by The Editors on May 30, 2014
Well, it’s no surprise, but according to a story on GigaOm, Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield, Byers partner and long-time internet analyst Mary Meeker says it’s very likely that you’re way over-spending on print advertising and not investing enough in mobile, based on how much time people sent with each media in 2013.
Last year, print got just 5 percent of the overall time spent on media, but it pulled in almost 20 percent of the overall advertising revenue.
In other words, Mobile and Internet should get the bulk of your spend. In fact, this chart offers a pretty easy breakdown of where all your dollars should go in general. You can view Meeker’s entire 2014 Internet Trends deck here.
[Link: GigaOm]
by The Editors on May 28, 2014
It appears that North Shore surfers will have a new neighbor at Rocky Point soon as the Honolulu Star is reporting that GoPro founder Nick Woodman just spent close to $9 million of the company’s pre-going-public dollars for a 66-year-old house and a 31,000 square foot vacant lot on Ke Nui Road, according to a story on BizJournals.
The newspaper reports the buyer’s agent, Lora “Bitsy” Healey, whose son is big-wave surfer Mark Healey, declined to reveal her client’s identity.
This purchase is reportedly the most someone has paid for a vacant lot on the North Shore. That’s not a bad way to flow some money into the local community.
[Link: BizJournals]
by The Editors on May 23, 2014
The entire fashion world is based on clever carbon copy cloning. Big business lets the little brands do all the work and then when something starts trending they roll in and knock it off. Now, that’s what LA based micro label Echo Park Surf Squad is accusing our least favorite action sports mall retailer PacSun of doing.
Today (May 23, 2014), PacSun launched their new Golden State of Mind advertising campaign which features a slew of images of waves Photoshopped into photos of iconic locations where waves shouldn’t be. According to a post on Reddit this adding waves to photos is something EPSS has been doing for over a year. Above is photo evidence: top photo is EPSS’s original. Bottom photo is a PacSun knock off.
Here’s what EPSS says:
We’ve been a brand with integrity, sewing and making our clothes from scratch in Los Angeles since early 2012 and slowly building. It started off as a joke, us photoshopping a wave in Echo Park Lake and we just laughed. My friend and co-founder have been posting photos like this regularly on our Instagram account since then. . . Cut to May 23rd, 2014 (today) and I wake up to a bunch of emails saying Pac Sun lifted our entire campaign, our entire theme for themselves. . . Please help us get the awareness out there and know that NONE of your creative ideas are sacred.
We feel for EPSS, but also aren’t missing the irony of their complaints when most of their products are based on borrowed art/logos (Santa Cruz Skateboards, Powell, Suicidal Tendencies, Huntington Beach, etc. . . ) That doesn’t excuse PacSun’s “creative team” from blatantly ripping them off, but remember, PacSun’s highly paid marketing and design professionals are on deadline and under pressure. They can’t be expected to come up with their own ideas. That would be much too time consuming and in teen fashion it’s all about speed.
[Link: Reddit]
by The Editors on May 19, 2014
Boston Celtics managing partner Wyc Grousbeck, left, stands with venture capitalist Bob Higgins, center, and team co-owner Mark Wan.
When Rob Dyrdek discovered he had “maxed out on. . . resources” for his Street League Skateboarding franchise, he did what businessmen have been doing for years: he looked for some new money. He found it in the form of $4 to $5 million dollars from Causeway Media Partners. They’ve owned the Boston Celtics since 2002 and they’re looking to expand into other sports, according to a story in the Telegram.
”Skateboarding’s not a very expensive sport to pick up. It doesn’t require you be a part of a team,” said Causeway co-founder Mark Wan, who is also a part-owner in the Celtics and the San Francisco 49ers. ”That’s one of the goals of street league is to make this really accessible.”
See, if Dyrdek can get enough people flowing money into his project now then he’ll be able to make a big exit later while things are still on the up. That’s how business works. For the rest of the story, click the link.
[Link: Telegram]
by The Editors on May 19, 2014
The U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association announced today that they have outsourced the sales of its “property and intellectual rights within the USSA portfolio, notably U.S. Snowboarding and U.S. Freeskiing events in the Sprint U.S. Grand Prix tour,” to the Sacramento Kings basketball team’s ownership group Sacramento Basketball Holdings, LLC because, you know, basketball and snowboarding sponsorship sales go together like slam dunks and triple corks.
“Our partnership with Sacramento Basketball Holdings offers a unique opportunity to benefit our free skiing and snowboarding athletes by expanding the reach of the Grand Prix series,” said USSA Chief Marketing Officer Michael Jaquet. “What’s especially valuable for us is Sacramento’s close proximity to Lake Tahoe, which is a vital region to our sport. The excellence that Sacramento Basketball Holdings, LLC has built within the market in such a short span of time will make this a valuable program for expanding the reach of our Grand Prix.”
Outsourcing is always a great idea because if it works you’re a genius for selecting the right team, and if it fails you have someone to blame the entire disaster on. In corporate America that’s what’s called a win-win. For the official word from the Sacramento Kings (absurd, right?) follow the jump. [click to continue…]
by The Editors on May 15, 2014
A federal court has ordered the Dew Tour to pay Mount Snow Resort more than $2 million dollars after the tour allegedly jumped out of a contract and moved the event to Killington, according to a story in the Battleboro Reformer.
In its verdict, the jury concluded that The Alliance of Action Sports, NBC Universal Media and NBC Sports Ventures breached their contract agreement with Mount Snow when it moved the 2010 tour stop from the Dover ski resort to Killington. . . In January 2012, Mount Snow filed suit in U.S. District Court for the District of Vermont, claiming the defendants had breached the contract, costing Mount Snow more than $3 million in damages related to the media value of hosting the tour stop.
Nice to see someone win one against the “flame retardant, mouse dissolving, caffeinated, carbonated high fructose corn syrup” tour isn’t it? Wonder if Mt. Snow will ever get their money?
[Link: Battleboro Reformer via Jeff Greenwood]
by The Editors on May 14, 2014
It’s been four years since Laurent Potdevin resigned as CEO of Burton Snowboards. And since then, Jake and Donna Carpenter have been running the business themselves while they conducted a search for a new CEO. That search has apparently ended as the company announced today the promotion of COO Mike Rees to the position of CEO of Burton Snowboards.
“Four years ago when I got my old job back as Burton’s CEO, my goal was to get the company headed in the right direction, build up our leadership team and establish a clear plan for the long-term future of the brand,” said Jake. “Looking back, we’ve accomplished these goals and have a solid foundation in place. Now it’s time to turn over the day-to-day tasks of running Burton to a new CEO. Our entire Board of Directors, our Executive Team, Donna and myself trust that Mike is the right person for the job. He has the experience, skills and leadership qualities to take our vision and run with it. And I’ll still be around, giving product feedback, testing new gear, working with the creative crew and advising Mike.”
Rees obviously knows the business and that’s good. For the official word from Burton, follow the jump. [click to continue…]
by The Editors on May 5, 2014
Proving that kids are never too young to get to work, Mark Occhilupo has just signed his son up for a two-year contract with Billabong, according to a story in the Herald Sun. Jay Occhilupo is just 11 years old.
One of the youngest surfers to ever receive a sponsorship deal from the iconic brand, Jay joins a star stable including Joel Parkinson, Taj Burrow, Andy Irons, and dad. . . “I’m feeling stoked, I was hoping for it but I wasn’t expecting it so soon,” Jay said. . . Mark Occhilupo was 14 when he was signed by Billabong more than 30 years ago. . .“So it’s fitting for Jay to be in the Billabong team,” Mark said.
If the kids are going to do the work, they certainly deserve to get paid. We hope the best for young Jay.
[Link: Herald Sun]
by The Editors on April 30, 2014
Remember that Electric “lightning-bolt-in-a-circle” logo that was causing so much grief like yesterday? The one that looked surprisingly similar to a logo found in secret Ku Kluz Klan documents? Well, it’s been purged from the Electric website entirely (see the before and after above). Gone. Now the site’s header simply says Electric California, just like their URL. Fast work on the part of Kering’s action sports accessory brand. And likely the right thing to do considering the backlash.
Meanwhile, check out hese fabulous new watches? The Electric Dive 02 is a dressy, sporty, fashionable watch that still has the lightning bolt logo on it’s face. Can’t change everything overnight right? Click the link for more on the watches.
[Link: Electric California]
by The Editors on April 29, 2014
In another interesting development in pro contest surfing the Association of Surfing Professionals has purchased the XXL Awards from Billabong, The ASP will own the franchise and Billabong will maintain “a key naming rights position.
“This is a night to celebrate big wave surfing and we’re very pleased on the partnership between Billabong XXL and the BWWT Awards and the acquisition of the XXL Property,” Paul Speaker, ASP CEO, said. “This is a platform to honor the brave men and women who dedicate their lives to the art of big wave surfing and we are honored to continue this tradition in future years.”
Since the XXL awards are basically a TV awards show (aside from all the death defying surfing everyone else is recording), this property will likely fit very well in the ASP’s current skill set. The show has come a long way since it’s beginnings with K2. Nice work, Bill Sharp! For the official word from the ASP, please follow the jump.
[click to continue…]
