Dwayne De Rosario

Soccer Athlete Branding, Social Engagement, and Website

Challenge:

Facebook, Twitter and YouTube are the new standards in interacting with fans and followers online, opening the door in creating global recognition. An athlete or celebrity has nearly unlimited reach with these tools at their disposal, and can engage in unique and creative methods with individuals around the world.

Dwayne De Rosario, considered by many as the most clutch performer in the MLS, has earned countless accolades throughout his extensive career, including most recently, being named the 2011 MLS MVP with DC United. As a Toronto native, Dwayne, better known as Dero, has a strong following in his local community, however, outside this, his online presence lacked the impact that a player of his calibre should have. Searching for an opportunity to further build his digital persona, Dero engaged Clearoute Media Inc. - a leader in digital/social media and brand development - to enhance the Dero brand and foster his image of a personable athlete with strong ties to his fans and community.

Solution:

Leveraging experience developing unique digital/social solutions for athletes and celebrities, Clearoute quickly envisioned a strategy to enhance Dero's global presence as a world-class athlete and an advocate for children's health, nutrition and education.

A multi-faceted approach reengineering Dero's Facebook and Twitter communications tactics combined with a comprehensive rebranding strategy to lift Dero to a globally recognized athlete were the foundation for Clearoute's social and digital media efforts. Under the umbrella brand 'Dero United', Clearoute reorganized Dero's various involvements into a unique and user friendly website. Facebook, Twitter and YouTube updates were fed directly to the website allowing Dero to communicate directly with his followers and allowing followers to access information, updates, and exclusive offers and content through a centralized hub.

Results:

Although the official DeroUnited website has yet to launch, a splash page was developed to capitalize on Dero's MVP announcement. On this day, over 260 unique users visited the site, with 50% being referred from Facebook and Twitter. With an average time on page of approximately 4 minutes overall and over 6 minutes on the day of, users were clearly using the site as a source for Dero updates and information. Clearoute's rebranding, PR and marketing strategy has been successful in uplifting the DeroUnited brand. With the help of an actively engaged and dedicated team at Clearoute, the refreshed brand has been placed prominently throughout MLS and Canadian National Team games.