Blog

Teams spend massive amounts of money to portray their message to the world.  With over 50% of the U.S. owning a smart phone one of the ways teams have been utilizing is smart phone apps.  Recently, players have begun to release their own individual apps.  Most of these apps are only about the player.  Some do not even feature the player wearing his current teams jersey.  Cristiano Ronaldo, Lebron James, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, David Beckham, and Dwayne Wade all have their own apps.  

Does this take away from a team’s message or cannibalize their own fan base?  Do supporters become fans of the player over the team?  Most players who launch their own app are well known and have the ability to market themselves as individual but does it help the team in the end.  Cristiano Ronaldo’s app only mentions his team’s results.  It does not even include images of him in Real Madrid’s jersey.  

In the end, I would think the teams are happy to have fans interacting with their players regardless of the medium but what will happen when the player joins another team.  Will the fans follow the player or the team?  

On another note, I spent time in Zapata, Texas over the weekend fishing on Lake Falcon.   I had a great time and was able to catch a lot of fish.  Unfortunately, as AT&T constantly reminded me, I was flirting with international rates and had to leave my phone in the hotel. I did however get a couple shots of the sun setting over Mexico.  Photography is not a skill of mine but some of my favorite photos are of sunsets and below is what I was able to capture with my iPhone.