Branding in a Digital Age

How things have changed in just twenty years. When the Warsaw Sports Marketing Center (WSMC) was founded in 1993, the web was in its infancy. These days, nearly the entire world is awash in a nonstop flow of digital information.

For those whose business is growing and defining athletes' public identities, this communication revolution offers opportunities and challenges that could hardly be imagined two decades ago.

Finding the best ways to harness these powerful new tools was the central theme of this year's Women in Sports Business Symposium. Titled "Branding Athletes in a Digital Age," the event brought a panel of five industry experts to the UO White Stag Block in Portland, Oregon.

What's the biggest challenge of this new environment? For attendee Elizabeth Brock, MBA '14, it's the fact the digital media never really goes away.

"We are no longer just branding athletes for today and tomorrow, we are branding them for life," said Brock. "Anything we say and do will be added to a cumulative brand portfolio that will shape the image and perception of an athlete."

Download the event program and view video interviews with WSMC managing director Paul Swangard, senior instructor Whitney Wagoner, and Jess Zutz, MBA '13, a codirector of this year's symposium.