Athletes: Here are 10 tips to attract brand partners.
If you are a professional athlete and are looking to generate commercial opportunities outside of your club contract then you already know what we’re about to say.
Building a strong personal brand is a non-negotiable. It’s not an extra. Something for extra credit or a 1% competitive advantage. It’s fundamental.
It’s purposeful practice, which as we all know, is the only route to perfection.
An athlete should work on building a strong personal brand that reflects their values, personality, and achievements. This can be done by creating a website or social media profiles that showcase their accomplishments, that share their story, and offer a glimpse into their lifestyle outside of the game.
Here are some of the top tips we give athletes we work with:
Focus on their niche: An athlete should focus on their niche, with the audience that resonates best, such as their sport or a particular skillset, and showcase their expertise in that area. From there of course you grow as far as you brand allows. This first step though will help them attract brands that are interested in targeting that specific audience, as you bring a quick route to a specific (hopefully synergistic) customer base.
Develop a following: There are tonne of ways an athlete can develop a following by engaging with fans on social media, sharing content that resonates with their audience, and participating in community events. Digital content is by far and away the easiest way to do this as it is scalable and often incurs very little cost to create. Really take a look at your story, background, habits and activities to identify unique avenues to explore. Create content specifically for your audience so that the engage and share your message. This will help you build a loyal fan base that can be leveraged for brand sponsorships.
Demonstrate social responsibility: Brands are increasingly looking for athletes who are socially responsible and use their platform to make a positive impact. An athlete can demonstrate their social responsibility by getting involved in charitable activities, volunteering in their community, or supporting social causes that align with their values. It used to be that it was “winners only”, when it came to a brand’s athlete selections, but more and more big brands are being struggling to meaningfully connect with consumers as they are so reliant on the commercial relationship to operate. Now there are more brands looking to pay for the purpose and relationships that come vicariously through their athletes.
Be authentic: Brands want to work with athletes who are authentic and genuine. An athlete should be true to themselves, share their own stories, and avoid trying to be someone they are not. This is another non-negotiable, if it doesn’t feel right don’t do it, say it, promote it or post it. If you are always honest your brand is clear and obvious, and you don’t risk tripping up on something later down the line. This also helps brands quickly identify you as an outstanding candidate to work with as your values will hopefully align with theirs
Participate in media interviews: Any athlete should participate in media interviews and provide insightful commentary on their sport or industry. Yes sometimes this is difficult, and may feel alien at first but the world of professional sports is littered with moments when a player with a bit character or a strong point of view could make huge progressive changes by using their platform but stick to the party line. There are others though, like the iconic Shaunagh Brown who blows us all away with a perfect storm of sport, emotion and political statement. This will help you establish yoursef as a thought leader and increase your visibility among brands that are looking for spokespersons.
Create engaging content: There’s no getting away it, an athlete who can create engaging content such as videos, blog posts, or podcasts that showcase their personality is 10 times more valuable to a brand than someone who is scared of talking to camera. This at least is a skill that can be learned, or at the very least sub-contracted out, to either an agency, club team, or at a minimum your mate with a decent camera. Being able to create and share unique content on behalf of the brand in a professional or premium manner could be the single biggest value add. This skill will help you not just build your following but also attract brands that are interested in collaborating on content creation.
Participate in visible competitions: It is rarely a deal breaker, but the first place most brands will for athlete partners is on the current league championship team sheet or high on world rankings table. If you are winning, then it sometimes gives you a pass on some of these other elements. So be the athlete who puts their hand up in competitions and tournaments to showcase not just you skills, but your leadership, maybe your humility and your values.
Build relationships with industry insiders: An athlete should absolutely build relationships with industry insiders such as coaches, agents, and journalists. You don’t have to have an agent for this, but it helps if you don’t have time to manage this yourself. IF you have a specific target brand you want to work with then search out the right person through professional network platforms and strike up a conversation. Engage with brand marketing channels, like and share content and be seen to share and encourage others to engage as well. Hear everyone out but do not accept all brand offers of partnerships unless you’ve carefully thought it through.
Showcase their professionalism: Be easy to work with. Understand that this is often a long game, and that to start with you are laying foundations for future opportunities - the first deal is not the big money deal. Often the 5th, 10th or 15th project is not the big money deal, but when you get spoken about at brands and a decision needs to be made, your attitude and partnership will definitely have an affect on the outcome. An athlete should show their professionalism by being punctual, reliable, and respectful to others whilst at shoots, in brand offices and working with agencies.
Be consistent - Like any skill an athlete hopes to learn, it is not something that will happen offer night. Your brand is how other people describe you when you’re not in the room, this requires athletes to demonstrate their values and skills consistently across all interactions, which takes time.
These are all things we are here to help with. If you have any questions, want to have a calll or enlist our support don’t hesitate to reach out.
You can book a completely free intro call by clicking the link here
