INTERNATIONAL FIGHT LEAGUE NAMES JOEL EHRLICH CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER
AND PRESIDENT OF SALES
One of entertainment and sports' most respected brand builders joins
the IFL
NEW YORK, February 20, 2007- The International Fight League (OTC.BB:
IFLI), the world’s first team-based professional mixed martial arts
league, announced today that Joel Ehrlich has been named to the
newly-created position of Chief Marketing Officer and President of Sales.
Ehrlich, one of the most well-known and respected brand builders in the
industry for over 25 years, will begin the new full-time position
immediately. He will oversee and coordinate all of the sales efforts as well as
creating, identifying and implementing new strategic relationships with
IFL partners.
“We are elated that Joel has decided to join the IFL,” said IFL
co-founder and CEO Gareb Shamus. “His limitless contacts and stellar
reputation as one of the most creative minds in the marketing industry
will be a huge asset both to the IFL and to the fast-growing sport of
Mixed Martial Arts.”
“It is with great pleasure and excitement that I join the IFL,”
Ehrlich added. “The sport of Mixed Martial Arts is quickly gaining
traction in the mainstream through the efforts of people like Gareb and
Kurt Otto, and I am looking forward to helping partner some of the
world’s greatest brands with the compelling and charismatic athletes and
coaches that the make up the IFL. I’m also excited about further
developing our relationship with Fox Sports Network (FSN) and MyNetworkTV, who
have agreed to air weekly IFL programming.”
Ehrlich’s career reads like a marketing success guide for some of the
world’s most prominent and powerful entertainment brands. His
influence on the companies and brands he championed are directly reflected in
significantly increased profits and revenues, and in the innovative and
imaginative marketing methods he used to achieve those goals. His
successes include stops at:
* Cahners Publishing, where he partnered with the American Academy of
Pediatrics to create the Healthy Kids magazine and cable television
show–the first consumer magazine and TV show endorsed by a prestigious
medical organization. His innovative marketing ideas for Cahners’
Modern Bride Group saw profits double in just 18 months.
* Marvel Entertainment, where, as senior vice president of corporate
sales, he showed the world that Spider-Man, X-Men and the Hulk could
feed, teach, build self-esteem and stimulate the imagination–all while
skyrocketing sales for both Marvel and its partnering companies.
* DC Comics and Warner Bros. Consumer Products, where he increased
licensed promotions revenues more than 600% by developing custom
partnerships between comic book superheroes and companies such as the United
States Postal Service, Schering-Plough and Got Milk!
* Young Minds Inspired (YMI) was his most recent venture (as
president/owner and chief operating officer). In less than three years he
tripled the number of programs, expanded the breath of offerings from
preschool through college, branched out into new media formats and created
value-added components.
His efforts as a strategic, creative and innovative marketer have been
recognized by his peers and the industry. Ehrlich’s work gained the
endorsements of the United States Surgeon General, the National
Institutes of Health, and Planned Parenthood. In 1995, he was honored with the
prestigious “Youth Marketer of the Year” award from Brandweek
Magazine. Originally a teacher, Ehrlich was selected in 1974 as a New York
State “Teacher of the Year” for his innovative approaches to
learning. He also served as a Northeast trustee of the Boys and Girls Clubs
of America.
A Bronx native, Ehrlich attended the High School of the Performing Arts
in New York, and has a degree in speech and theater from Hunter
College. He, his wife Phyllis (a senior executive at Cartoon Network), and
three children reside in Scarsdale, N.Y.
About the IFL
International Fight League (IFL) is the world’s first professional
mixed martial arts sports league. IFL has its headquarters in New York,
NY and offices in Las Vegas, NV. For more information about IFL,
please see: www.ifl.tv
Forward-Looking Statements: This release contains forward-looking
statements pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which are subject to various risks and IFL’s
management's expectations, hopes, beliefs, intentions or strategies
regarding the future financial condition, and results of operations. There
can be no assurance that future developments actually affecting IFL
will be those anticipated.
Important factors that could cause actual results to differ (favorably
or unfavorably) from the expectations stated in this release include
the risks and uncertainties such as the conditions of the markets for
live events, broadcast television, cable television, pay-per-view,
Internet, entertainment, professional sports, and licensed merchandise;
acceptance of the Company’s brands, media and merchandise within those
markets; uncertainties relating to litigation; risks associated with
producing live events; uncertainties associated with international markets;
risks relating to maintaining and renewing key agreements, including
television distribution agreements; effects of competition, including
locations of competitors and operating and market competition.. Should one
or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should any of
the Company’s assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary in
material respects from those projected in these forward-looking
statements.
IFL undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking
statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or
otherwise, except as may be required under applicable securities laws. This
press release may include the opinions of IFL and does not necessarily
include the views of any other person or entity.
The names of all International Fight League, Inc. televised and live
programming, teams, images, and logos are trademarks, which are the
exclusive property of International Fight League, Inc. All other trademarks
and tradenames mentioned in this release are the property of their
respective owners, and are not affiliated with IFL in any way.
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