Brand5's Matt Hasselbeck Wins Battle of the QB Websites

Brand5’s Matt Hasselbeck was declared the overwhelming winner of the Chicago Tribune’s recent “Battle of the QB Websites”.

In the article, staff reporter Maria Mooshil compared MattHasselbeck.com (built and maintained by Brand5) with RexGrossman.com in five categories. The two quarterbacks were matched up because they were opponents in the NFC’s Divisional Playoffs on January 14.

The five categories for which each website was judged were visual design, creativity, funtionality, interactivity, and navigational ability. For each category, the websites were given a score of 1 to 10 (10 being the highest possible score). MattHasselbeck.com won in resounding fashion, 42-12.

“We are extremely proud to win this competition,” said Brand5 founder and president Mark Faggiano. “To be recognized for the work we do for Matt is validation that we can change the way athletes build their brands online. What we have done for Matt can be done for any athlete, no matter the sport.”

MattHasselbeck.com scored no lower than seven in any category and had a perfect score for interactivity.

“We are building the official destination for the millions of people who are fans of Matt Hasselbeck,” added Faggiano. “Our goal is to give those fans a community -a place where they can congregate to learn more about Matt, interact directly with Matt, and with each other.”

The complete transcript of the article is listed below:

QB Web site showdown

By Maria Mooshil
Tribune staff reporter
Published January 11, 2007
Rex Grossman.com vs. Matt Hasselbeck.com
These two quarterbacks may be the worst passers in the playoffs, but when it comes to new media, there’s a clear winner on the field. On a scale of 1 to 10, we rate the official Web sites of the Bears and Seahawks QBs, who will face each other at Soldier Field on Sunday.

Visual design

Rex: Boring. Static. The vertical blocks of copy do little to entice you to explore the home page. Not that there’s much to explore. 2
Matt: Nifty copy blocks allow you to quickly see the site’s categories and a line or two of content. Only problem is trying to decide what to jump into first: the Poll, the Guestbook or Matt’s Blog. 8

Creativity
Rex: Seems more of a merchandising and news vehicle than a window into the Bears quarterback’s personality. 2
Matt: While not the most sophisticated of Web sites, it makes a sincere attempt to give fans a glimpse of their quarterback and include them in the excitement of the season. 7

Functionality
Rex: Sure, you can find out Rex’s age and learn that, hey, he went to that school that won the BCS Championship game this week. You can even sign up for a Rex Grossman newsletter. But beyond the basics, this site offers so little you wonder why it exists. 2
Matt: Get the facts and a bunch of fun stuff too. 9

Interactivity
Rex: Although there’s an “email rex” option, there’s no blog and no chance for fans to read what other fans have to say. 1
Matt: OK, so Hass hasn’t updated his blog since Nov. 24. At least he has one. Also cool: a Fan Map, which pinpoints Hasselbeck fans around the country; a Video component, where fans can upload Seahawks footage; and a Poll, where fans can vote on which Bear scares them the most (Brian Urlacher as of Tuesday afternoon). 10

Navigational ability
Rex: Easy enough to click on the left-side menu of options. The question is, why would you want to? 5
Matt: All categories are lined up along the top of the page; larger blowups of some of those categories, such as Matt’s Blog and the Poll, provide visual interest on rest of the page. 8

Final score
Matt: 42
Rex: 12


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