Sports3.0 announced a change in name of its influencer and media platform PlayersVoice to AthletesVoice.
The company also announced completion of a funding round to expand its product offering, including a fan and athlete data exchange and automation of its athluencer distribution network which accesses more than 3,000 athletes. The size of the round wasn't announced
“It’s been a huge two years and we are proud of the positive impact we have made with athletes, brands and sports lovers," says CEO Kerry McCabe, a former Ninemsn sales boss.
"With trust in media at an all-time low, we have built trust. In the era of clickbait and fake news we have created very real, inclusive and original content. Within a publishing sector facing headwinds we have developed highly effective and brand safe solutions for marketers wanting to engage the powerful media and marketing vehicle that is elite athletes."
McCabe says evolving to AthletesVoice is about absolute inclusion and unrestricted expansion.
"One thing we hadn’t factored at launch was the very large community of athletes we work with who do not identify as ‘players’ on any level," says McCabe.
"Removing that restriction, and other not so positive connotations with the ‘player’ description, became a bit of a no-brainer. The fresh identity also gives us freedom to grow the brand at home and overseas with the ability to compete and thrive against foreign entities whose interests and resources often serve to restrict competition and the growth of Australian businesses.”
McCabe says partners are saying the creation of a fan and athlete data exchange is well-timed.
"Quality data that is ethically sourced will be in very high demand as organisations invest to grow their customer base, share of consumer wallet and lifetime value of customers," McCabe says .
"Designed for the future ecosystem which will be much less reliant on cookies, the exchange will provide a single source of fan and athlete intelligence that is sports agnostic.
"We trust that this will also help solve the problem of many disconnected and overly narrow solutions in market today."
PlayersVoice launched in September 2017.
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