| Marketing designed to target sporting events began thousands of years before sports marketing giants International Marketing Group (IMG) and Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG) came on the scene. This art of creativity, pomposity and calculated risk has evolved dramatically over the years and shows no signs of slowing down any time soon.; Athletes who are intelligent enough to manage their public personas with class and, sometimes a little sex appeal, can often earn more endorsement money than the salaries they receive playing the very sports that made them famous. As communication and media changed over the centuries, especially in the last century, the sports industry rapidly grew into a multi-billion dollar industry.; Athletes who were formerly present in the media competing against others for fame and fortune now have their private lives in the spotlight as well. This media exposure can affect trades, play-time, endorsements and public relations for an entire team positively and negatively.; The relationship between media, fame and image takes on a new meaning as new media venues become available. As Andre' Agassi once suggested in a Canon camera commercial, "Image is everything". This is true now more than ever before. |
