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How Bleacher Report Is Embracing the Global Upheaval in Sports
CMO Ed Romaine on the ultimate pivot, B/R's branded content, and having Dwyane Wade as creative director
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Practically every industry has struggled during the Covid-19 pandemic, but the sports world has faced almost existential angst since March—as professional leagues shut down worldwide, and have opened up only gradually and under the constant looming threat of the virus. For Bleacher Report, it was a shock to the system—across its editorial and business ventures. But as B/R CMO Ed Romaine tells us in this new episode of On Brand, it’s also been a time of emerging possibilities for the brand, and for the intersection of sports and culture as a whole—where, as the NBA has shown us, athletes have never had a more resonant voice. Ed also discusses B/R’s creative partnership with Dwyane Wade, its lauded branded content initiatives, and the virtual thought leadership event B/R is co-hosting with Clio Sports on Oct. 28-29.
Timestamps:
• 2:56 – How WFH is going for Ed and his team.
• 3:46 – Bleacher Report’s initial reaction to the global suspension of sports.
• 5:41 – Why Bleacher Report wanted to partner with Dwyane Wade, who took the role of creative director, and a look at Wade’s recent video essay for B/R.
• 11:50 – A look at B/R’s partnership with Google inside the NBA Bubble.
• 14:31 – Inside B/R’s branded content partnerships with Gap and Audi.
• 19:25 – How B/R is adapting to changing consumer behaviors during Covid.
• 20:36 – A look back at Game of Zones, the triumphant B/R content series around the NBA that won a Grand Clio in 2018.
• 24:16 – What the future of sports, and the future of B/R, might look like.
Every Thursday at 4 p.m., Clio president Nicole Purcell and I chat with top brand marketers—most of whom are still working from home—about the value of creativity, what they want from their agency and solution partners, how they’re shepherding their brands through Covid and beyond, and more. See all the On Brand episodes here.
If you’re a brand marketer who’d like to take part in the series, please get in touch.
