Abramson, 37, rode Sega's growth from $70 million in sales to $1.6 billion; last year, after stints at Disney, Ice Capades and the Harlem Globetrotters, he gave up the corporate fast lane to open his own sports/entertainment marketing firm, VISIONWORKS, in a historic building in downtown Lakeland, not far from his wife's hometown of Winter Haven.
VISIONWORKS isn't an advertising agency, says Abramson. Instead, the firm makes marketing deals, finding ways to promote one company with the help of another. Abramson specializes in matching consumer businesses with entertainment/sporting products. For example, he might arrange for a community aquarium to paint its logo on the revolving drums of a local cement company's trucks. The aquarium gets publicity while the cement company might get free tickets to distribute to customers and suppliers. Who pays? If the aquarium is a hot property, the cement company might pay a licensing fee to use the logo. On the other hand, if the aquarium is struggling, it might pay the cement company a fee for displaying its logo in addition to providing the free tickets.
For now, Abramson works primarily with national clients, including Sega, the Fox network, Philips Electronics N.V., Excite (the Internet search engine) and Universal Studios New Media. He's paid by whoever hires him to find and execute the deal - either an hourly "idea generating" fee, a flat amount to help launch a specific product, a percentage of the company's potential earnings or, in some cases, a retainer.
With Florida companies, Abramson faces a number of challenges, including his firm's name. Most Floridians think that VISIONWORKS is where they get their eyes examined and buy glasses. "We get all the calls," chuckles Abramson, who picked the name when he lived in San Francisco, where there are no Visionworks eye wear retailers.
In addition, it hasn't been easy to sell VISIONWORKS as a Florida player, although Abramson is actively seeking Florida clients. The firm's letterhead - it has offices in San Francisco and Chicago, maintaining informal contacts in Los Angeles, New York and Orlando - reinforces the image of a national firm more interested in landing a client in Boston than in Bartow.
Finally, Abramson says Florida companies have been slow to accept the idea that they don't have to spend millions of dollars to make a deal with an entertainment or sports vehicle. The trick, he says, is to identify the next hot property and establish a partnership early on - the way he did in establishing early ties to Fox and Nickelodeon. "You don't have to have Jurassic Park," he asserts. "Find the TV show, video game, sports franchise that you can embrace and build a long-term relationship."
Where are tomorrow's opportunities? "Single-A ball," says Abramson resolutely. Grocery chains, for example, could promote their store brands with Florida State League baseball teams such as the Brevard County Manatees, Fort Myers Miracle, Kissimmee Cobras and 11 others in Florida. Players might appear on store brand packaging, in advertising and in person at special events. Customers who purchase store brand items might get free or discounted baseball tickets and baseball-related merchandise.
After 15 years of promotional deal making, Abramson is convinced that marketing alliances are more cost-effective than traditional advertising. "We're not believers in spending massive amounts of money," he says. "Make sure you get $20 million in value for $10 million."