The Real Value of Sports Commissions, A Perfect Customer Apology and a Looming Retail Bubble

Each week, we sift through a ton of content and then debate it ad nauseam at FEVO HQ. And since good content, like the mind, is a terrible thing to waste, we are also sharing it here with you, our fans, in the form of this weekly blog post on e-commerce, media and life on the internet.

Sportico: Sports commissions don’t just boost tourism. They build communities.
Sports commissions are essentially tourism boards for attracting big-time sporting events to a location. Ingrid Wicker McCree, chair of the Durham Sports Commission Board of Directors, discusses the importance of such commissions as relates to local economies, and backs it up with astonishing numbers: “The sports tourism industry in 2021 generated a total economic impact of $91.8 billion, supported 635,000 jobs and produced $12.9 billion in taxes in the United States.” [Read more]

FastCompany: The era of DTC startups is over. Here’s what the next generation of retail will look like.
Research suggests that companies are increasingly hesitant to take on exorbitant funding in favor of slow growth and creating a product that consumers organically connect with, especially Gen Z. Selling products direct-to-consumer (no middleman, etc.) is thus fading in popularity, as founders want to meet their consumers where they shop. This goes hand in hand with needing less funding, since there’s a decreased reliance on expensive social and search ads. [Read more]

WSJ: What happened when the olive oil startup apologized
The trendy olive oil startup Graza had a handful of issues fulfilling orders during the holidays. Not unusual at all, especially in the days of supply-chain issues. What was unusual was how the CEO responded: by sending out a heartfelt email about the mistakes the company made and how they would fix them. “All you need to do is dig deep, reflect on all the things in marketing and brand communication that piss you off, and do the exact opposite,” The CEO said, which we frankly think is great advice for anyone looking to add a more human touch to their business. [Read more]

And a few more nuggets of assorted internet wisdom …

Messi, Ronaldo and the post-World Cup pursuit of commercial supremacy (The Athletic)

You can try makeup online before you buy it thanks to this woman entrepreneur (Forbes)

Big ideas in tech for 2023 (Andreessen Horowitz)

Disney is making it easier for its most loyal customers to visit its theme parks (CNBC)

The requirements for all the teams in the new MLS Apple deal (Pablo Iglesias Maurer)

The best places to work in 2023 (Glassdoor)

ELLE announces the debut of "ELLE Hospitality", a new global hotel venture set to premiere in 2022 (Hospitality Net)

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