Shaq announces endorsement deal through Twitter

It’s almost like Shaq is following my blog! (He’s not, unfortunately).

Just last week, I posted an article about the future of communication in sports and sports business, and how services like twitter are going to essentially eliminate the middle man.  Then, on March 26th, Shaq did this on his Twitter page…

Yes, Shaq just announced his endorsement deal over Twitter.  No traditional media was involved, and the press release regarding the deal came out a few days later.  So, why is this a big deal?  Darren Rovell explains,

What’s groundbreaking about O’Neal “breaking” the endorsement deal on Twitter is that it’s believed to be the first time an athlete has reported such a deal without the typical middleman, the media…

As a journalist who reports on endorsement deals, I have to be honest, I’m already pretty concerned about the Twitter way.

Why?

Well, think about the fact that with a couple words O’Neal has announced to everyone who has cared to follow him that he is now with Enlyten.

The potential for reaching O’Neal’s fans faster than one of my blogs or articles is certainly out there.

And think about what the endorsement relies upon. It relies upon the athlete having purchasing power sway and that normally happens with people who are fans of the star.

So essentially, Shaq was able to instantly inform the world (or at least his 500,000+ followers) about his endorsement deal with no cost.  Seems a lot cheaper than paying a marketing company millions of dollars for a promotional campaign that is definitely wasted on a large majority of people because they aren’t interested in the product, right?

Regardless of whether people believe it or not, or whether they fear it or not, the shift to instantaneous transactions between the sports fan and the athlete has begun and will increase in their frequency.  I reiterate, it is going to be up to traditional media to figure out a way to monetize this shift, or they will be left behind (two companies which seem to be fairly forward thinking?  Intuit and Google).  How far away are we from Darren Rovell or any other reporter asking Shaq or another athlete questions on their Twitter page in order to write their articles?  And again, if we reach that point, doesn’t that completely destroy any relevancy of the traditional sports reporter?  Sure, I could wait and see how Rovell uses the information in his article, but when I already have the piece of information that I really seek, “The answer”, right in front of me, why wait days or hours or even minutes for all of the accompanying prose?

Sports Business Digest — The Future of Sports and Sports Business:  Communication

Sports Biz w/Darren Rovell –  The Tweet Heard Around  the Endorsement World

Tags: endorsement deal, enlyten, future of sports business communication, shaq, Shaquille O'Neal, sporst business, twitter

Category: Basketball