- Role model – this is one of the
toughest as the athlete’s moral
compass is usually measured by
how they stand out and become
people to admire or mentor his
admirers or otherwise; and
- Uniqueness – how different are
they from the others in the game,
maybe the first Black, first Kenyan
or any other exceptional attribute.
A good example of an endorser
leveraging physical attractiveness is
tennis star Anna Kournikova, who
can be labeled as a highly successful
sports loser.
Despite not winning a WTA singles
tournament, the tennis player is
reported to have earned $10 million
a year back in 2002 and her sponsors
included Adidas, Berlei lingerie,
Lycos, Omega watches, and Yonex.
In a press article in July 2002, David
Schwab, a spokesman from her
agency, Octagon, commented: “She’s
a great tennis player, has a great look,
and has global appeal. Those are
the combination of characteristics
companies look for when they
partner with athletes”.
Other Marketing Opportunities
An athlete’s unique connection to
a brand usually creates a reaction
that causes marketers to match their
products with the sports personality
that has the best fit with the
perceived image of the company.
‘‘Controversial
sports personalities
can work to alienate
consumers hurting
the image of the
brand and associated
communication such
as ads and public
relations activities.’’
This is usually the case in more
developed sports markets.
In Kenya, we’re still learning the
ropes on the best-fit athletes for
endorsing products. We have seen
less significant brands roping in star
athlet es only for the endorsements to
be dropped in a huff.
Former female boxer Conjestina
Achieng’s case with a local milk
processing company is a case in point.
For advertisers, the strategy of
aligning an athlete with a brand can
be either beneficial or risky in the
long run, but the investment can
also be rewarding in the longer run
resulting in increased sales for the
brand.
This is exemplified by the
masterstroke that’s the Jordan
phenomenon.
If the endorser does indeed commit
a serious social blunder or a misconduct – there is the risk of negative
publicity. This happened with Oscar
Pistorius and Lance Armstrong
leading to some of the worst flak to
sponsors by consumers and human
rights organizations’ alike.
Controversial sports personalities can
work to alienate consumers hurting
the image of the brand and associated
communication such as ads and
public relations activities.
It is such cases that may have
informed sponsors to quickly act
on alleged malpractices or wrongdoing by the athletes or sports
organisations. Sports behemoths too
who have endorsed certain brands
through their sponsorship deals have
lately been put in the spotlight and
made to account for their actions.
FIFA suffered bad publicity last
year leading to a new election of its
president in early March 2016.
Corporates and major brands have
realized that athletes have benefits
that they can bring to a marketing or
ad campaign. The athletes tend to be
selected on their more outgoing and
prominent features.
However picking the right athlete to
appear in the company’s or brand’s
communication is critical. The more
positive and familiar s/he is in the
society, the more positive coverage s/
he is likely to get hence consumers’
view of her/him.
With the increased selection of
brands to choose from in a category,
consumers too have become liberal
in their own right, switching brands
as some of their sporting heroes
change teams. However this has to
be supplemented with overall good
performance of the sports personality
or team in their sport.
Ultimately athletes are experts in
their own field and sports discipline,
they cannot be expected to be equally
as vocal in the field of business,
human rights, labor and other sociopolitical issues.
However they do have a
responsibility to know what’s going
on with the corporates or brands
they endorse and speak up if corrupt
conditions are deemed to be in
existence.
Richard Wanjohi is a Marketing
enthusiast with interests in market
research, sports marketing and digital
marketing. You can follow his thoughts
on Twitter @rwanjohi or e-mail him
on: [email protected].