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Being a high-profile skilled athlete means dwelling beneath fixed scrutiny, with a billion-dollar trade constructed round analyzing your each transfer. From tabloids to speak reveals to tweets, sports activities content material is nearly inconceivable to flee.
Have a foul sport? Sure media members are licking their lips. A playoff dud? You may be dodging bar TVs enjoying ESPN for per week. However what occurs whenever you give athletes the instruments to degree the enjoying subject? What occurs after they get to reply?
That is the query Brandon Harris desires to reply with Playmaker.
Rewriting the playbook
Based in 2018, Playmaker has grown right into a globally acknowledged sports activities media enterprise, that includes video podcasts — or, as Harris calls them, reveals — with top-tier athletes like Angel Reese and Shaquille O’Neal. Harris based Playmaker after rising disillusioned together with his function in sports activities advertising and marketing.
“I used to be on the shopping for facet, and I at all times noticed individuals on the opposite facet having far more enjoyable,” he says. “I used to be bored with simply getting individuals to purchase merch. I needed to construct issues that followers might take pleasure in.”
For Harris, that meant creating distribution channels centered on sports activities storytelling instantly from the athletes.
As soon as Harris outlined his content material technique, his subsequent precedence was setting Playmaker aside from the competitors. He did this by emphasizing video, in contrast to main gamers within the area who centered on audio.
“Our pitch was easy,” Harris says. “We perceive the panorama, know tips on how to have interaction on social, construct communities, and create participating video.”
Since launching Playmaker, Harris and his crew have produced tens — if not a whole lot — of 1000’s of items of “graphic content material,” together with three- to six-minute breakout movies. He makes an effort to devour as a lot suggestions as potential, estimating he is learn tens of millions of feedback.
“I used to name myself the frequent man barometer,” Harris says. “I’ve learn sufficient and posted sufficient that I believe I perceive most sports activities followers.”
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One motive an athlete may hesitate is the danger of changing into a viral meme after a foul sport or seeing main sports activities retailers report stats like, “Participant X has recorded extra podcast episodes this season than video games performed” whereas recovering from an harm. Whether or not it is jealousy, insecurity, or loyalty to a rival crew, some sports activities followers – and even conventional media – are likely to react negatively to athlete-hosted reveals, typically for causes which have little to do with the precise content material.
“I believe it is ridiculous,” Harris says. “It looks like a ‘shut up and dribble’ mindset. Folks applaud athletes for constructing companies, and that is precisely what that is. They’re spending an hour or two per week on it—if that is taking away from their follow, then there are larger points at play.”
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Turning clips into clicks
In 2024, Playmaker’s unique content material generated over $25M in earned media worth from greater than 1,000 posts and articles shared by publishers. Earned media, which refers to publicity a model positive aspects from third events with out paying for it, is taken into account a holy grail in digital advertising and marketing.
Harris likens this natural content material to a “funnel” that directs viewers of viral clips towards the total present. He attributes Playmaker’s success in earned media to 2 key elements: its huge social distribution and dynamic expertise roster.
“We’ve got expertise that’s genuine and keen to say issues some safer personalities keep away from for PR causes,” Harris says, highlighting figures like Shaq, Angel Reese, and Marshawn Lynch. “We have at all times prioritized expertise that’s genuinely entertaining and will not simply regurgitate PR messaging each episode.”
As a reasonably small firm, Playmaker does not have the posh of limitless assets. Due to that, Harris may be very specific about who he chooses to work with.
“There’s plenty of expertise that I actually like and respect that I’ve needed to say no to,” Harris says. “We do not tackle tasks except we’re assured in our capacity to dedicate the time, assets, and a spotlight wanted to make them profitable.”
Not like lots of their opponents, Playmaker permits athletes to retain full management of their belongings and IP.
“Should you’re an athlete, partnering with Playmaker means having a platform constructed for you which you could take with you, monetize now, and use to develop your different manufacturers,” Harris says. “So why would not you do it?”
This turns into significantly related with streaming giants like Netflix and Amazon eyeing the video podcast area. Whereas Playmaker is open to distribution offers, Harris insists any partnership should be non-exclusive. That stated, he isn’t ruling out a collaboration with one of many content material kings.
“We’d work with them to develop one thing new and non-exclusive,” he says, “however for us, the precedence has at all times been digital and social native.
Although Playmaker’s enterprise mannequin is comparatively new, Harris admits they don’t seem to be the primary to do an athlete podcast. Nonetheless, somewhat than constructing an organization in an trade with a long time of confirmed success tales to mannequin plans on, Harris began Playmaker at a time when athlete podcasts had been nonetheless seen as a novelty somewhat than a norm. As a substitute of balking, Harris embraced the uncertainty, believing he was onto one thing with huge potential.
“As an enormous sports activities fan myself, I take into consideration what I need to see extra of and what I need to see much less of,” Harris says. “And I might somewhat watch a top quality, genuine athlete podcast than something that is on TV.”