Sneak Preview #5 of 5 - The Ultimate Guide to Sponsoring Athletes

Choosing the Right Athletes

Is there a right type of athlete for a particular type of business?

Guess what, there’s no single answer for this!

Of course if your company are all footy mad, then wouldn’t it make sense to sponsor a footy player (or team), or if you’re an adventurous young company, maybe sponsoring an adventurous young athlete would be a good fit. It’s so important to think about your target market and who THEY relate to and will be influenced by. If you sell tennis racquets, and your target market is recreational, older, tennis players, then sponsoring a golfer may not be a good move.

In fact, let’s be honest, it would probably be a huge waste of time and money……..UNLESS….unless…..the golfer also plays tennis in their spare time, loves it, enjoys it at a social level and can share some great content that is relevant, interesting and entertaining or educational for your target market! Maybe the golfer is in his 50’s and is also sponsored by a vitamin company, and is active in that company’s social media. Let’s say he is showcased as being a great example of how fitness and health is possible at any age……and in the social media posts there are pictures of your sponsored athlete playing tennis with your racquets. Maybe you do some cross promotion with the golf players other sponsor and connect in with their network and customer base…..so, maybe a tennis company could sponsor a golfer?

So you can see, there really is no single or right or wrong answer to this question! Isn’t it exciting to know that there really are no limitations when it comes to this!

There are certainly obvious and good choices, but I urge you to think outside the square and consider a range of athletes both in terms of their sport type, sport accomplishments or goals, as well as whether they are aspirational, inspirational, relatable or informational!

At the commencement, or during review, of a sponsorship, it's integral to identify the value on offer from the athlete and from the sponsor. What skills, attributes, offerings do each bring to the table. What combined value does this create? What complimentary or enhanced value is now on offer? What opportunities now exist, and only exist, as a result of this partnership?

If your brand was a person what kind of person would it be? This is one of the elements you need to identify when choosing the right athlete to sponsor.

Is your brand, fun, serious, friendly... does it care about the environment, health or extreme sports. Is it engaging or aloof, is it interested in communities or does it encourage individual achievements and elitism...these are the kind of things that will help you create the profile of your athlete…..they should personify your brand.

If you were to describe the  profile of your ideal athlete it would be a combination of the existing brand profile and the way that the athlete is currently (or intends to be) viewed within certain networks and groups. They can be influencers and  leaders or sources of information within these audiences, and depending on how they are best placed to interact, the will promote your brand either directly or indirectly to your target market. They may actively promote, actively endorse, or subtly endorse your brand, either through the activities they already partake in, or new and strategic activities.

There are 7 key attributes to look for in any athlete that you sponsor. The more of these they have the better, and the first one is a non negotiable:

1. Integrity – that they believe in the brand and have aligned values
2. Clarity of Their Own Personality - that they know what they’re about and are consistent in how they project themselves
3. Clarity of Brand Personality - that they understand how to represent the brand
4. Good communicator - verbal, written or visual…..one or all is great!
5. Team Player - within their sport and within their sponsorship relationships
6. Sense of Humour - they don’t have to be hilarious but the ability to bring humour into a sponsorship is valuab!
7. Good at Networking – Either in their sports community, the business world, online or wherever it is that you want to be connected to.

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