#Learfield sports digital media kit series

In addition to avoiding brand conflicts, helping schools and athletes navigate NIL regulatory hurdles is a focus of Learfield's, Davis said. 'How can the student-athlete tap into that fan loyalty that already exists?' 'There's a great symbiotic partnership that emerges between the school and the brand who have been quite entrenched and know there's a lot of fan loyalty there,' she said. The university also said that students should not 'promote beverages competitive to Coca-Cola on-campus.'ĭavis said one use case for Learfield's Allied product could be creating opportunities for student-athletes to more easily work with existing university brand partners. practices, competitions, media, team travel, community service, photo sessions, team-building activities, etc.' could violate its policies. Ohio State, for example, said an NIL deal requiring a player to 'wear products competitive to Nike during team activities – ex. Some state laws and university policies explicitly prohibit student-athletes from making deals with brands that interfere with a school's existing sponsors. 'There are longstanding relationships and deep fan loyalty for some of the brands that have been associated with a particular school for a long time,' Davis said. Protecting the interests of schools has been a theme in the early days of NIL, as some universities have taken steps to block students from working with brands that conflict with their own sponsorship contracts, which can generate tens of millions of dollars in revenue for universities, according to a Portland Business Journal database. Learfield doesn't represent student-athletes directly, and its primary loyalty remains with its college and university customers. University of Alabama quarterback Bryce Young has set up NIL deals with brands like Cash App following the NCAA's July 1 policy change. 'And when used in combination with student-athletes, they actually make the student-athlete more recognizable and they help build the student-athlete brand.' 'We fundamentally believe that the school's intellectual property - their school colors, their marks, their logos, their mascots, their fight songs, their uniforms - all those things that make up their kind of IP assets, have a lot of value,' said Learfield CMO Jennifer Davis. Many university have rules prohibiting student-athletes from using a school's logo or mascot in campaigns without permission, which can create friction for some brand programs. It also built a tool, called Learfield Allied, to make it easier for brands to incorporate university IP into student-athlete campaigns. It launched an NIL compliance and education product called Compass to help players at its partner schools disclose their NIL activities to athletic departments, and another program with athlete-marketing company OneTeam Partners that lets students and schools participate in group licensing efforts, such as putting athletes' names on official merchandise like jerseys and trading cards.

#Learfield sports digital media kit series

In the last few months, the company has released a series of new features centered around student-athletes. One such company is Learfield, the nearly 50-year-old sports marketing and licensing firm that works with schools to help them monetize their IP in categories like digital media and stadium signage. Players can now cash in on their own intellectual property - their names, images, and likenesses (NIL) - which opens up a new way for brands to spend on college sports.Ī flurry of new startups has emerged to help players and brands take advantage of the new rule, while incumbents in college-sports marketing are launching their own products to avoid missing out. Insider spoke to the CMO of sports-marketing giant Learfield to learn more about its NIL strategy.įor decades, colleges and universities have made millions by selling the rights to their sports teams' logos and other intellectual property, and by affixing corporate branding to stadium signs and apparel as part of multimedia rights contracts.īut six months ago, the game of college-sports marketing changed when the NCAA revised its policies around student-athlete marketing.They're now active players in the lucrative world of NCAA sports marketing.Student-athletes have been monetizing their names, images, and likenesses after a July rule change.Account icon An icon in the shape of a person's head and shoulders.