Rivals marketing director leaves
Rivals Digital Media marketing director Chris Reed is leaving the company to set up his own sports and consumer marketing consultancy, Chris Reed Marketing (CRM).
Reed, who has been marketing director of Rivals for two years, launched the Rivals.net brand in 2000 as the “definitive fans’ brand”. It now encompasses 92 individual English football club websites.
When Rivals.net merged with 365 Corporation’s sports websites in December 2001, Reed became marketing director of the new company, Rivals Digital Media. This included Football365.com – which has recently been rebranded – as well as PlanetRugby.com, PlanetF1.com and the recently launched Golf365.com.
Reed, who previously held marketing posts at Times Newspapers, H Bauer Publishing, EMAP Radio and Hammersmith Odeon, comments: “I have always wanted to set up my own sports and consumer marketing consultancy.”
Rivals chief executive Richard Pembroke says Reed “has played a significant part in building our brands to market-leading status, and leaves with our thanks and best wishes for his future projects.”
The UK’s sports website market has been contracting of late, with the future of Sports.com in question and a number of other other sites no longer in existence.
Rivals Digital Media is 40 per cent owned by Chrysalis, 40 per cent by 365 Corporation and 20 per cent by the directors. Its revenues come largely from content syndication to websites such as Tiscali and Freeserve, and it also provides SMS text alerts for customers of Carphone Warehouse.
