By Staff
Athletic Management, 18.3, April/May 2006, http://www.momentummedia.com/articles/am/am1803/wucellphones.htm
How many students do you see using cell phones as you walk across campus? Whether they’re talking, text messaging, or playing an interactive game, the majority of today’s college students are never without their cell phones.
That is why roughly 100 colleges and universities have decided to opt into a deal allowing Smartphones Technologies, supplier of mobile content, access to licensed action photos of their former athletes, as well as cheerleaders and mascots. Smartphones markets the images to its customers, who can purchase and download them onto cell phones as wallpaper or a screensaver. Each college collects royalties based on the demand for its content.
Previously, college fans could download only a trademarked school logo. “Logos have been available for years, and that’s fine,” says Mike Merrill, CEO of Smartphones Technologies, “but they’re pretty one-dimensional. Now you can get a really cool action shot of a football or basketball player, cheerleader, or mascot. All of a sudden, it’s a little more interesting.”
“It’s a win-win situation,” says Chad Kimmel, Assistant Director of Marketing and Promotions at Kansas State University, which has signed on to the program. “We felt it was a good opportunity to get our fans more involved and to reach out to them through new technology. It gives them access to something that’s a little more personal.”
The University of Pittsburgh is also in on the deal. “We always try to be aware of what’s new and available,” says Chris Ferris, Assistant Athletic Director for Marketing and Promotions. “Technology is constantly changing, and we feel we have a responsibility to do our homework and stay on top of it. Technology is a huge part of getting our message out and exposing our program—and it’s really exciting.”
Collegiate Images-—a subsidiary of The Collegiate Licensing Company, which represents almost 250 schools and nine conferences—has been the middleman, bringing Smartphones and colleges together. Collegiate Images sends images from its clients to Smartphones, which posts the pictures on its Web site as samples for customers to check out. Customers select the images they want to download to their “shopping cart” and are charged via their credit cards. Only images of former student-athletes are used, due to NCAA amateurism rules.
“The college sports marketplace is a demanding one,” says Jack Heilig, Vice President of Collegiate Images. “College fans want as much as they can get. By getting out there and telling their fans, ‘Yes, we are involved in this,’ schools are making a connection.
“You used to have just a regular ring, now you can have a school fight song,” Heilig continues. “You used to have a school logo, now you can have an action shot. Moving video will be here very soon. It’s a great way for fans to express themselves.”
When Collegiate Images presented the Smartphones offer to its client schools, it gave them the choice to opt in or out of the deal. “Some schools already have mobile content deals in place with other carriers,” Heilig says, “and some are more conservative in terms of technology. But for schools that aren’t already attached and want to stay up on the technology, this is a great opportunity.”
And Smartphones is working to advance its technology even more. The company is currently filming school cheers performed by cheerleaders, so downloaded screensavers will soon consist of video instead of a still shot. “The complexity is great and there are a lot of moving parts, but we’re all excited to be a part of this advancement,” Merrill says.
To view samples of available mobile content, visit Smartphones Technologies’ Web site: www.smartphones.com.