Community, Content, and Creativity. Three simple words that capture what makes Jomboy Media valuable, and an attractive choice for current and potential marketers. On Tuesday, the popular sports brand showcased its talent, and family style appeal to partners and potential clients at its inaugural Upfront. Slate in New York City served as the venue, a cool space which perfectly matched the company’s vibe.
Chris Rose kicked things off, welcoming attendees, and sharing how special the brand has been to his career. Rose talked about the one-way approach on linear television, and the difference that exists at Jomboy where audiences actively engage with the brand’s talent, shows, and advertising partners. Following Rose’s remarks, a sizzle reel played highlighting the brand’s power, growth, and advertising integrations. That set the stage for COO Courtney Hirsch.
Hirsch explained how a backyard competition with her sister, created by co-founder Jimmy O’Brien, served as the blueprint for The Warehouse Games. The company is bullish on its long-term opportunities with blitzball, slapball, floorball, and ball in play, hinting at television playing a bigger role in the future. Jomboy currently partners with Bally Sports to air multiple one-hour episodes across its 17 regional sports networks and app.
Jimmy O’Brien and Jake Storiale were next to speak, joining Chris Rose for a discussion about the brand’s evolution. Jomboy’s co-founders talked about their vast array of programming, the birth of The Warehouse Games, and how they’ve earned trust and loyalty from fans. O’Brien remarked that Jomboy’s audience values what they say, and what they sell. A slide then showed examples of how fans rally behind their advertisers. Millions follow Jomboy across multiple platforms, appreciating the company’s origin story. There’s a ‘you support our friends and show, and we’ll support you too’ vibe from the outlet’s fanbase.
We Got Ice featuring Jack and Zo were next. After referring to themselves as the younger, taller version of Jomboy’s co-founders, the popular duo detailed why they wanted to join Jomboy, and how they produce video material for different age groups and platforms. Nearly one million follow the duo on TikTok, and hundreds of thousands more do so on Instagram and YouTube, many in younger demos. Jack and Zo also shared their approach to incorporating clients into their content. Their Shady Rays commercial for instance is a catchy jingle that provided proof of how Jomboy’s community engages in conversation about their content and advertising associations.
Additional videos showcased Jomboy’s football content, trivia, events, and huge association with Major League Baseball. O’Brien explained how the digital space was wide open when Jomboy first entered it. His shared love and passion for baseball with Storiale, and ability to deliver breakdowns immediately caught on with fans. The popularity of those breakdowns allowed Jomboy to create branded content for advertisers including a laser eye surgery partnership centered around content connected to umpires with bad eyesight.
Jomboy’s baseball connection has seen numerous baseball players unite with the outlet over the years. David Cone, Ian Happ, Jerry Blevins, and Aaron Boone are just a few of the names who’ve been involved. In fact, the New York Yankees manager exited a weekly deal with WFAN to team up with the brand. Chris Rose also joined the group after his run at MLB Network. Trevor Plouffe took the plunge as well after his 9-year MLB career came to a close.
Plouffe joined O’Brien, Storiale, and Rose to address why he wanted to join the company. He said that he and his teammates would watch Rose and Kevin Millar on MLB Network’s ‘Intentional Talk’, and loved how much fun they had talking baseball. Other MLB shows like it though didn’t exist. Once Plouffe learned of Jomboy Media, he was hooked, and wanted to be a part of it. Storiale then shared details of their first meeting with the former third baseman, acknowledging that the chemistry was instant. Plouffe had been creating content ideas in his notes folder on his phone, and would send them along. It became clear, he’d be a great fit for the brand.
The talent, shows, distribution, engagement, and sponsorship integrations were the main focus, but a few things Rose said perfectly described why Jomboy appeals to advertisers. In addition to being a brand safe fit with a strong community connection, Jomboy lives by two rules: staying true to who they are, and putting their community first. It allows them to unite their staff to creatively support partners, and selectively choose who they work with. They carry an underdog mentality, and appreciation for groups who invest in them. There’s a sincere quality to how they talk about partnerships, and wanting to help brands grow their businesses.
DraftKings, Seat Geek, Mountain Dew, Corona, Shady Rays, Captain Morgan, TMobile, and Gatorade are some of the brands Jomboy has worked with. VP of Sales Andrew Napolitano shared on stage that 90% of the company’s current clients have already renewed for 2025. Given their podcasting and video performances, massive social media following, and growing distribution of The Warehouse Games, more will likely follow suit.
At the start of the show, Chris Rose said that when brands partner with Jomboy, they become part of the family. The team pours its heart and soul into content creation to deliver results for their clients. Judging from Tuesday’s presentation, that isn’t just lip service. Jomboy Media is taking the next step, and hopes to bring more partners along for a memorable ride.
Jason Barrett is the President and Founder of Barrett Media since the company was created in September 2015. Prior to its arrival, JB served as a sports radio programmer, launching brands such as 95.7 The Game in San Francisco, and 101 ESPN in St. Louis. He also spent time programming SportsTalk 950 in Philadelphia, 590 The Fan KFNS in St. Louis, and ESPN 1340/1390 in Poughkeepsie, NY. Jason also worked on-air and behind the scenes in local radio at 101.5 WPDH, WTBQ 1110AM, and WPYX 106.5. He also spent two years on the national stage, producing radio shows for ESPN Radio in Bristol, CT. Among them included the Dan Patrick Show, and GameNight.
You can find JB on Twitter @SportsRadioPD. He’s also reachable by email at Jason@BarrettMedia.com.
