MMAJunkie Article - 03.23.2009

MMAjunkie.com Fight Biz: New Wall Fighter product hopes to stick with fans

If you’ve ever wanted to hang out at your house with Urijah Faber, now’s your chance.

WOW Sportz has launched a line of life-size photo decals that turn an ordinary wall into a life-like shrine of your favorite fighter. The company is the first to develop fighter wall decals, a concept popularized by Fathead, which produces similar products for stick-and-ball sports and the entertainment genre.

The Wall Fighters line was the brainchild of Greg DeLong, who joined WOW Sportz as a sales rep last year and brought with him a passion for mixed martial arts as both a fan and host of an MMA talk show on a Reno, Nev. radio station. Company owners signed off on DeLong’s idea and produced Wall Fighters in January, with Faber, Scott Smith, Diego Sanchez, James Irvin and Brandon Vera among the stable of fighters whose decals are available to adorn fight fans’ walls.

“Not only does the Wall Fighter product provide an outlet for MMA fans to express their devotion to the sport, their purchase will directly benefit their favorite fighters,” DeLong, who’s now director of marketing for WOW’s Wall Fighter division, told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). “The fighters receive a generous endorsement fee every time one of their decals is purchased. We want to make money with the fighters, not off of the fighters, and we take great pride in that.”

With a limited marketing budget at launch, DeLong said initial sales have been slow. However, with additional product visibility and more fighters signing on, DeLong feels the decals fill a niche in the MMA merchandise category.

“It’s going to be a huge product,” he said. “Everyone we talk to in the MMA industry says we’ve got a great concept. We just have to get the word out there. The way MMA fans are, once the word gets out there, I think we’ll benefit from the viral effect. … Fans will pass it along to their friends and get people going to the site. And, on our end, we have to get some more names up there.”

Since the January launch, WOW has signed its first female fighter, Tara LaRosa, and added Chael Sonnen.

The primary Wall Fighter graphic, the “jumbo” size, is six feet by three feet and is made with industrial grade, fade-resistant vinyl. It’s designed for both indoor and outdoor use and can be placed and taken down repeatedly without losing adhesion. The decal retails for $149.95 on the WOW Sportz website (www.wallfighters.com). The company also created three other sizes, including a one foot by one foot application for small spaces, such as an office. Each graphic comes with the fighter pose and his or her name.

WOW Sportz is facing some limitations on the fighters it can sign due to licensing agreements. For example, any fighter under contract with Zuffa, which has signed a merchandising agreement with the company, is off limits to WOW.

“Right now, we haven’t run in to anybody that has signed that merchandising agreement,” said DeLong. “What we have in our contract is that we have the right to do this specific type of product. We’re not all-encompassing. We chose to go directly to managers and fighters because of the percentages we are paying out to the fighters. I’m a fan of the sport, and I would like to see those fighters make money because it’s a high-risk sport, and their careers aren’t going to go forever. Hopefully, we can help them capitalize in a time period when they are … to make some extra money.”

Fighters receive a percentage of the retail price of every sale, and while DeLong wouldn’t disclose specifics, he said the fighter, not the Independence, Mo.-based company, actually makes the most money on each individual sale.

WOW also has a hand in helping fighters market their decals.

“We provide fighters a link that they can put on their website or MySpace page that goes directly into the online store to purchase that fighter,” DeLong said. “If somebody is on the fighter’s website, we want the fighter to get that benefit because that’s their customer.”

While WOW is continuing to focus on signing additional top-flight fighters to expand the line, it also plans to add K-1 fighters to its roster in the coming months.