Creative Sports Strategies associates have worked with some of the largest participation sporting events in the U.S., and some of the most unique corporations and organizations. Our goal is to design sales promotions that generate results for our clients. Our focus is to bring companies together with organizations that offer an opportunity to build a long-lasting, self-sustaining partnership that is based on mutual benefit from increased product sales, marketing platforms and charitable initiatives. Manufacturers receive a vertical platform that incorporates their marketing department and sales force into an aggressive program that delivers measurable sales results to their own dealer or retail network. Event properties benefit from the added power of providing their sponsors with increased sales and in return receive increased promotional benefit. Professional athletes, celebrities and U.S. Olympians are incorporated into the sales promotions to enhance our client's marketing plan, and to increase consumer traffic in exhibits.
“Our business has grown more than 115% as a direct result of Creative Sports Strategies, and their aggressive campaign to bid our merchandising program to events nationwide. Creative Sports Strategies streamlined our program, enhanced it with unique sales promotions, and integrated an online direct marketing campaign that has not only saved our company money, but increased our sales to new customers.” – Kirk Kley, President, Water Marque Sports (Rockville, Maryland).
“We engaged Creative Sports Strategies to assist our efforts in promoting the 2008 Sony Open in Hawaii Friends Club Skybox. The results were very successful, and we will look forward to continuing this partnership in 2009 and beyond.” – Russell Luke, Director of Sales, Sony Open in Hawaii (Honolulu, Hawaii).
“We hired Creative Sports Strategies in a last-minute attempt to gain sponsorship for an educational clinic serving low-income communities. We gave them less than 3 weeks to obtain sponsors for the event, including a sponsor to provide equipment for inner city community recreation centers in Los Angeles. Not only did they meet the deadlines, but they exceeded the goals and were able to get prizes and gifts for the kids, equipment for the parks, and compiled valuable teaching manuals and publications through their work with sponsors in the sporting goods industry. They made the call, and the industry answered.” – Keith Cruickshank, Former Executive Director, Kids in Sports Los Angeles (Los Angeles, California).
“Exposing young volleyball players at Creative Sports Strategies’ events to the Mizuno Brand helps to develop a Mizuno customer for life. The coaches and the young girls who participate in these events, as well as their parents and other spectators, are all active, healthy consumers seeking the latest technology in the products they buy. Cross branding our diverse product line at these events gets kids and adults alike exposed to Mizuno running shoes, Mizuno baseball equipment, and Mizuno golf products.” – Ron Wayne, Former National Promotions Manager, Mizuno USA (Atlanta, Georgia).
Japanese students enjoy a day at the beach in Osaka.
Keihan/SMFG Japan Open Kids Clinic
USA Jr. Olympic Water Polo
Colorado Crossroads National Qualifier
United States Youth Volleyball League
Beach Volleyball Camps
Target KidCity Los Angeles
USYVL/Dain's Day at the Beach
Hawaii Int'l Film Festival
Tampa Bay Nat'l Qualifier
DMCVB Press Conference
Some of the events, organizations and companies we have been fortunate enough to collaborate with include:
ABC Sports ACP (Tokyo, Japan) American Airlines (Dallas, TX) American Volleyball Coaches Association - AVCA (Lexington, KY) Anheuser-Busch (St. Louis, MO) ASICS America Corporation (Irvine, CA) Aston Hotels & Resorts (Honolulu, HI) Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau AVP Pro Beach Volleyball Tour Bauerfeind U.S.A. (Atlanta, GA) Beach Volleyball America Pro Tour Bermuda Department of Tourism Bermuda Volleyball Association Big South National Volleyball Qualifier and Expo (Atlanta, GA) Brighton Entertainment (New York, NY) Chase the Stars Foundation Colorado Crossroads National Volleyball Qualifier and Expo (Denver, CO) Denver Convention & Visitors Bureau Enterprise Rent-a-Car Entertainment Industry Foundation (Los Angeles, CA) Federation Internationale de Natation Amateur - FINA (Lausanne, Switzerland) Federation Internationale de Volleyball - FIVB (Lausanne, Switzerland) Florida Beach Volleyball Tour (Fort Lauderdale, FL) Ford Motor Company (Detroit, MI) Friends of Hawaii Charities (Honolulu, HI) General Motors Hawaii Tourism Authority (Honolulu, HI) Hula Bowl Maui (Maui, HI) Indonesian Volleyball Federation (Jakarta, Indonesia) International Management Group International Swimming Hall of Fame (Fort Lauderdale, FL) Iwamitsu Sports (Miyasaki & Tokyo, Japan) Japan Volleyball Association John R. Wooden Awards (Los Angeles, CA) Jose Cuervo Kansas City Convention & Visitors Bureau Kehan Railway (Osaka, Japan) Kids In Sports Los Angeles (Los Angeles, CA) LA84 Foundation (Los Angeles, CA) Lawson Corporation (Osaka, Japan) Los Angeles Athletic Club (Los Angeles, CA) Madavor Media (Boston, MA) Mainichi Broadcast System (Osaka, Japan) Malulani Health Systems (Maui, HI) Maui Sports & Entertainment Commission (Maui, HI) Mateflex Sport Flooring (Utica, NY) May-Treanor O'hana Foundation Mercedes Championships at Kapalua Resort (Maui, HI) Mervyn's Beach Bash (Hermosa Beach, CA) Mikasa Sports U.S.A. (Irvine, CA) Miller Brewing Company (Milwaukee, WI) Mizuno U.S.A. (Atlanta, GA) Molten U.S.A. (Reno, NV) Momentum Media (Ithaca, NY) Morgan Advisory Group (Los Gatos, CA) National Collegiate Athletic Association - NCAA (Indianapolis, IN) NBC Sports Nfinity (Atlanta, GA) Nippon Sigmax, Co, Ltd. (Tokyo, Japan) Norwegian Cruise Lines (Miami, FL) Oakley Brasil (Rio de Janeiro, Brasil) Oakley Japan (Tokyo, Japan)' Outrigger Hotels & Resorts (Honolulu, HI) Pentangle Promotions (Bangkok, Thailand) Personalized Classics (Richmond, VA) PGA Tour Porter Athletic Pro-Motion Sports Marketing Progressive Sports Management (Denver, CO) Reunion Sports (Sao Paulo, Brasil) Riekes Center for Human Enhancement (Menlo Park, CA) Robbins Group Public Relations (Woodland Hills, CA) Roxy Athletix (Huntington Beach, CA) Russell Athletic Sigmax Europe (Metz-Tessy, France) San Jose Sports Authority Schelde Sports (Grand Rapids, MI) Solo-Spike (Minneapolis, MN) Sony Japan Sony Open of Hawaii Speedo (Los Angeles, CA) Spike-It-Up Volleyball Tour Sports Attack (Sparks, NV) Suzuki Motors Swatch FIVB World Tour (international) Tampa Bay Sports Commission Target Third Degree Sportswear (Huntington Beach, CA) Tournament of Roses Parade USA Racquetball USA Volleyball USA Water Polo VISA Vivo/Telefonica (Sao Paulo, Brasil) Volleyball Australia Volleyball Canada Water Marque Sports (Rockville, MD) Wells Fargo Bank (San Francisco, CA) Women's Sports Foundation (New York, NY) Women In Sports & Events (New York, NY) Zamst U.S.A. (Ontario, CA)
Kids in Sports (KIS) is a non-profit organization that was created to provide quality youth sports programs in communities in Los Angeles County that lack or offer few organized, instructional opportunities. The Amateur Athletic Foundation of Los Angeles (AAF) provided the original seed money for KIS in 1994, after conceiving of the sports club concepts in 1989. Kids in Sports currently operates 13 clubs with over 8,000 kids who participate in baseball, basketball, soccer, softball, swimming and volleyball. Creative Sports Strategies is pleased to provide volunteer support to the KIS Volleyball Clinics. In 2005, Lori Okimura, president of Creative Sports Strategies, was named to the Kids in Sports Board of Directors to serve alongside some of sport's greatest legends, including Olympic Gold Medalist, Rafer Johnson, IOC member Anita Defrantz, and basketball legend Ann Meyers among others.
The PFX Tour brings professional and amateur athletes together at tournaments so not only do young athletes get to compete, they get the opportunity to watch, learn and interact with their favorite stars at the same event. The PFX Tour offers packages that bring the amateur athletes, coaches and fans up close and personal to today's stars. The tour packages include Learn From the Pros, College Showcase Skill Session, Skill Comparisons, Pro-Am Skill Challenges and more! The PFX Tour also includes Photo and Autograph opportunities along with Meet & Greet the Pros sessions.
The Sinjin Smith & Randy Stoklos Beach Volleyball Camps take place annually at legendary Will Rogers State Beach in Pacific Palisades, California. Creative Sports Strategies was pleased to work in cooperation with the FIVB's "Greatest Team in Beach Volleyball History" to help develop the camps in its first founding years. Creative Sports Strategies provided marketing and administrative services for Beach Volleyball Camps in 2002 and 2003, and continues to provide expertise as advisors to the organization.
The United States Youth Volleyball League (USYVL) is the largest youth, grassroots volleyball organization in the U.S. Founded in 1997 by Randy Sapoznik, a former sporting goods industry executive, the USYVL operates with a pure mission of providing every child the opportunity to learn, play and enjoy the sport of volleyball in a fun, safe and exciting environment. Creative Sports Strategies' President/CEO, Lori Okimura, served as a founding member of the USYVL Board of Directors from 1997 through May 2006. The organization owns and operates community based youth volleyball leagues throughout the U.S., providing both affordable and enjoyable opportunities for kids ages 8-14 and their parents.
Creative Sports Strategies developed a strategic partnership with Total Sports, Inc. of San Diego, California to provide consulting services for the 2004 Hula Bowl Maui. The Hula Bowl Maui was the nation's premier collegiate All-Star Game, set against the beautiful backdrop of the Island of Maui. Through a relationship with the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA), the Downtown Athletic Club (Home of the Heisman Trophy) and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, the Hula Bowl Maui showcased the top college seniors, coaches and former Heisman Trophy stars in a head to head showdown. The event was televised on ESPN/ESPN 2 and featured a week-long agenda of sports and special events including Heisman Trophy events, NFL workouts, player's surf contest, celebrity golf and other other charity events.
USA Racquetball (USRA) is the National Governing Body for the sport of racquetball, recognized by the U.S. Olympic Committee and is committed to excellence and service to its members. USRA provides opportunities for members and enthusiasts to actively participate in the sport, through sanctioning of events, administration of programs and development of competitive teams. Please click on the logo to the left to be redirected to the official USRA website.
