Do Olympic Athletes make Good Endorsers?

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.

Source:

http://www.cnbc.com/id/35602413/?slide=1

What Makes Athletes Marketable

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

Unusual Promotions in Minor League Baseball

With the economy in one of the deepest recessions in US history, businesses have been faced with falling revenues and have been forced to slash costs to compensate. Sports franchises are not immune to this trend and have been forced to come up with creative and innovative marketing strategies to put fans in the seats and offset diminishing profits. There were two unusual promotions coming out of minor league baseball within the last year that I want to highlight for their originality.

Almost everyone has heard about the MTV phenomena that was Jersey Shore. MTV placed seven guidos in one house and followed their lives for a summer on the Jersey Shore. Millions of people were glued to their TV sets every Thursday awaiting the inevitable train wreck that was every episode of the hit show. Between “fist pumping like a champion”, and “GTL “(Gym, Tanning, Laundry), those seven men and women have left their mark on American culture for better or worse.

Recognizing the popularity of this show, the Brooklyn Cyclones capitalized on this success with “Jersey? Sure Night” (Rovell). The team gave out free jerseys, which depicted the team mascot in a fist-pumping pose, and allowed people the chance to have their hair styled in the signature “Blowout” championed by Jersey Shore cast member Pauley D. Whether this promotion was profitable or not, no one can argue with the idea. The show undoubtedly appeals to an audience of young people who are more likely than not interested in sports. The Cyclones obviously recognized the potential of riding Jersey Shore’s coattails to profit, and I applaud them for their resourcefulness.

The next promotion comes out of my home state of Missouri where the River City Rascals have joined with an insurance company to offer fans win insurance. In an interview with KTVI Fox 2, Zach Prehn from the Rascals explained that for only two dollars patrons can buy win insurance and if the Rascals lose they may bring in their ticket and get a free $11 box seat to another home game. Since tickets start at only six dollars, this is a great deal for fans. The team partnered with a local insurance company the Midwest Agency to spark this campaign. Both sides saw this as a win, and way to increase their profits in tough times. The Agency will see more customers walk in the door because fans must come to the agency to receive their new ticket, and the Rascal gain a sponsorship fee that they hope will offset the cost of the free tickets as well as increased concession revenue. When asked if Prehn knew of another promotion of this kind and he responded, “As far as we [Rascals] know, we are the very first team to do this” (Prehn). It is unique ideas like this that increase people’s interest in attending sporting events. Even if this promotion is not as financially successful as the Rascals hope, it will definitely help get the word out about Rascal’s baseball and hopefully bring increased profits in the future.

I have no doubt we will continue to see creative ideas such as these if the U.S. economy continues to struggle. With people cutting back on luxuries, sports teams will have to repeatedly find ways to draw fans interest and keep them coming to games. Marketing promotions and campaigns like these will be paramount to team’s financial success until the economy picks up and people start spending again.

Sources:

Darren Rovell’s Blog:

http://www.cnbc.com/id/34572754

Fox interview with Zach Prehn:

http://www.fox2now.com/news/morningshow/ktvi-river-city-rascals-win-insurance-011110,0,6084642.story