Hailing from Trinidad in the West Indies, Davyeon Ross attended Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas, earning a bachelor's degree in computer science with minors in business and mathematics. As a 6'8" basketball player, he received honors on the NAIA First Team and led the nation in field goal percentage during his senior year. His postgraduate education includes Knowledge Management Certification and a Master's degree in business administration. Davyeon began his career as a Software Engineer at Sprint World Headquarters in Overland Park, Kansas, and later held the position of lead technical consultant for eVergance, serving companies around the world including Research in Motion (Toronto), T-Online (Germany), Business Objects (Vancouver) and Mattel (NY). When he is not expanding AthletixNation, the company he established in 2007, Davyeon hits the court in recreational basketball.

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Monetizing the Olympics Locally and Legally

Every Saturday, I have an “appointment” at 6:00 a.m. on the links (golf course for the non-golfers). Last Saturday, I skipped my appointment to complete some work around the house and catch the Olympics.

Pretty soon, I found myself glued to the television watching sports that I didn’t even know existed. Included in the list were: cycling individual pursuit, badminton, single sculling aka rowing, the clean and jerk, and water polo. Surprisingly these nontraditional sports were both entertaining and borderline exciting.

Any event that simultaneously commands the attention of so many individuals on a national and international basis results in huge revenues and sponsorship opportunities. It’s a great marketing opportunity to reach a massive audience and increase your brand awareness. However, it requires a cagillion dollars (yep,I said cagillion, look it up), unless you are privy to the AthletixNation coined term “WebMilling^TM.”

WebMilling is derived from the behavior of a windmill, a machine powered by the energy of the wind. It is designed to convert the energy of the wind into more useful forms using rotating blades or sails. So WebMilling is a creative way for “unofficial” sponsors to legally profit from heightened interest in events, teams or individuals. Traditionally, we coined this term for Internet purposes, but it easily transitions into non-web scenarios.

• Example 1: Chinese clothing company Li Ning sponsored the television commentators who introduced the torch relay. This feat strategically led people to believe the company was an official Olympic sponsor. Well done Li Ning!
• Example 2: Timberland, which is not an Olympic sponsor, is riding the event's momentum with its new "Podium" TV spot for the U.S. and China, showing a hiker triumphantly reaching the summit of a mountain. Tagline: "Everyone dreams of standing on a podium. This is yours."
• Example 3 (Non Olympic): Consider a sports talk radio station that does not have broadcasting rights to their local NFL team. By creating pregame and post game shows sponsored by Papa Johns featuring everyone’s favorite personality, the station creates an association with the team and a new revenue stream.

The Summer Olympics only come around every four years, but companies can leverage the heightened awareness of sporting events at the national and local levels and WebMill. A few key points to WebMilling:

• Be Creative: Find ways to play on words, events, or sponsorships that speak to your audience and correlate to your brand.
• Know Your Boundaries: Sorry, but you can’t just use the Olympic rings, “Super Bowl” or “Final Four” without paying for usage rights.
• Monetize It: Partner with a key sponsor that aligns with your business objectives.

Congratulations to a successful 2008 Summer Olympics, and Happy WebMilling,

Davyeon

^{The term WebMill and WebMilling is trademarked by AthletixNation Inc.}

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