What makes certain athletes so appealing to advertisers? Success obviously helps but are there other attributes that make companies seek out athletes to be featured in their advertisements. Almost everyone recognizes names like Tiger Woods, LeBron James, Peyton Manning, and Roger Federer, but is this because of their accomplishments on the court, field and golf course or their depiction on the T.V. screen?
The Tiger Woods Saga can tell us a lot about what companies are looking for in their celebrity endorsements. Many companies seek out athletes that are admired not only for their play on the field but for their veneration in the community as well. Many of the companies who are sticking by Tiger market towards a male audience that is not as put off by his marriage infidelity. These include watchmaker Tag Heuer, Gillette, Tiger Woods’ PGA Tour videogame, and the sports apparel giant Nike. Clearly, we can see that image is of utmost importance to companies, and if this becomes tarnished it can have disastrous results for corporations’ profits.
To help determine what marketing departments look for in athletes I am going to focus on two people. One is a well-known and establish NFL superstar, and the other is a college football phenom. Peyton Manning is known by almost everyone, especially in this state, but what made advertiser’s think that he could make their company more profitable? In an interview with Darren Rovell, the chief marketing officer for MasterCard, Larry Flanagan, sat down to explain why Petyon made a perfect fit for their organization.
Darren: “Why did you specifically choose him [Manning] to represent your brand?”
Flanagan: “…because of his fit with the brand values—authentic and being a leader and being a competitor and competing to win.”
This helps show what types of things go through a marketing director’s head when making a decision on an endorsement. Flanagan later commented that Manning was a “solid person” when asked about the current climate of uncertainty in celebrity endorsements.
I lastly want to look at Tim Tebow, the former University of Florida quarterback who will enter the draft this year. He is known by almost everyone that follows college football, but lacks the wide appeal of a Peyton Manning. So what might make him appealing to advertisers? Well, as previously mentioned, he was an outstanding athlete who hopes that his skills will translate well in the NFL. Second, he is a deeply religious person known for his strong moral values. His Super Bowl advertisement for ‘Focus on the Family’ directly projects his strong family ties. Another passion of Tebow’s is his missionary work in the Philippines, where he was born while his parents were serving as missionaries. It is attributes like these that will be valuable to advertisers in the fallout of the Tiger Woods chronicle especially to companies with a strong emphasis on family values.
To conclude, I think we will see many companies start to look at athletes that can offer not only dominance on the playing field but upstanding character that children and adults alike can look up to and idolize in their own lives. This is what makes athletes like Tim Tebow and Peyton Manning so appealing to corporations today.
Sources:
http://www.cnbc.com/id/35259233
http://www.cnbc.com/id/34935760