field, pitch or court, as well as off of it". In 2012, B6A explored a similar approach The Emirates Group employed with the Arsenal as part of a larger deal including a jersey sponsorship. That blog post is included here. 

     

 
   UMBC Positioned to Take Advantage of March Madness Success  BY ADAM GROSSMAN 
 






















    



 
   
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BY ADAM GROSSMAN

UMBC Positioned to Take Advantage of March Madness Success

The biggest star of the 2018 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament so far is Zach Seidel. Seidel, however, is not the “only” a star on the UMBC team. UMBC as an institution is the biggest winner of the NCAA Tournament so far, even more for what it has done off the court than on the court.

     

 
    B6A Announces The Creation Of Its NBA Jersey Patch Index   BY ADAM GROSSMAN AND BEN SCIAMBI 
 






















    



 
   
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BY ADAM GROSSMAN AND BEN SCIAMBI

B6A Announces The Creation Of Its NBA Jersey Patch Index

Block Six Analytics (B6A) is pleased to announce the creation of the NBA Jersey Patch Index (JPI). The JPI uses B6A’s Media Analysis Platform (MAP) image valuation capabilities within its Social Sentiment Analysis Platform (SAP) to analyze the earned value of posts that feature a team’s jersey patch in pictures or videos for the 2017-18 season