As part of a promotion for its small business services, GoDaddy tapped the Toronto Raptors' star center Jonas Valanciunas for a campaign called 'Itty Bitty Ballers.' The campaign centers around a live website built with GoDaddy's new Website Builder. It also features a commercial that airs during Toronto Raptors' broadcasts showing a fictional small business selling miniature figurines of the Lithuanian legend.
Though the Itty Bitty Ballers business is a story invented for the ad campaign, GoDaddy created a real website that sells several different JV figures. The figures come in goofy poses that include the 7 foot tall center doing the splits, dribbling the globe, or riding a raptor. All revenue from the Itty Bitty Ballers sales is being donated to the MLSE Foundation, a Toronto charity that helps underprivileged kids join organized sports.
Miniature Basketballer Figurines
Jonas Valanciunas' Itty Bitty Ballers are a GoDaddy Promotion
Trend Themes
1. Itty Bitty Figurines - Opportunity for innovative miniature manufacturing technologies to create hyper-realistic figurines for sports or entertainment fans.
2. Athlete Promotions - Athlete endorsements can be leveraged for creating unique promotions that increase brand awareness and help underprivileged communities.
3. Small Business Marketing - Opportunity for marketing-solutions providers to offer cost-effective marketing tools for small businesses such as GoDaddy's Website Builder.
Industry Implications
1. Sports Merchandise - Innovative miniature manufacturing and 3D printing has disruptive potential in boosting sports merchandise revenue and fan engagement.
2. Celebrity Endorsements - Companies use celebrity endorsements to drive sales and increase brand awareness, leading to greater opportunities in the celebrity endorsement space.
3. Marketing Solutions - The rise of small businesses creates a market opportunity for marketing-solution providers to offer cost-effective marketing tools for small businesses.