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Celebrity Football Brand Ambassador Partnerships
Key Takeaways
- Research shows that brand-athlete partnerships typically yield positive returns for both parties.
- These partnerships are driven by various goals such as boosting brand awareness, brand equity and product promotion.
- Increasingly, a brand’s decision to partner with an athlete no longer focuses solely on their on-field prowess but also other aspects such as social relevance, fan connection, and trust.
Introduction
Brands work with celebrity athletes to endorse their products for various reasons. From boosting brand equity to building brand awareness to promoting a social cause, research shows that using professional athletes is a very effective method of achieving such goals. This report examines three case studies of brand endorsement by professional athletes and the impact of such partnerships.
Findings
(a) Nike and LeBron James
- Nike is a global brand that designs, markets, and distributes apparel, athletic footwear, equipment and a wide variety of sports and fitness activities.
- In 2012, the company signed a US$15 million endorsement deal with NBA superstar LeBron James. Marketing analysts believe Nike’s partnership with celebrity athletes aims to achieve three main goals:
Product promotion: athletes are the best fit for promoting certain products because they help create the impression that their performance is enhanced by using that product.
Brand equity: endorsing a product makes it more recognizable, thereby increasing its value as well as that of the athlete. For example, because of the US$15 million deal LeBron signed with Nike, the company sold over US$100 million worth of LeBron’s signature shoes in the United States alone.
- The decision to have LeBron James endorse Nike’s athletic footwear could have been influenced by his on-field performance and stand on social issues affecting the lives of others. LeBron feels compelled to speak about social justice issues to help better the lives of affected persons. By working with an athlete whose stand on social issues is public, Nike portrays itself as a socially conscious company concerned about social issues that affect its customers.
- Indeed, the modern athlete’s social influence is no longer pegged solely on their success in sports. Increasingly, their attitude towards and engagement with fans and social relevance are critical value points in the eyes of consumers, brands and fans.
(b) Herbalife Nutrition and Cristiano Ronaldo (CR7)
- Herbalife Nutrition is another multinational that provides better nutrition and health for people. It mainly sells its products through independent distributors and consumers.
- In 2013, the company partnered with Cristiano Ronaldo to launch the sports drink Herbalife 24 CR7 Drive. Since then, the footballer has continued to endorse the brand and even renewed their deal for another three years in 2018.
- Herbalife’s decision to work with Cristiano Ronaldo comes down to the player’s marketability, work ethics and global reputation. With five Ballon d’Or awards to his name and numerous records, Cristiano Ronaldo is easily one of the most successful and famous footballers in modern history.
- Another factor is Cristiano Ronaldo’s huge social media following. With 500+ million followers on social media, CR7 is the most followed sports personality globally. For perspective, the U.S. has a population of 350 million. From a business standpoint, the attention that CR7 directs to a brand he endorses is immense and can translate to better sales thus higher revenue.
- A huge advocate of healthy living, Cristiano’s endorsement of Herbalife Nutrition intends to portray the company’s products as healthy and critical to performance. Indeed, this is about brand value — Herbalife wants to create the image of being the market leader in nutrition, wellness, and sports performance products.
(c) Under Armour (UA) and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson
- Under Armour is a sports equipment company that manufacturers casual and sports apparel and footwear.
- The company and Dwayne Johnson started working together in 2016 in a long-term partnership deal to help “develop a range of apparel, footwear, and other accessories and products” for the brand.
- While Dwayne Johnson is a consummate entertainer, UA intended to leverage his non-athlete status to generate more appeal for its products, especially among non-athletes. In essence, the company wanted to connect with the average person interested in fitness. According to Janet Comenos, the CEO of Spotted, a research company that evaluates celebrity endorsements, UA’s deal with Dwayne Johnson was ranked the “best-matched celebrity-brand partnership” in the retail and fashion sectors.
- Comenos described Johnson as a person who “represents minimal risk, has an incredibly high audience match with the Under Armour customer base and very high resonance, recognition and trust scores.”
- Strategic partnerships with celebrity athletes have helped UA grow its product lines significantly in recent years because despite being a relatively new entrant in the sportswear industry, UA ranks among the top footwear brands in the U.S. market. For example, a Project Rock 1 sneaker released by UA in May 2018 sold out in under 24 hours — a clear indication of the effectiveness of using celebrity athletes to promote a brand.
Research strategy
We focused on identifying endorsement deals between brands and professional athletes that impacted the company’s bottom line, market position, or equity. The decision to use examples of well-known celebrity athletes was informed by relevance and abundance of information. Further, we widened the scope of the research to consider non-footballers also as was provided for in the research criteria.