In the midst of an unstable economy, one North Carolina-based company is thriving with a product line that appeals to both collectors and fans.
Replay Photos , a company staffed with 15 sports-lovers and run by former Duke women’s basketball player Sue Hartnett, began in 2003 with an idea stemming from filing cabinets in Duke University’s Cameron Indoor Stadium. That idea – to license sports photography and sell it to consumers online – has blossomed into a multimillion dollar business.
Historically, Replay Photos has partnered with the top professional and collegiate teams to bring the best sports imagery to consumers. The company’s website offers hundreds of high quality photos, framed and unframed, from games of the recent past. There are also historic photos available. Prices, especially for the unframed photos, are reasonable enough that the average order has been around $150 for several of the high quality, fully licensed photographs. The company works with over 150 universities, the NFL, NBA, MLL, MLS, Getty Images, Sports Illustrated, the Associated Press, the NCAA, National Geographic, and Bonnier Publishing.
Most recently, Replay Photos secured the exclusive GigaPixel FanCam technology license for college and professional sports in North America.
The FanCam is a 360 degree, 5 billion pixel social media engagement platform. It combines the latest in GigaPixel technology with customized new media solutions to create a one-of-a-kind immersive experience for fans, whether or not they attended the game or event. Fans who were at the game can literally zoom in on themselves, no matter where they were sitting, and order a print.
“Through our relationship with the Pittsburgh Steelers, we were introduced to a technology group from Cape Town, South Africa,” said Hartnett, Replay Photos’ President and Founder. “The 2010 AFC Championship game at Heinz Field was the first FanCam to integrate photographic merchandise and allow fans to buy commemorative photos of themselves on the scoreboard. In addition, fans experienced the opportunity to tag themselves in the 360 degree image, and could share with friends via email, Facebook and twitter (you can see it in action here).
“This is truly an exciting juncture for our company,” Harnett concluded. “To add the FanCam to our list of deliverables is a significant addition. It’s a captivating technology that allows our brands to take one more step in the direction of thoroughly understanding their fan base.”
The company has dozens of photos already posted from week one of the NFL season. You can get 10% off any order by entering code 69668 at Replay Photos website.
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