MARKETING: Brand Affinity ties celebs, jocks with marketers
Ryan and Chad Steelberg debated Brand Affinity Technologies Inc. - which seeks to automate celebrity endorsement deals - when advertising was down and out in early 2009.
But their timing couldn't have been better, according to Ryan Steelberg, who serves as chief executive.
The Irvine-based company he started with his brother Chad - who serves as Brand Affinity's president and chief technology officer - offered an option to celebrities who were seeing a drop in endorsement deals.
"We were someone actually trying to do business when the rest of the market was stalled," Ryan Steelberg said.
The Steelbergs were among six entrepreneurs honored at the Business Journal's annua! Excellence in F.ntrepreneurship award luncheon held March 17 al the Hyatt Regency Irvine.
Brand Affinity offers advertisers and marketers a database to help them decide who the best celebrity might be for an endorsement deal.
The company specializes in hooking up locally known athletes with local advertisers. It also works with national advertisers seeking to target local markets by tapping athletes known in the area.
And Brand Affinity links celebrities with advertisers looking to do social media marketing by having them Tweet, blog or post EO Facebook about products.
Ryan Steelberg said he to change the way and his brother wanted advertisers went about signing deals with celebrities.
It was an idea Ryan Steelberg said had been "percolating in my head" for several years. Formative work on the company started in 2007.
Most of 2008 and 2009 were spent building the database. The Steelbergs also went about signing contracts with sports celebrities and their agencies.
Advertisers research celebrities via Brand Affinity's website. They can find out very specific information down to how many awards an athlete has won or how many times a celebrity's name appears on the web.
"There just wasn't anything out there that provided that depth of intelligence," Steelberg said.
The company cut its teeth with sports stars.
Most athletes are represented by one person handling the team contrac! and also marketing efforts, a simpler situation to deal with than one where a celebrity may have multiple handlers.
The company now is looking at diversifying beyond athletes.
In October. Brand Affinity signed a deal with RCA/Jive Label Group, part of Sony Music Entertainment.
In 2009, Brand Affinity had 1,200 signed celebrities, mainly athletes. Today, the company has about 4,000 - including athletes, musicians and actors.
Brand Affinity now works with more than 100 advertisers, including Comcast Corp., Ford Motor Co. and AT&T Inc.
The company had yearly revenue of $26 million last year, nearly double from 2009.
Sales this year are projected at S30 million to $35 million this year, "depending on how the world shakes out," Steelberg said.
The company has about 50 workers.
In August, Brand Affinity raised $20 million in a third round of venture funding led by Mi r a m a r Venture Partners in Corona del Mar. The funding included an investment by CGI Opportunity Fund, backed by the Ueberroth family.
Serial Entrepreneurs
The brothers have made a name for themselves as serial entrepreneurs with a track record of building up and selling companies.
Before Brand Affinity, the Steelbergs started radio advertising company dMarc Broadcasting Inc. Google Inc. bought dMarc in 2006 for an initial payment of S102 million plus additional payments if certain targets were met.
Goosie ended up closing the business in 2009.
In 1999, the Steelbergs sold AdForce Inc., a Web advertising company they started in Costa Mesa in 1995, to CMGI Inc. for $500 million.
The duo had less luck with Winfire Inc., a high-speed Internet provider the brothers started in 2000.
Winfire created a buzz with its free digital subscriber line service. The company folded six months later amid troubles getting phone lines and high set-up costs.
The brothers said they've learned how to keep their business and personal relationships intact.
"We probably have more arguments than anyone in the office, but they're arguments always focused on the longer-term goal," Steelberg said.
For now. the goal is to continue expanding Brand Affinity into "a one-stop shop for all things celebrity." Steelberg said.
[Sidebar]
Steelberg: 2011 sales projected at $30 million to 335 million, "depending on how the world shakes out"
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