In the wake of the Olympics, as athletes return home and the glow of success slowly fades, IPG Mediabrands Australia COO Geoff Clarke asks, what now?
“In sports, winning an Olympic medal is more than just personal glory; it’s a commercial opportunity. Medalists attract endorsement deals and sponsorships that are often out of reach for those who didn’t stand on the podium,” said Michael Johnson.
Michael’s quote keeps it real! Those who did not get to stand on the dais will eventually, after a well-earned rest, and if the fire still burns get back to training. Those with medals in hand and manager by their side will look to capitalise on their success. And fair enough, the road to the Olympics is not paved with gold, many athletes get by on corporate and community donations that top up minimal government funding — if they’re lucky.
Interestingly, in recent times many athletes have evolved from well-known sports personalities to “influencers”, not afraid to speak openly on social issues, walking an increasingly narrow controversy tightrope.
As brands look to collaborate with athletes, two questions require investigation:
How does the athlete protect themselves from over-commercialisation, maintaining long-term value while allowing the brand and or company setting out to benefit from the athlete’s newfound equity value the required return on investment? And how does the individual athlete stand out from team sports that are heavily supported by lucrative media rights deals?
These two questions make for interesting bedfellows.
Read more: Is Raygun Becoming The Most Marketable Athlete Of 2024?
Beyond the Field: Safeguarding an Athlete’s Brand for the Future
“Reputation is like fine china: Once broken it’s very hard to repair,” said Abraham Lincoln.
1. Selective Endorsements:
Athletes must be very selective, only associating themselves with brands that align with their values and personal brand. This will ensure an authentic cultural interaction between athlete, brand and consumer, avoiding the possibility of being associated with products or services that could damage their reputation.
2. Contract Negotiation:
Athletes must have a great support team, ensuring their contracts limit the number of endorsements, restrict the types of products they can promote, and safeguards to protect their image. This will prevent the temptation to take advantage of their short-term notoriety and, most importantly protect their long-term value.
3. Brand Management Team:
It is imperative the athlete’s support team understands them as a person, as it is incumbent upon them to ensure the athlete’s image remains consistent and valuable. This is also a key ingredient in an athlete’s transition from sports personality to ‘cultural influencer’. If it’s anything less an 100 per cent authentic, the consumer will see it for what it is, a commercial transaction.
4. Focus on Performance:
This can be the most important component and perhaps one of the hardest for the athlete to manage due to the increase in demand success brings. However, to sustain long-term value the athlete must maintain a strong focus on training and competition ensuring they remain relevant and marketable. This is especially true if they wish to cut through against the larger sports with lucrative media rights deals.
5. Diversification:
Knowing that the athletes themselves can only go so far. Again, by getting advice from experts in their field, the athlete can invest their personal brand value into other business ventures. This is a direct shared equity value arrangement and can lead to substantial endorsement deals. It also works for the athlete as they get older.
Beyond the Signature: Unlocking the True Value of Athlete Partnerships
“If people believe they share values with a company, they will stay loyal to the brand,” said Howard Schultz.
This quote brings to life how intertwined the athlete, brand-product and consumer are to ensure the advertiser gets the very best return for their sizable investment. Just as the consumer looks to a brand or product with whom they share similar values, by endorsing an athlete that brand-product is borrowing the athlete’s equity, illustrating the symbiotic relationship between the three parties. The strength of that relationship will determine long-term ROI.
1. Authentic Alignment:
Resist the temptation to sign the big name. This will provide you with an amazing PR release, but it may end up as a short-term sugar hit. Understanding the symbiotic relationship just discussed it is important the athlete’s values and lifestyle genuinely align with your brand. This creates authentic connections that resonate with consumers, build trust and will sustain long-term ROI.
2. Strategic Activation:
Just like an A-list movie star having to do the heavy lifting for a poorly written script, how often does the creative rely too heavily on the athlete? The creative must be highly engaging, bringing the athlete’s personality to life. You also must have an end-to-end (through-the-line) marketing strategy in place that evolves over time. Just as your product-brand strategy evolves so must your ambassador program.
3. Performance-Based Incentives:
Key performance indicators (KPIs). We all have them, we have them as part of our Personal Development Plans (PDPs), and they are part of our agency-client Master Service Agreements (MSA) so why not have them with your athlete ambassador program? Again, bringing us back to the symbiotic relationship, it is important the athlete understands what their performance must look like. Whether it’s hitting sales targets, increasing brand awareness, or driving social media engagement, they must play a well-defined role. This aligns their success with your own business objectives creating a win-win scenario.
4. Long-Term Partnerships:
As already discussed, it is vital that you have an end-to-end, through-the-line marketing strategy. However, building additional brand collaborations extends the athlete’s equity ROI. Investing in ongoing collaborations not only provides deeper integration opportunities, but it also creates shared storytelling that leads to a deeper consumer-cultural connection.
5. Data-Driven Optimisation:
Matt Trifiro, CMO of Vapor IO said, “Time and money are your scarcest resources. You want to make sure you’re allocating them in the highest-impact areas. Data reveals impact, and with data, you can bring more science to your decisions.” This quote brings to life the quandary faced by every company that has entered or is thinking of entering into an athlete endorsement deal.
You’ve invested a great deal of money, and time is your enemy. If you leave it up to the athlete’s brand equity to do the heavy lifting, you’ll shortchange your ROI. You must track the impact of your athlete brand equity using analytics and data. This helps you understand what’s working, identify areas for improvement, and refine your strategies for future campaigns.
As with every deal we make, there are considerations that require careful thought. Deloitte’s 2024 Sport Industry Outlook Report underscores the critical role of data in optimising athlete endorsement deals. The report highlights the importance of going beyond basic consumer insights. To truly optimise these deals, it’s essential to collect and aggregate consumer behavioural and interaction data, alongside relevant second and third-party data. This comprehensive data set, compiled into a single, unified record for each consumer, lays the foundation for effective decision-making. The next step involves leveraging this data to generate valuable insights and monetise the opportunity.
For starters, sports organisations can use this data to better target and reach consumers, with personalised marketing messages, promotions, and consumer experiences—all in the hopes of driving engagement, loyalty, and purchasing. In addition to driving consumer engagement and spending, these proprietary consumer databases can also support emerging revenue streams for leagues and teams by securing stronger sponsorships, naming rights, and media rights deals.
Beyond the Contract: How Athletes Can Help Build Meaningful Brand Partnerships
There is a long list of considerations when deciding whether to enter into an athlete endorsement deal. At the risk of oversimplification, here are three:
1. Walking the fine line between endorsement and dilution of Influence
As more brands collaborate with athletes, there’s a risk of over-commercialisation which over time can lead to consumer skepticism and diminishing impact. It is vital that in partnership with the athlete, you develop a clear strategy with clear deliverables and success metrics. Gaining sight of the athlete’s endorsement pipeline can also help head off exposure concerns.
2. Is the price tag of celebrity endorsements worth it?
Partnering with top athletes involves significant long-term financial investment. As previously mentioned, if you rely too heavily on the athlete’s equity to do the heavy lifting, the endorsement deal will not translate into business success. This will only lead to ongoing ROI uncertainty. Ultimately the value of the arrangement will be determined by the business objectives. These must be very clear from the start.
3. Is the most prominent athlete in the most prominent sport worth it?
While top athletes in high-profile sports have broad appeal, sometimes, targeting a smaller sport with a more dedicated consumer base can be more effective than reaching a larger, less engaged audience. This is certainly true when ensuring an end-to-end, through-the-line campaign. This way you can develop a more personal and authentic connection with your desired consumer.
In conclusion, the landscape of athlete endorsements is evolving rapidly, moving beyond the traditional model of simply leveraging a celebrity’s name for a quick marketing boost. Successful partnerships now require a deeper understanding of the athlete’s brand, a commitment to authentic alignment, and a data-driven approach to maximising ROI.
By embracing long-term partnerships, strategic activation, and performance-based incentives, brands can unlock the true value of athlete endorsements, fostering meaningful connections with consumers and achieving sustainable business success. As the lines between sport and culture continue to blur, the athlete-brand partnership becomes a powerful tool for driving engagement, building loyalty, and ultimately, achieving shared goals.
