Have you ever considered leveraging the popularity of pro athletes to sell your product or generate interest in your brand? Athletes have devout followings that hang on to their every move—their support of your business can help expand your fanbase dramatically. Taking on pro athletes as brand ambassadors can be a great way to attach your company to recognizable stars with devoted followers.
Just look at Adidas’ partnership with the soccer world’s biggest star: Lionel Messi. Not only has the brand sponsored Messi’s cleats and jersey, they even gained rights to the Twitter account @TeamMessi, which positions Adidas as the sponsor of everything Messi-related. With 2.14M followers, you know they’re doing something right.
Influencer marketing is here to stay and managing these complex social terrains is becoming increasingly important. But how do you go about navigating the landscape of athlete endorsements?
Know Who is Valuable
Getting a star athlete in your camp can be pricey—just look at the top athlete endorsements for 2016:
- Tennis star Roger Federer: $60,000,000 in endorsements from brands like Wilson, Nike, Rolex, Mercedes-Benz, Gillette and Credit Suisse.
- The NBA’s LeBron James: $54,000,000 in endorsements, cashing in on deals with the likes of Beats by Dre, Coca-Cola, Kia, McDonald’s and Samsung.
- PGA all star Phil Mickelson: $50,000,000 from sponsorship deals with KPMG, Rolex, ExxonMobil, Callaway and Barclays.
While you may not be willing or able to spend millions of bucks on pro athlete sponsorships, it helps to know who is currently in high demand, and the types of ads that have been successful. That said, be sure to think out of the box. Choosing to partner with an athlete that shows long-term potential will likely have a better ROI than choosing an athlete based on timely popularity. You may find that lesser-known star athletes with a bright future are able to promote your brand just as successfully as the superstars. Just take Under Armour, who has found success using a range of athletes from across different sports to promote their products.
If you think TraditionalAdvertising.Sucks, why not put those marketing dollars towards creative endorsements instead?
Know the Costs
A single promotional tweet by Roger Federer could cost you an approximated $31,660. LeBron James made headlines when he signed a lifetime deal with Nike worth potentially over $1 billion and could run you up to an estimated $185,328 for a sponsored Tweet to his 37.9M+ followers.
The cost of an endorsement will fully depend on the athlete you are interested in and the expectations of the deal. For instance, you can lower the costs by having athletes post “candid” photos from home instead of paying for a formal photo shoot. This will also help their endorsement of your brand seem more credible, as your product/service will be seen as a part of their regular routine, rather than as a staged promotion.
InsincereBranding.Sucks, so make sure you’re keeping things as relatable and authentic as possible.
Know Your Audience
Different sports draw different audiences. You will want to adjust your approach depending on what segment of the sports-watching public you’re aiming to market to (male, female, young, old, etc.). For example, the UFC has a younger audience than the PGA. If you are looking into types of sports based on popularity, the NFL, Olympics, MLB, college football and the NBA reign as the top 5—but you also want to do research on the types of channels where each athlete sees the most fan engagement. If an athlete receives a high level of user engagements on Instagram, it’s a good sign that fans feel connected to their idol through that platform. This could be more valuable to your brand than an athlete with thousands of Twitter followers but no history of interacting or engaging with their fanbase.
Giving these loyal followers something in return for their attention can help generate even more buzz around your brand. StaleContent.Sucks, so why not show fans a side of their idol they’ve never seen before—or gain attention with a special contest for an autographed jersey?
The Takeaway
Pro athlete sponsorship can be quite an investment—but the pay off is long-term visibility for your brand. Look for athletes that have a large (or rapidly growing) following, who have historically done well with sponsorship partnerships and who interview and promote themselves with professionalism, eloquence and personality.
If you’re looking to offer a perspective on athletic marketing and sponsorship, grab a .SUCKS domain like LackofSponsorship.Sucks and start telling your story for the world wide web to hear.
Photos: Shutterstock / Leonard Zhukovsky, Keith Allison, Shutterstock / Leonard Zhukovsky, Shutterstock / Leonard Zhukovsky