Cashing sports – Athletes come in handy while selling brands
There is an interesting factor in certain athletes; just how marketable they are. Some athletes seem to get all of the major endorsement campaigns, the sponsors and the hype while others get nothing. There are certain reasons why this is so which will be looked at further. There are also some athletes who have a lot of sponsors but have won nothing in their careers. It seems companies and brands pursue athletes because a large proportion of them have become household names and celebrities in their own right. They have a hold over a large group of people, their fans, and the companies want to tap into that audience. So what exactly makes an athlete marketable?
Over the years, there have been some very marketable athletes. It looks like the first one, or the one that really cemented this cross over between sports and marketing was the great former basketball player Michael Jordan. He was the face of Nike and other companies and there was something about him that made people run out and buy the products he was endorsing. He had a combination of factors going for him; firstly he had a huge fan base, secondly he was the greatest basketball player of his time and thirdly, he was extremely likeable. Another name worth mentioning is Tiger Woods of golf. He had a large number of brands to his name, and in fact, most recently before his devastating affair scandal, Tiger Woods was top of the list of athletes with the most endorsement deals.
So what exactly is it that makes a sports star so sought after by companies? There are several reasons but a main one is that an athlete has to be likeable. If we take a look at the talented boxer Floyd Mayweather, he has a distinct lack of sponsors. It seems the answer to why he is lacking in sponsors is the fact that people do not like him. Advertisers and companies will only get those people to endorse their products who have a connection with fans in the sport. Examples of athletes who, despite of their sports not being mainstream, have a large number of sponsors are Lance Armstrong and Michael Phelps. These two athletes are very popular and they have a wide appeal.
The first factor that seems to make an athlete highly marketable is being relatable. If someone can imagine themselves as being that athlete then that athlete has a good chance of being sponsored by large brands. If an athlete talks and acts as if he was your neighbour then he is someone a lot of fans can relate to. If an athlete is flaunting their wealth with ostentatious displays all the time, then not too many average people will be able to connect to him. Another factor is that an athlete has to inspire people; he or she has to be a winner who has made a name for themselves, who routinely overcomes hardships and conquers them to come out a humble victor. That is someone who can inspire fans, someone like Roger Federer.
A lot of the time the big brand endorsing athletes are very charismatic and also good looking. Here the glaring and often cited example of Anna Kournikova comes to us. She is a former tennis player who did not win any major tournaments but was still heavily sponsored. She continues to be sponsored by numerous brands despite of having retired from the sport. Even good looking Olympic gold medal winners can become magnets for endorsement campaigns, such as gymnastic gold medal winning Shawn Johnson. Shawn has what the media likes to call all-American looks; with her striking looks and winning smile she appeals to a broad base of American consumers.
As long as athletes have a large fan base of potential customers, companies are going to try and market their products to them by sticking their faces all over that product. It would be a good study to do to measure if athletic endorsements actually help the sales of products. Does the fact that LeBron James is featured in the ad for Vitamin Water actually increase sales of the drink or not? Well it must make some sort of a difference or multi-million dollar companies would not keep using athletes. This trend looks all set to remain a big part of the world of sports for many years to come.
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