UFC Lightweight Joe Lauzon has signed a sponsorship deal with Gamma Labs. Coming off of winning one of the UFC’s first twitter bonuses, the supplement company is looking to capitalize on Lauzon’s rising popularity and social media saviness.
The sponsorship deal will go beyond the normal fight short placement and focus on viral videos, social media and Lauzon’s interest of video games. According to Lauzon’s manager, Oren Hodak, Gamma Labs will do some cross promotional gaming spots with Punch Drunk Gamer, another one of Lauzon’s sponsors.
Via Gamma Labs press release:
This partnership will utilize Lauzon’s rapidly growing fan-base through new media platforms and will support Gamma Labs’ new Pre-Training Formula through special appearances, making an immediate impact with new consumers.
“Working with an athlete like Joe who is very active on social media brings incredible value to a sponsor. As a top ranked fighter and video game competitor Joe is a perfect fit for Gamma Labs,” said Lauzon’s manager Oren Hodak of Knock Out Representation. Hodak continues saying, “Joe’s been using Gamma Labs’ products for several months and is benefiting from the increased focus and energy that he gets from PTF.” A number of unique viral videos, social media and online gaming contests will feature Joe in 2012.
Lauzon boasts a twitter following that just surpassed 44,000 followers.
Payout Perspective:
This is a win-win for fighter and sponsor. The deal includes Lauzon’s interest of being a gamer which helps his personal brand. It also goes beyond the normal one-off sponsorship on fight nights. We’ve seen a rise of more fighters and sponsors engaging in promotions outside of the octagon which is key for the growth of the athlete-sponsor dynamic in MMA. While it may not be the lucrative endorsement contracts of other sports such as the NFL or major league baseball, its a start. We’ll see how many more of this will happen as the UFC-Fox partnership evolves.
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