Good morning! Eric is off this week, so it’s my distinct pleasure to come out of the bullpen to bring you today’s edition of Last Week’s Wins.
I hope everyone enjoyed their Valentine’s Day weekend, and that your end of football season withdrawal was not too painful during the first week after the Super Bowl. Without further ado, here are our Wins from last week.
Colin Kaepernick, Phoenix Suns Co-Owner Launch $250 Million ESG SPAC
Just when you think the SPAC craze is over, yet another new SPAC (special purpose acquisition company) is created.
Mission Advancement Corp. is the new SPAC started by NFL quarterback and activist, Colin Kaepernick and Phoenix Suns co-owner Jahm Najafi. But it’s the first one created with an express purpose to acquire a social enterprise.
In paperwork filed with the Securities Exchange Commission, Mission Advancement Corp. cited the growth in compassionate capitalism as a main reason for its ESG focus. “Consumers increasingly expect brands to have a social mission…. Companies are becoming more mission-driven and seeking to align with culturally relevant causes…. Brands are evolving into media platforms, enabling authentic cultural and celebrity influencers to help drive awareness, marketing exposure and value,” the company said.
Kaepernick’s SPAC is a collision of multiple trends we’ve been watching in the industry: athlete activism, blank check companies, and impact investing. It will be fascinating to watch which company they decide to take public in the coming months.
Adidas recruits tennis stars to debut collection made from ocean plastic
During the Australian Open, adidas and Parley for the Oceans rolled out its new “Adidas x Parley Tennis Collection” apparel line, made entirely of upcycled plastic waste recovered from islands, beaches, and shorelines.
Players Kristina Mladenovic and Dominic Thiem were among the players wearing the new gear during their matches.
Parley founder and CEO Cyrill Gutsch said of the partnership, "Since 2015, we have been on a mutual mission to end the plastic crisis and drive the material revolution we need.
"Collaboration, creativity and eco-innovation are the only ways forward, and it's on all of us to lead by example.”
Ocean plastic pollution is a massive problem, and creative solutions such as this line of apparel from adidas and Parley are part of the solution. Expect to see lots more brands coming out with sustainably-made products made from upcycled ocean plastic. It provides a dual benefit of helping consumers become aware of the problem, and gives them an opportunity to use their dollars to be part of the solution.
New app helps parents become better coaches on field and sidelines
Coaching youth sports is hard, but youth sports is a critical part of children’s development. As youth sports participation declines, lots of different organizations have taken a shot at reversing the trend. A new app named MOJO has just thrown its hat into the ring
MOJO launched last week pitching itself as a “one-stop coach-in-a-box” mobile app which provides premium instructional content for volunteer youth sports coaches (most of whom are parents).
With backing from pro athlete investors, including Russell Wilson, Brandi Chastain, and Julie Foudy, MOJO aims to tackle the decrease in youth sports participation by empowering coaches with the training and instruction necessary to bring the magic back to youth sports.
"Youth sports is broken," says MOJO co-founder and CEO Ben Sherwood, the former co-chairman of Disney Media Networks. "So much of the attention and money goes to elite teams, leaving the rest with very little."
"For most families, the experience today is luck of the draw. If you get a great parent coach, you're in luck. But most of them don't know what they're doing, so it ends up being a crummy experience."
"We've built an app that takes the stress out of coaching and brings the magic back to youth sports. We want to build a brand that targets that particular time in life that's so important."
In case you missed it, Episode 7 of our podcast dropped last Friday. Tune in for our takes on the most purposeful Super Bowl commercials and an interview with Social Victories CEO, Whitney Holtzman.