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John Wall’s New Website A Shining Example Of Athlete Success In The Digital Age

Los Angeles-based NCLUSIVE, inc. has launched Washington Wizards' point guard John Wall's brand new website.
Los Angeles-based NCLUSIVE, inc. has launched Washington Wizards’ point guard John Wall’s brand new website.

John Wall’s new official website JohnWall2.com was launched just yesterday, and it is already turning many heads. The site is aesthetically stunning and functionally innovative. Crafted by the forward thinking minds at NCLUSIVE, Inc., it is quite clear that this is the direction that web presence for athletes is headed.

Today’s world-class athletes cannot simply rely on stellar performances to elevate them to superstar status. In this day and age, an athlete must also be a brand name, an entertainer, a trendsetter, a social media maven, and a thought-leader. Our interconnected world has given athletes clear and direct channels through which they can communicate directly with their most ardent fans. Ignoring this opportunity is no longer an option. With the advent of ubiquitous social media, fans now expect their superstars to be woven into every new media development, just as their own personal interactions shift into an increasingly digital space. This then translates into big sports stars needing their agents to look into different web design teams to ensure they have a digital space to grow in. There are no excuses for stale social media, error pages on a website or a lack of an online presence when there are professional marketing and web design agencies out there willing to take on such projects.

It is no surprise that many athletes have seamlessly transitioned into the new roles they are expected to fill. However, these very same athletes’ require an evolving social media management team to equip them with the tools needed to meet these new expectations. Maintaining a client’s career has become a multifaceted endeavor. Negotiating contracts and executing deals on a client’s behalf comes with the athletic landscape. Beyond these responsibilities, a new horizon has been established in the field of branding, digital marketing and management. This is why it’s so important to get a website made to establish your client’s brand. The issue with this is that most sports agents have no idea how to go about building a website. Luckily, there is brilliant advice from companies like MangoMatter Media which show you the best web hosts on the market. On top of this, there are also agencies who can design the whole thing for you – all you need to do is approve the designs!

Enter a company like NCLUSIVE, inc., the company that built John Wall’s new website from the ground up, and recognizes the dynamic nature of the athletic landscape in the digital age. The corporation was founded by Justin J. Giangrande and Jess A. Richman, both graduates from the University of Florida who have previous sports agency experience. NCLUSIVE, inc. has partnered with some of the world’s biggest athletes to not only build out their digital platforms, but to also help pair potential brands and sponsors who understand the value of the digital space.

The best way to enhance an athlete’s appeal to sponsors in this new market is by helping them become very visible and very active on the Web. Online engagement and interaction requires fresh content, exclusive news articles, and regularly updated social media updates, and the athletes who recognize this are the ones who benefit in big ways.

And yet, even this model is no longer sufficient for the biggest names in sports. NCLUSIVE, inc. is testing this model with their recent release of JohnWall2.com, which will not only feature the premium analyses and insights into John Wall’s game that fans expect but also include eCommerce integration, think of eCommerce systems such as you’re able to find viewing this woocommerce vs shopify comparison for example. A similar system will soon be integrated with Wall’s website to sell his own products, interactive contests for giveaways and exclusive media content.

Websites like the one NCLUSIVE, inc. created for Wall, are pushing the boundaries for what is possible for athletes in the digital space. No longer can an athlete’s homepage serve as a mere placeholder for whatever his sponsor-du-jour happen to be. The athlete must instead take things a step further and transition into the vibrant digital communities that rally entire communities around the athlete playing host.

By Darren Heitner

Darren Heitner created Sports Agent Blog as a New Year's Resolution on December 31, 2005. Originally titled, "I Want To Be A Sports Agent," the website was founded with the intention of causing Heitner to learn more about the profession that he wanted to join, meet reputable individuals in the space and force himself to stay on top of the latest news and trends.

Heitner now runs Heitner Legal, P.L.L.C., which is a law firm with many practice areas, including sports law and contract law. Heitner has represented numerous athletes and sports agents as legal counsel. He has also served as an Adjunct Professor at Indiana University Bloomington from 2011-2014, where he created and taught a course titled, Sport Agency Management, which included subjects ranging from NCAA regulations to athlete agent certification and the rules governing the profession. Heitner serves as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Florida Levin College of Law, where he teaches a Sports Law class that includes case law surrounding athlete agents and the NCAA rules.

2 replies on “John Wall’s New Website A Shining Example Of Athlete Success In The Digital Age”

We now live in a time where the digital world is
king. Today’s superstars must take huge steps in terms of online media, to
“sell” themselves as athletes and business men and women. With the internet
being so huge, superstar athletes have the opportunity to connect with fans on
a whole new level by allowing fans to watch video highlights and follow an
athlete’s personal life through Facebook or Twitter. It is obvious that the
sports world has become a huge business and athletes are trying to find unique
ways to promote their brand as athletes and business people. John Wall’s new
website is a perfect example of an athlete making leaps in efforts to promote
his image to fans, while trying to make a little bit of money. This is obvious
to see by the section named gear, which gives the opportunity for fans to buy a
few jerseys of John Wall. Once upon a time when performance was enough to
promote many superstars, they are now being forced to turn to the digital
world.

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