It's a blog that has not launched (but will soon), some digital content (that should emerge in the spring) and an outlet that might find an audience.Right now, though, ESPN's latest brand -- espnW -- remains in its infancy.
The all-sports giant refers to espnW as its "new women's brand" and a retreat this past weekend in Southern California marked its first building-block moment with a panel discussion featuring big-name women's athletes and former athletes.
ESPN officials also invited members of the online sports community -- bloggers -- to the event. It was a wise move, because for what will be a niche brand will need the buzz and support of the existing community to survive. Some of that emerged through some thoughtful analysis. But, the retreat also prompted some other strong responses and differing expectations.
With ESPN's track record, a niche, and maybe more, seems possible for espnW. A separate TV network seems unlikely -- at least anytime soon -- simply because barely enough quality content exits to program the networks ESPN already maintains.
Still, it's really not ESPN's commitment or the response of advertisers that will impact the development of the brand most. Oh, those are necessary things, but it's a safe bet that ESPN can find a way to make things work financially, at least at the start.
Expectations and response will determine the brand's success beyond the initial period. In just the two blog posts linked above, the expectations and tone of the response to the brand clearly differ. Sometimes in a smaller, start-up brand/channel/endeavor, an unwillingness to compromise by those the product is supposed to serve can be the biggest problem of all.
ESPN might have a great brand in mind, an idea whose time has come, but that does not mean launching and maintaining it will be easy.