We’ve been working with Apple PT since 2006, which is when we did their first site. The site was done all in flash. You can check it out here. For their new site, they communicated to us that they wanted something fresh - but they still wanted a simple and clean solution. Quite immediately, we determined that a clean HTML driven site was the best route for them to take this time around. They wanted to somehow re-brand their image as well, but they didn’t really have a direction to point us in. So, we set out in Photoshop and designed 5 unique concepts for them to review and choose from. Out of the 5, they chose the very first design we presented to them. Checkout the new site, and checkout the screenshots below including early design concepts.

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Early Design Concepts:
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Our review includes searching for the player’s official site, and then seeing if they are active on either of the two most popular social media channels (Twitter & Facebook). In evaluating their social media accounts we keep it simple: search for it on google, review the top 3-5 that show-up and determine if any appear to be official accounts.

1. Derek Jeter
Official Site: www.DerekJeter.com - focus is more on his Turn 2 Foundation, than being setup as official player site. Produced by MLB, the site really does not offer a strong visual representation of the Jeter brand. Suprisingly for being the most marketable player, his official site does not mention one sponsor partner.

Social Media: Derek’s official site has no SM integration. No official presence on Twitter or Facebook could be found.

2. Albert Pujols
Official Site: Albert does not have an official fan site, but does have a Foundation website: www.PujolsFamilyFoundation.org. The Foundation site lists a “Sponsor” section, but does not include any companies, just includes info to “Become a Sponsor”.

Social Media: Albert’s Foundation site has no SM intergration. No official presence on Twitter or Facebook could be found.

3. Joe Mauer
Official Site: Joe does not have an official fan site, but does have a business site at JoeMauer.com that redirects to - www.MauersQuickSwing.com.

Social Media: No official presence on Twitter or Facebook could be found.

4. Stephen Strasburg
Official Site: Stephen does not have an official fan site.

Social Media: No official presence on Twitter or Facebook could be found.

5. Ryan Howard
Official Site: Ryan does not have an official fan site.

Social Media: No official presence on Twitter or Facebook could be found.

6. Evan Longoria
Official Site: Evan does not have an official fan site.

Social Media: Evan has a Twitter account @Evan3Longoria , but no Facebook account.

7. Tim Lincecum
Official Site: Tim does not have an official fan site.

Social Media: No official presence on Twitter or Facebook could be found.

8. David Wright
Official Site: www.DavidWright.com - produced by MLB, the site similiar to Jeter’s doesn’t really present a unique impression of Wright’s brand, but does have all the basic content (ie News, Photos, Videos, Stats). The site does include a “Partners” section with logo links.

Social Media: The site does not include any SM integration, and no official presence on Twitter or Facebook could be found.

9. A-Rod
Official Site: www.ARod.com - produced by MLB, just like Jeter’s does not represent A-Rod’s brand that well visually at all. Includes basic info (Journal is almost 3 yrs out-of-date). Includes a “Corporate Partners” sub-section page with logo/links.

Social Media: The site does not include any SM integration, and no official presence on Twitter or Facebook could be found.

10. Torii Hunter
Official Site: www.TorriHunter.com  & also has a Foundation site at TorriHunterProject.com.  Oddly enough the site does not include any relative baseball information (ie Standings, Stats, Schedule, News Updates, Photos etc.). No partner information is included on the site.

Social Media: The site includes a link to Torii’s Facebook account. Could not find a verified Twitter account.

Conclusion:
For guys that are supposed to be the “most marketable”, they sure don’t help themselves or their sponsors by providing solid online activations. Goes back to the question if you’re a sponsor paying an athlete - who is responsible for activating that partnership on the only 24/7/365 marketing channel available? In the ends, the player’s are missing a huge opportunity to build their brands (props to the players that did have Foundation sites though), and sponsors seem to just not care.

Word started to spread around 11AM today when Chris Paul posted that he talked LeBron into getting on Twitter. LeBron’s account quickly got up to close to 100K followers before he made an initial tweet four hours later:

What’s interesting is why did it take Chris Paul talking LeBron into getting on Twitter. You would think that  his own marketing team at LRMR, or one of his sponsors would have approached him about the benefits of being on Twitter & Facebook a long time ago. Yet it took convincing from CP3 to get LeBron on Twitter???

At the height of his free agent frenzy, I would have expected more of a plan to be set in place that includes his sponsor partners. From branding the background, to promo tweets from LeBron, to a Twitter based contest tied to his sponsor’s accounts it makes you wonder if any of his sponsors had approached LeBron about social media marketing.

You really see this all the time with athletes, they either don’t have an official site, or they don’t have any social media channels, or both. I always think if I was the sponsor paying them big bucks I would just control it myself to activate the endorsement. Either way someone on the sponsor’s side or someone on the athlete’s marketing side are sleeping at the wheel. You can’t get around the fact that digital is the only 24/7/365 marketing channel out there.

Just last week LeBron launched a splash page at LeBronJames.com, after not having an official site for the past season and half. Prior to that he had a sponsored site by Juice Batteries, and then another one by Microsoft. Neither site was a true fan destination hub with minimal updates. It will be interesting to see which if any of his sponsors will be involved in the new official site (no logos appear on the splash page). From the looks of the Twitter account it seems as if they’re seeing/hearing about it for the first time just like the rest of us, and LeBron is not following any of his sponsors yet either.  One other interesting point is the splash page does not include a callout or icon link or feed from the new Twitter account.

An athlete as big as LeBron in the corporate marketing world, and as popular as any athlete on the world stage should have a better planned online strategy . It shouldn’t be an afterthought, and it should work with all of his sponsors, not separate from their own invidual efforts.

Despite both programs having a long successful tradition, neither has a dedicated program website (ie www.DukeBluePlanet.com), so right off the bat Coach Pitino and Louisville could easily gain a huge advantage on Kentucky with respect to targeting fans, alumni, corp partners, and RECRUITS. As it is, they have pretty much the same templated sections on their respective AD websites (Kentucky  | Louisville) providing neither program with an advantage, so that leads us to turn our attention to the Coach’s official website.

RickPitino.com Analysis:
1. The majority of the content is static (ie Coaches Favs thru Foundation sections), and much hasn’t been updated (many pages have a 12/01/09 stamp, and only 6 “Latest News” updates in going on 7 months for 2010). The result is no repeat traffic drivers on the site.

2. Many pages have a broken ad placement box near the bottom.

3. The “Schedule” hasn’t been updated since the Dec. 16th game vs. Oral Roberts.

4. The site is built as a template layout so every page looks basically the same. Coach Cal’s is the same way so you have an opportunity to capture the imagination of recruits through a graphically stimulating experience.

5. Missing an “In the News” type feed on the program and Coach Pitino.

6. No featured content on the Louisville program - tradition - history, or even the current team.

7. No information on Coach - his style/philosophy, career highlights.

8. No focus or features for Fans on the site.

9. No promotions from sponsors run through the site.

10. The site includes three videos, but they are thumbnail size, don’t have a setup (ie Date or Description), and don’t include a share feature.

11. No information on Team Camps or Coaching Clinics on the site.

12. No social media integration (ie: links and feed for Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Lexy, etc.) these don’t necessarily need to be specifically for Coach Pitino, but would include them for the program - overall should have a strategy to take advantage of these channels.

Social Media Extra:
From the results below, it’s easy to see Coach Pitino has some catching up to do, and is missing a channel that is very popular with today’s generation of recruits.

Twitter Followers:
-Calipari @ 1,111,014 vs. Pitino @ NA (No verified acct, no listing on the Louisville AD site, RickPitino.com, or Follow from the official AD Twitter acct)

Facebook Likes:
-Calipari @ 160,282 vs. Pitino @ NA (Searching for Rick Pitino led to two accts, neither were official)

Recommendation:
Coach Cal’s site (CoachCal.com) has gotten more attention, primarily because of his use of Lexy, and it does include more depth of content (Coach & Program), and several interactive features - but nothing that makes it best in class.

To gain a true competitive advantage Coach Pitino & Louisville should develop a dedicated program site, and then on CoachPitino.com include a video message and call-to-action to visit the main program website. Short of that it’s time to overhaul CoachPitino.com:
-a new content plan
-a new design with unique sections
-activation & integration of social media channels

Coach Pitino is a one of a very few college coaches in any sport that has a true brand, has a distinctive style & personality, and an overall presence that resonates with recruits - and that needs to be showcased properly in a new official site activation. When it does Coach Pitino will gain an edge in the online battle with Coach Cal.

The concept direction I took for this was that of a soft, heavenly, legendary and historical feel. John Wooden was the humblest of characters; one of his greatest attributes - so he probably would have disliked this approach. However, we are admirers of the man like so many. Thus, it’s ok for us to boast about Coach and portray him in such a fashion.

Splash Page:
Steve Jamison wrote many books with Coach. Over the years, they became very close friends. “The Widsom of Wooden” is their last book together…so it’s only fitting this be placed at the very top. Beneath the book, there is a snippet from a quote by Bill Walton; a student, a friend, and advocate of Coach. For the background, I subtly placed a few older pictures of coach on the sides and have a few feathers falling down from the top of the page to signify remembrance and provide a ‘heavenly’ feel. I used a combination of both old paper and wood flooring textures, then color balanced them to get that warm/sepia tone.

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My Last Visit with Coach by Steve Jamison
This is a special tribute to Coach from Steve, documenting his final days with Coach.

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Memory Wall
Share your memories, or simply give your best wishes

Article Links:
Wooden’s wizardry was for the ages
Coach John Wooden: The Real Deal!
Many of John Wooden’s lessons had nothing to do with basketball
Above all else, John Wooden’s selflessness stands out
Poole: John Wooden was a Wizard at the game of life
Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter taken aback by admiration from legendary UCLA coach John Wooden
The Passing Of Coach John Wooden
Some of Coach John Wooden’s favorite maxims (’Woodenisms’)
Dick Enberg Remembers John Wooden
Phog’s grandson recalls Wooden