For every Derek Jeter streaking across a Gatorade bottle, there are dozens of other great athletes like Giants pitcher Matt Cain who can only dream of selling their likeness to a sports drink. Brand Affinity Technologies hopes to change that. The company connects athletes to clients large and small—from AT&T to the local Nissan dealer. BAT's system is the Moneyball of endorsement deals, extracting value from previously overlooked players. In the process, it's creating a new Web-based advertising model.
How BAT taps the long tail of athlete endorsements
1. Advertisers can browse BAT's database of 3,500 athletes to zero in on players with local appeal in the areas they're targeting (think hometowns and alma maters).
2. The advertiser makes an offer (BAT suggests a range, typically $5,000 to $20,000 for 30 days' use). The talent has 72 hours to accept or reject the bid.
3. Once the deal is sealed, the advertiser is sent encrypted photos or video of the celeb that can be incorporated easily into any online or print ad campaign.
4. BAT's Web platform has built-in analytics that let companies track the success of ad campaigns via real-time metrics like "consumer affinity."
