I doubt many people could name a handful of athletes that competed in the 2010 Winter Olympics before they began. If you leave out ice hockey, I know that I could not name a single athlete that competed before the onset of competition outside of Shaun White. However, as the Olympics have come to an end, many of the triumphant athletes are inking major endorsement deals. But do names like Lindsey Vonn, Apolo Anton Ohno, and Evan Lysacek (Gold medal winning U.S. figure skater) really have the staying power to make a noticeable difference on company profits?
I personally find it hard to believe that many people will recognize and remember many of the accomplished athletes of these winter Olympics six months from now. I think the hype for many of these athletes will fall faster than the public’s interest in the sport of curling. Many of these sports lack the mainstream appeal that it takes to build public interest and attention. This could be a major hurdle companies will face when choosing whether or not to hire a person like Lindsey Vonn or Bode Miller to market their products.
From an article in Darren Rovell’s blog “Sports Biz,” he elaborates on some of the major endorsement deals U.S. Olympic athletes have already signed. Lindsey Vonn is set to earn about two million dollars from her deals with Red Bull, Rolex and Procter & Gamble, Lysacek has deals with Coca-Cola and AT&T, and Ohno has endorsement contracts with Coca-Cola, AT&T, Nestle and Omega. Whether or not these marketing campaigns will be successful is yet to be determined, but I am not sure I would be willing to take the risk when well-established athletes like LeBron James, Peyton Manning, and Derek Jeter are so readily marketable. Apparently, major marketing directors around the United States and the rest of the world are not deterred by a lack of mainstream appeal and are willing to shell out big bucks to get the endorsement of Olympic athletes.
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There are certainly a number of Olympic "heroes" that have faded into obscurity throughout the years. But we shouldn't be too hasty to say that this is always the case. Personally, I've been keeping tabs on Apolo Anton Ohno since the 2002 games. Shaun White since '06. And Lindsey Vonn has been popping up all over sports media for the last year. I'd hardly say that I'm a sports buff, but these are all names that mean something to me, and probably to a lot of Americans.
ReplyDelete"More established athletes" like Peyton Manning may have the advantage of having a consistent, guaranteed appearance on national TV. But the real power of Olympic athletes that I think Red Bull and P&G are after is the power of the athletes' stories. The athlete spotlights throughout the Olympic games allow viewers to really get to know them, and to feel engaged with them as they watch the athlete's struggles and triumphs. (I'm sure we all remember Michelle Kwan...)
Not to get all Made to Stick-y, but the stories of the athletes is a very powerful element that these companies are clever to tap into. They may lose money on some, yes (think of Michael Phelps getting dumped by Kellogg's). But like anything else in business, you won't get far without taking some risks along the way.
Jessica, I agree with you. When a company signs an Olympic athlete, they're also signing the story and the emotion that comes with the territory. These athletes train year-round and compete once a year against the world's countries vying for the gold. They bring together an entire nation and evoke pride and hope in its people. The country is right there with them through the trials and the triumphs and they bring out a sense of incredible nationalism that comes around once every two years whether it be, as it was this year, in times of need and vulnerability.
ReplyDeleteOlympians aren’t only one-hit wonders either, they build anticipation, excitement and interest for the years leading up to their Olympic debuts and for the years after that they continue to train and compete. And this interest transcends the Olympics; thousands of people follow Shaun White and Michael Phelps in lesser competitions throughout the years solely because of the appeal of the sport or the athlete (and that athlete’s story). And while they may not have the advantage of consistent public viewership, it truly is a breath of fresh air that they are unpaid and untainted by fame. They’re normal people doing incredible things with the letters USA on their backs. That is what makes them so appealing. The emotion tied up in an Olympic athlete is why a company chooses to invest in him or her. It’s more than how big the name is 50 years from now but it’s the pride and the struggle associated with that name; and that’s not only why a company uses their endorsement but it’s why the consumers buy into it so readily.
Building on the previous two comments, endorsing olympic athletes definitely is about their stories. When it comes to us as consumers forgetting about certain olympic athletes, I believe it is because we are forgetting their stories. By endorsing them for the years after the olympics, the companies are keeping these stories alive and fresh in the minds of the consumers.
ReplyDeleteFurthermore, as has been touched upon by previous posts, these athletes are representing a nation every four years. This is in opposition of, for example, an NBA player who is representing just a single city 82+ times a year. This NBA player will be performing over 300 times during any four year stretch in front of basically any audience who chooses to watch. This is in large contrast to the olympic athlete who has one big stage every four years, and only a handful of small stages in the meantime.
In the end, a superstar is a superstar. If this person has the typical characteristics that you described in your first post, Jordan, then he or she is marketable. But you are right in that he or she will never be as marketable as a Peyton Manning, who is in the public spotlight all the time. For example, the Shaun White line at Target would never be opened in a non-olympic year (e.g, 2013). Target has strategically decided to open this line in 2010 while White is receiving the hype and notoriety of the Olympics. If they were opening a Peyton Manning line, it could be opened in any year.
Even with that, White's story of winning golds and becoming a superstar can remain for years, even if he is not performing in front of millions of people every day.
Source: http://www.sojones.com/news/1744-target-taps-shaun-white-for-skate-shoe-design/