UWG ANNOUNCES LAUNCH OF NIL PROGRAM – THE NILE TO DRIVE EQUITY AND EMPOWERMENT FOR BLACK COLLEGE ATHLETES WITH NIL INVESTMENTS
Student Athlete NIL Joins as Partner to Support Career Mobility and Readiness Efforts
College Football Athlete Chase Griffin to Serve as Student Athlete Executive in Residence
NEW YORK (October 18, 2021) – UniWorld Group (UWG), the nation’s longest-standing multicultural advertising and marketing agency, today launched The NILE (name, image, likeness, empowerment), a new sports business consulting unit that partners with major brands to maximize the equity and empowerment impact of their NIL investments. The unit will guide brands in all facets of NIL including equitable ad investment allocation, pricing, content creation and distribution, as well as developing robust programs to provide mentorship, and other industry support for Black college athletes in the development of their platforms through name, image, likeness activities.
Joining forces with UWG as a strategic partner is Student Athlete NIL (SANIL), an agency of record dedicated to working with brands and student-athletes in the new frontier of NIL. UWG also welcomes Chase Griffin, a UCLA QB and student leader, to the team as Student Athlete Executive in Residence where he will serve as an adviser and provide his intellect and authentic insights on the student-athlete experience.
“For Black college athletes like Chase Griffin this moment represents a generational empowerment opportunity that will jump start the engine of economic mobility for their families,” said Monique Nelson, Chair & CEO, UWG. “Through UWG’s The NILE practice we can empower Black student-athletes to pursue and properly manage NIL opportunities.”
UWG’s enduring partnerships with leading brands uniquely qualifies the agency to facilitate marketing opportunities on any level—national, regional, hyper-local or niche sports. Brands can execute campaigns leveraging student-athletes in real time. Brands will also be able to capitalize off cultural moments in the world of college athletics as they happen and establish themselves as relevant mainstays in those conversations. UWG has unique relationships and insights on the Black college-athlete experience and understanding of the on-ramp empowerment support they need to fully realize this opportunity.
“Investing in NIL of college athletes represents a great return on investment opportunity for brands. We are proven value creators,” said Chase Griffin. “College athletes can partner with brands to combine the drive, discipline, and focus that got us to this point and create a new, equitable, and purpose-driven future.”
UWG’s The NILE consulting practice will provide opportunities for content creation, equity building through investment, career mobility and readiness and connecting these partnerships to communities for positive change. UWG and SANIL are working together to bring to life new properties, events and initiatives that will allow student-athletes to partner with brands that can help them leverage their influence to build a better future for everyone they touch.
“Never before has there been an opportunity to partner with individuals who have the unique ability that student-athletes do to build brand awareness and convert new customers through a unique blend of national and hyper-localized influencer marketing,” said Jason Belzer, CEO of SANIL. “We’re incredibly excited to team up with UWG to ensure that all of our brand partners will enter the NIL space equipped with the knowledge, data and insights necessary to take full advantage of one of the greatest arbitrage opportunities in marketing history.”
To celebrate the launch of the new consulting unit, UWG will host a session at Advertising Week New York 2021 on Monday, October 18 titled “Name, Image, Likeness, Equity and Empowerment” with UWG’s Monique Nelson and SANIL’s Jason Belzer discussing the NIL opportunity and impact for brands, advertisers, and college athletes.