Cleveland Rocks! Phizzle Hires Digital Marketing Division Team

Phizzle, a mobile marketing and mobile advertising provider delivering audience engagement technology to grow fan loyalty and increase customer revenues, expanded its management team with the appointments of Jeff Ryznar, Jeff Lillibridge and Mike Maleski. The three executives will spearhead Phizzle’s newly created digital marketing division offering customized mobile marketing campaigns using traditional and new media assets to impact an organization’s bottom line and to influence relationships with current and new customers through digital channels that have not been typically addressed.

After years of providing the Cleveland Cavaliers, Lake Erie Monsters and Quicken Loans Arena (all of whom are among Phizzle’s roster of clients) with social media development, strategic digital marketing campaigns and monetization tactics, the trio will now open Phizzle’s Cleveland office. They will be responsible for developing digital marketing strategies to uniquely leverage mobile, web, m-commerce, broadcast, text and social media to maximize revenue capabilities for Phizzle’s customers, including globally-based professional sports teams and Fortune 500 brands.

“Jeff, Mike and Jeff bring to Phizzle a wealth of experience in account management and an overall passion for digital media that strengthens our ability to offer strategic solutions to meet our clients’ needs,” says Phizzle CEO, Ben Davis.

“The opportunity to help Phizzle’s clients realize largely untapped digital marketing opportunities is wide open,” says Ryznar. “With Jeff, Mike and I on board, Phizzle now offers an unmatched, professional digital marketing service with web, marketing and sales expertise soundly ensconced in professional sports. We are excited to join the Phizzle team and partner with leading brands to build deeper relationships with fans in the digital age.”

Lillibridge will serve as senior digital strategist while Ryznar will be senior mobile and marketing consultant and Maleski will be senior director of new media sales.

Lillibridge joined the Cleveland Cavaliers/Quicken Loans Arena as Web Operations Manager in September 2004. He spent the previous six seasons with the Detroit Pistons/Palace Sports & Entertainment, working in ticket sales and new media. After joining the Cavaliers, Jeff helped cavs.com achieve the top NBA team ranking according to the Sports Business Journal in August of 2005. In September 2006, he was promoted to Director of Web Services.

Ryznar, as director of Strategic Marketing for the Cleveland Cavaliers, brought more than eight years of experience in developing marketing and advertising programs to strengthen and elevate the awareness of national brands with customers. He was responsible for developing, collaborating and executing marketing campaigns to increase brand awareness and sales while implementing new technologies to streamline business processes and enhance fan engagement. He was at the forefront of the creation of their mobile marketing platform using Phizzle’s platform, as well as in the creation of an innovative Season Ticket Holder Campaign centered on the roll-out of personalized URL’s for ticket holders. He was responsible for the research and development of strategies that went behind the Cavaliers marketing efforts, as well as ticket sales and corporate partnership initiatives.

Maleski was formerly the director of new media sales for the Cleveland Cavaliers and has more than 19 years of experience in the print and online publishing industries. Having joining the Cavaliers in March 2008, Mike worked to lead Cavs.com’s transition from a rotational format to the NBA’s first impression-based ad sales platform. During that time he has effectively monetized the team’s social network, CavFanatic.com, by integrating site sponsor Verizon into the fabric of all site objectives and by teaming corporate partner offline promotions with online activation and efficiencies.