New agency sells Czech stars

Jo Weaver is out to make the next Czech superstar. The founder of Prague-based public relations agency JWA, Weaver has decided to take a shot at bringing Czech sports and music stars to the international spotlight with a new company, Czech Sports and Music Agency (CSMA).

Though there are a number of management agencies that represent entertainers in the country, there are very few, if any, that provide the full-style packaging and branding services known to make or break stars in the United States and the United Kingdom.

"I got to meeting some people at sports events, and I realized they don't have managing and promoting here the way we do in the United States and the UK. This country turns out so many fantastic sports people and so many fantastic musicians, and they've got this huge history of it and experience, but they're not in any way building their brand," Weaver said.  

The agency will work with individuals involved in sports, music and entertainment to promote them and build a brand through everything from media training and image consulting to finding them sponsorship deals, arranging public appearances and even acting as an intermediary between musicians and venues.

Weaver calls her approach the David Beckham principle. "Everyone in the world knows him, and he became a worldwide name because someone, hopefully like us, got a hold of him when he was 17, and they saw he was a pretty boy, and a pretty good footballer; not the best in the world, but good, and they said, 'He's hugely marketable, isn't he?' " Weaver said. "They've marketed him so his brand will carry on for the rest of his life whether he plays football or not."

By contrast, Weaver says in the Czech Republic, athletes and musicians often accept low payments for performances or appearances because they are not branded well enough, and when age or injury puts an end to their career, they're not left with a brand to capitalize on afterward.  

Weaver originally got the idea for the firm when she first arrived in then-Czechoslovakia and dreamed of representing some of the athletes she had admired while living in the United Kingdom. She put that idea on the back burner, though, and went on to form JWA, mostly working with businesses in sectors like real estate and finance. Then, when the financial crisis hit, those sectors started to slow, and JWA started getting contracts in the sporting world, like the Prague International Marathon. While mulling the idea of setting up a sports agency, Weaver spoke with an old business associate who used to be involved in the music industry, and the two decided to expand the venture to include music.

So far, the agency has attracted around 10 clients in sports and music, and Weaver hopes to add a handful more in the coming months.

"I've been a bit cautious to start doing too much in the beginning. I definitely think we will have a lot of learning experiences," Weaver said.

"This is a horrible phrase, but we sort of have to suck it and see. Already the music part is busy, and it's honestly more complicated than we may have thought at first. We realized we need a voice coach, and a recording studio."

Also, as one of the first of its kind in the country, it remains to be seen how the Czech market, which is less oriented toward major branding campaigns using celebrities, will receive the product.

"A lot of people are really cynical about branding. But I think sooner or later, it will be here," Weaver said. "I've heard it so many times over the last 20 years that it's different here, or that it won't work here, but sooner or later it does."

Cat Contiguglia can be reached at
ccontiguglia@praguepost.com