FOR SALE! 15 Minutes of Fame!
Imagine yourself out on the fairway, it's a hot day and your hands are unusually sweaty. You calculate your shot, pull back and swing! It's perfect! Well, it would've been if your club hadn't gone flying up into a tree.What if you could have this moment immortalized on camera? Well, maybe you wouldn't want to see it on film, but it sure would be funny.
Howdy Letzring realized this potential humor and sidesplitting entertainment value in golf about 20 years ago. He was a tennis pro in California pioneering in video lessons, and also conducting conventions for corporate executives during the events, then played it back at a cocktail party that night. The executives really got a kick out of seeing themselves in action. Letzring thought, "Wow, if I could find a way to jazz this up and package it as a product, people would pay for this."
Well, he was right, and the Wild World of Sports was born.
The Wild World of Sports is a television sports entertainment entity specializing in on-site video production of golf outing such as PGA Tour pro-ams, and social/business events in a corporate atmosphere. Basically, it has evolved into a marketing director's dream that uses sports event video as an extended profit-making center for its corporate clients. The program creates moments of fame for the valued associates of the sponsor by putting them on camera and making them a source of entertainment.
Letzring goes to a golf tournament, takes footage, and has brief interviews with the players. Then he and his editing team create a video that showcases the best and most comical moments of the day. The show includes music, bloopers, candid interviews, and even a sand-trap segment, complete with "Mr. Sandman" playing in the background.
The real marketing merit lies in the sponsorship of the videos. After the tournament, usually at an awards ceremony, the video is aired for all attendees. These attendees receive a copy of the DVD as a keepsake. The name of the sponsor is featured on this DVD, and there is a light informational segment about the sponsor's product as well.
Many people ask why the attendees would want to own this DVD, and watch it more than once. The answer lies in Letzring's inherent talent for entertaining. He makes the video fun, lays down the perfect soundtrack, and has a unique talent for making people relax and appear witty on camera. Letzring says this quality is his most important skill.
Since Letzring often creates comedy by poking fun, he has to be able to judge who will be receptive and who won't.
"I try to blend in for a while, and get a feel for the personalities I'll be dealing with," says Letzring. "People with no sense of humor are no big deal. Some people just have starch in their underwear, but there are more sandwiches in the buffet and I just move on."
Fortunately, Letzring says that nasty people are very uncommon and most of the golfers he interviews are easygoing, even the celebrities.
Letzring frequents the professional golf tour's pro-ams, so he is no stranger to the nation's top golfers. He has interviewed Tiger many times, and describes him as "super-nice". He has also interviewed Phil Mickelson, Arnold Palmer and Ernie Els. The list of celebrities with whom he has worked is not exclusive to golfers, and includes famous sports figures like Rusty Wallace, Michael Waltrip and Joe Namath. But Letzring has to be careful about how he approaches these figures. He says he never goes to the assistant, but directly to the person. "After all," says Letzring, "these are just human beings like you and me and they just wanted to be treated that way."
To every man's envy, Letzring's most recent celebrity run-in was at the Espy Awards, where he greeted superstars on the red carpet. Notably, Joe Namath, Jessica Simpson, Joe Theisman, and TV stars from shows like Desperate Housewives. Letzring and the Wild World of Sports team went to the Espy's charity golf event and worked their camera magic there. The after-party was at Playboy Mansion, where Letzring showed the finished product to a very good-looking crowd.
With all of this exposure, Letzring has little need for large-scale advertising. He relies mostly on the three R's - relationships, referrals and renewals. After a long, successful career, Letzring realizes that the most important aspect of his business is the ability to build and nurture positive relationships.
The Wild World of Sports also builds clientele with a high-tech website, which Letzring affectionately calls "my $25,000 brochure." The website features video samples of some of Letzring's best interviews, and a list of satisfied clients, testimonials and photo slideshows of his past events.
The Wild World of Sports is a unique product that no other company can offer, and Letzring has discovered a large demand for the product in a small, specific market. Together that adds up to a nice success story for Wild World of Sports, and for a guy who smiles throughout his work day.
"Not many people can weave this story," he says. "It's just a sickness that I have."
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