MNI Hosts a Dodgeball Throwdown

Time Inc.’s Media Networks, Inc. (MNI) is a Stamford-based business that specializes in multiplatform, customized, demo- and geo-targeted advertising. This fall, they brought together 100 employees from nine local ad agencies to compete in the first MNI Dodgeball Throwdown, held in the SoNo Field House in South Norwalk.

“MNI is known for entertaining, so when it comes to client entertainment, we’re always trying to one-up each other,” Matt McGuire of MNI said.

McGuire was inspired to organize a dodgeball competition from his travels to agencies around the US and decided it would be the perfect fit for the close-knit advertising community in Fairfield and Westchester Counties.

“I've been in ad sales a long time and I travel around to other agencies — I noticed all around the country that the offices had dodgeball trophies on display,” McGuire explained. “So I approached Tiffany Goulette, who handles Westchester County, about this wacky idea.”

The wacky idea took off and soon, participating agencies donned their brightly colored team shirts and gathered for an evening of fun and competition at the SoNo Field House. Participating agencies included Touchpoint Communications, Media Storm, Media Partnership, Pub Mo East, Source Marketing, Catapult Marketing, Plowshare Group, MSCO, and MILK.

McGuire credits the demographics of advertising world — mainly 20-something and 30-something young professionals — with the popularity of dodgeball tournaments.

“They have that college spirit, that desire to compete,” McGuire said. “It’s not just another dinner or another lunch, it’s something unique. It’s the notion of playing against other ad agencies, people they know, it’s a community,”

A community that turned fiercely competitive with bragging rights at stake — but suffered only one injury from a collision.

Of course, let a room full of ad people come up with their own team slogans and you’re bound to get some winners — Touchpoint Communications went with the ever-appropriate “Can’t Touch This,” Catapult Marketing came up with “The Balled & The Beautiful,” while MILK went with the pun-rich “Udder Destruction.”

At the end of the night, the winner of MNI's Dodgeball Throwdown was Pub Mo East ("Boom Goes The Dynamite"). The losing team fittingly walked away with a copy of the movie “Dodgeball.”

MNI plans to host their second dodgeball competition next fall.