The Inevitable 2022 Pros Switching Sponsors Thread

[SaROCaM]

In 2021 was he ever on chase or lead card in a major tournament? I'm honestly asking. Feature card doesn't count imo.

Quick search: round 2 Idlewild chase card, tied for 4th after round 1.

Unless you are talking about Majors with a capital M.

 

[Flick Maniac]

How far down the list do you expect players to be substantively (more than some free discs) sponsored ?

Do you expect the top 25 to be sponsored ?

How about the top 50 ?

With respect to the gentleman parting ways with DD, when I look at his 2021 finishes, on average, he finishes in 38th place.

I first did it raw (37th), then noodled with the numbers, dropped his 2 A-Tiers (1st place and 36th place), which rendered 39th, then also dropped his best and worst finish across the NTs+USDGC, then 38th.

So on average, 10th card.

Not really trying to focus on him, but if you are running a disc company (manufacturer or retailer), you do have to look at ROI, so can not spend too much money unless it pays you back in some discernible way.

If someone is not on the top cards and making it onto Jomez and Gatekeeper vids throwing rad shots where the mold gets called out, then you need to bring something else to the game that disc golfers can relate to and spend a few bucks on.

Which gentleman is this? Any reason why he couldnt have been named?

I assume he is not Voldemort

 

[biscoe]

Which gentleman is this? Any reason why he couldnt have been named?

I assume he is not Voldemort

He is talking about Eric Oakley.

 

[jdm0514]

Quick search: round 2 Idlewild chase card, tied for 4th after round 1.

Unless you are talking about Majors with a capital M.

Man how could I've forgotten 2nd round cause card coverage!? I'm sure verdicts we're flying off the shelves in August.

 

[mj20300]

These threads every year are my favorite!

 

[Flick Maniac]

He is talking about Eric Oakley.

I know. I was just wondering why. Often discussion is easier if you dont _______ words.

On a related topic, is there a topic or an article tracking pros who changed sponsors the previous offseason, and how they fared? I just got to thinking after seeing Thomas Gilbert on some ad for whatever. Havent got hard data but I feel he hasnt been nowhere near where he was last year.

 

[EllEstar]

Man how could I've forgotten 2nd round cause card coverage!? I'm sure verdicts we're flying off the shelves in August.

I mean, you asked.

 

[foxdawg10]

I know. I was just wondering why. Often discussion is easier if you dont _______ words.

On a related topic, is there a topic or an article tracking pros who changed sponsors the previous offseason, and how they fared? I just got to thinking after seeing Thomas Gilbert on some ad for whatever. Havent got hard data but I feel he hasnt been nowhere near where he was last year.

I'm not sure if I am answering your question or not. Thomas Gilbert won almost $8,000 more in 2021 than in 2020, and his player rating went up around 10 points from beginning of last year to end of this year. There may be other metrics but those seem like the most obvious and readily available. His social media presence and just people becoming aware of who he is has also grown this year (ie his unplanned appearances on OTB skins and such) for whatever that is worth.

 

[glassila]

Which gentleman is this? Any reason why he couldnt have been named?

I assume he is not Voldemort

While Oakley can be loud and wacky there seems to be a positive vibe/charm about him which I like.

Can't say the same for Voldemort. Or Locastro for that matter, but they both have their followers.

 

[acrosley]

I could see Oakley and Infinite being a good match. He'd be solid doing product review type videos for them.

I'm curious to what the 5 or 10 year plan is for Infinite though. They are basically taking Discmania's place under the Innova umbrella. You'd have to assume they encourage their sponsored players to throw their molds, but allow open bags. That's a good move from a retailer's perspective, because regardless of what they're throwing you carry it and can sell it. If you're filling out your own lineup though won't you eventually want to have your players exclusively throwing your stuff? And will they get to the same point where Discmania did, and get handcuffed by Innova's production?

It just seems like the retailer and disc brand combo will eventually conflict itself as things grow. Dynamic sold other brands online for a while then went exclusively trilogy. I've not been to one of their shops in person, but others have indicated they carry non trilogy brands in store though.

Oakley doing disc reviews is something I didn't know I wanted until now so hopefully that comes to fruition.

As far as Infinite and Innova goes I was under the impression a lot of their molds were the same anyway. Exodus being a restamped Eagle-L being the first example that comes to mind. But you're right that as they grow they be seen more as competition instead of supplemental

 

[autocrosscrx]

I'm not sure if I am answering your question or not. Thomas Gilbert won almost $8,000 more in 2021 than in 2020, and his player rating went up around 10 points from beginning of last year to end of this year. There may be other metrics but those seem like the most obvious and readily available. His social media presence and just people becoming aware of who he is has also grown this year (ie his unplanned appearances on OTB skins and such) for whatever that is worth.

Earnings is probably a bit misleading, given that COVID shut down things for like 3-4 months in 2020.

It feels like he was on more coverage in 2020, but significantly more content in 2021.

 

[foxdawg10]

Earnings is probably a bit misleading, given that COVID shut down things for like 3-4 months in 2020.

It feels like he was on more coverage in 2020, but significantly more content in 2021.

Maybe, it seems subjective, unless there were a way to measure it. I just really started watching the OTB skins matches this year, really had no idea who he was until then.

 

[autocrosscrx]

Maybe, it seems subjective, unless there were a way to measure it. I just really started watching the OTB skins matches this year, really had no idea who he was until then.

Looks like he had a pair of 2nds at Silver Series events in 2020.

 

[dehaas]

Oakley doing disc reviews is something I didn't know I wanted until now so hopefully that comes to fruition.

As far as Infinite and Innova goes I was under the impression a lot of their molds were the same anyway. Exodus being a restamped Eagle-L being the first example that comes to mind. But you're right that as they grow they be seen more as competition instead of supplemental

Dude has been around for a while, and even though some people find him a bit over the top he's a fairly smooth speaker. Being around for a while translates to he's seen, felt, and probably thrown a lot of plastic. Get him to channel the energy to the right place (I can say that having pretty severe ADHD, as evident by my marathon posts lol) and I think it's a winner. Infinite has the advantage because at that point he can review any disc from any manufacturer.

People knew him from DD as a face for their brand, not necessarily as a pro hired gun. Other companies have "winners" sponsored who are there to move plastic and pretty much do nothing else. Certain situations it works, win and just be good (Ricky a couple years ago). To be fair he's gotten a lot better in interviews and I think is finally embracing himself as an individual and not as Paul's competition.

EO was himself at DD love or hate…I'm just saying I think he has a fair amount of dg knowledge and some charisma that will work on camera. Let's be honest, how bad do y'all wanna punch yourself in the junk when you see a review mention "it holds any line you put it on"?

Marketing cliche 101…double tap junk punch for a "grow the sport" in the same video.

Hot take: EO is a visionary ahead of the double tap junk punch bell curve.

 

[Flick Maniac]

Earnings is probably a bit misleading, given that COVID shut down things for like 3-4 months in 2020.

It feels like he was on more coverage in 2020, but significantly more content in 2021.

Yeah that is pretty the only thing I based it upon. Feel from seeing him on coverage. Data seems to point otherwise.

Nikko has been doing better 2 years with Westside now than previous to that.

Voldemort is always trending too.

 

[EllEstar]

Earnings is probably a bit misleading, given that COVID shut down things for like 3-4 months in 2020.

It feels like he was on more coverage in 2020, but significantly more content in 2021.

Maybe. He had 1 more round on coverage in 2020 compared to 2021 (8 vs 7, Jomez, Gatekeeper, GK Pro and CCDG), but it was almost all silver series or off-tour events, whereas it was almost all elite series this year.

 

[Coldpunk]

Oakley announcement coming tomorrow. He mentioned it on his morning coffee YouTube live show yesterday.

 

[Tyler V]

Looks like it's going to indeed by Infinite.

 

[BuiltTooLong]

Ben Callaway will be sticking with Team Discraft and Team Ledgestone. Tomorrow at 6:00 CST he is introducing his own personal brand. Fresh logo with Z Zones, ESP Buzzz, ESP Zones, and special run of CryZtal Glo Raptors along with hoodies, polos and hats.

If you've noticed during the tour, Ben has always been supporting his fellow team members wearing Hailstorm, Uli, McBeth hats, so it's cool to see him with his own now. The hats with the new logo and the sweatshirts with the Neon Bar light logo look fantastic.

 

[foxdawg10]

Ben Callaway will be sticking with Team Discraft and Team Ledgestone. Tomorrow at 6:00 CST he is introducing his own personal brand. Fresh logo with Z Zones, ESP Buzzz, ESP Zones, and special run of CryZtal Glo Raptors along with hoodies, polos and hats.

If you've noticed during the tour, Ben has always been supporting his fellow team members wearing Hailstorm, Uli, McBeth hats, so it's cool to see him with his own now. The hats with the new logo and the sweatshirts with the Neon Bar light logo look fantastic.

Very cool. Can you post a link of provide a source? Or do we just need to wait until tomorrow?