Expansion plans for the Imagination Agency
Bennett’s agency has slowly grown since its inception, and it now employs four full-time staffers including a project manager, a chief finance officer and a “jack of all trades” who he compares to an NFL tight end. He also outsources much of the “heavy lifting” to freelance creatives, in part because of the demands of his day job.
“I’m never not working at Imagination Agency, so it keeps me balanced,” Bennett said, adding that most of the work itself occurs during the offseason, thereby leaving time for feedback, edits and revisions during the six-plus months from training to postseason.
Beyond the multi-platform A.J. series, Bennett also plans to introduce a new character who will inhabit a separate world.
He does not, however, plan to turn The Imagination Agency into a traditional marketing shop. “I would do some projects with major companies that will underwrite the costs of what I’m doing,” he said, expressing interest in Samsung’s virtual reality efforts. “But I don’t see myself being an agency you can hire to do work for you or come up with campaigns. I’d rather keep all the good ideas to myself.”
This is in keeping with his general approach to sponsorships, which he sums up with, “I’m not a guy who holds up a product and says, ‘Drink this.’”
Toys and clothes and comics, oh my
The Imagination Agency has already moved beyond the digital world.
Bennett recently released a comic book titled Towel Boy chronicling the adventures of a young man who works on the sidelines of a pro football team. He also helped design a line of 10-inch vinyl toy figures called Skydiver McGuire that are based on his alter ego along with a line of children’s clothing for Mimobee. (He said that he was interested in fashion design as a childhood hobby.)
“We’ll be able to put out more projects next year with more content and more characters,” he said. “Right now it’s about gaining trust for the brand with parents and kids.”
Future projects include a “pack” of football-themed GIFs created in collaboration with the Giphy app and released under his nickname, The Black Unicorn. He also recently recorded a song with fellow father and entrepreneur Snoop Dogg.
Bennett says his ultimate goal is serving as a role model to young black Americans—but not through his football stardom.
Noting that he writes as “Marty” rather than using his full name, he said, “I’d probably sell more books as Martellus Bennett, but I’d rather people just like the work and know me for the characters I created. I’ve put a lot of work into [pro football] and I should be known for it, but there’s something about creating something from the ground up.”
He then added, “This is what I want to do for the rest of my life.”
Article Appeared @http://www.adweek.com/creativity/heres-whats-next-for-martellus-bennett-the-nfls-most-creative-entrepreneur/
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