GTM Sportswear Partners With Cheer Channel Inc. on Spirit Industry Web Series

PRLog (Press Release) - Mar. 1, 2012 - MANHATTAN, Kan. – GTM Sportswear announces that they will be partnering with Cheer Channel Inc. for the first original Web series specifically designed for the spirit industry. “Secret Diary of an American Cheerleader” will debut in early April.

GTM Sportswear is positioned as Cheer Channel Inc.’s (CCI) official sponsor for the Web series. GTM hopes to reach the $4 billion spirit industry in a new and innovative way. The industry’s target demographic consists of male and female teens and tweens, and moms. This demographic spends over 30 hours a week engaging in digital media platforms, so it is the hope of CCI and GTM that this Web series will appropriately serve their interests with an interactive experience utilizing celebrity cheerleaders in real-life adventures.

“Secret Diary of an American Cheerleader” is a scripted, dramatic Web series featuring the talents of a competitive cheerleader. The show will run six to eight webisodes that will run exclusively on Cheerchannel.com and its affiliate channels through May. The show will also be syndicated to over a dozen online television platforms including Grab Networks, Veoh, Vimeo and BlipTV. The series rollout includes print, mobile, radio, on-site promotions, social media and a variety of digital platforms.

Lance Robbins, President of CCI, will serve as executive producer of the series along with the CEO of CCI, Cindy Villarreal, author of "The Cheerleader's Guide to Life."   Robbins is the former President of Saban Entertainment ("Mighty Morphin Power Rangers") and Fox Family Studios Worldwide where he executive produced more than 70 movies for network and cable television, and hundreds of live action and animated series, including "Ninja Turtles", "Sweet Valley High" and "The Addams Family".

"This series gives national advertisers and merchants an opportunity to market their products and services through branded entertainment in an effective, interactive and direct way where our demographic of tweens and teens spend most of their time," said Robbins. "Web series not only are becoming an accepted form of destination programming, but these shows carry a longevity on the web much longer than traditional television on any network."

"Secret Diary of an American Cheerleader" will be written and produced by Aaron Mendelsohn, writer of the multi-million dollar film franchise, "Air Bud," and its 11 sequels for Disney, in addition to several Web series for networks and brands including Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, Coca-Cola, Toyota and The Gap.

The series will be directed by Jared Seltzer, whose accolades include Web series, documentaries and reality shows for studios such as Paramount, Warner Bros, Universal and cable nets including Discovery, A&E and Bravo.

“GTM Sportswear is excited to be a part of the “Secret Diary of an American Cheerleader” Web series. We feel that this is an opportunity to engage our brand with one of our target audiences in a unique and impactful way,” says Nikki Miller, Vice President of Marketing at GTM Sportswear.

About GTM Sportswear®:  
GTM Sportswear®, headquartered in Manhattan, Kan., specializes in providing custom-embellished uniforms, warm-ups and practice apparel for college, school, and club sports teams nationwide. Founded in 1989, the company is a leader in cutting-edge embellishment processes. GTM designs and develops most of its products and carries an $18 million inventory, allowing quick turnaround for customers. The company employs more than 830 people, including a nationwide sales team and an inside support team.   For more information, visit www.gtmsportswear.com .