Every athlete has a story.
Too often athletes are seen by potential sponsors only for what they are—golfers, hockey players, soccer players, etc.—where the only perceived differentiation is what happens on the field. Performance is always going to be part of the value equation, but athletes are more than that. Every athlete has a story, every athlete has unique motivations, every athlete believes in something.
And sometimes these stories, motivations and belief-systems intersect with those potential sponsors.
At The Branded Athlete, our process uncovers the athlete’s authentic “brand idea” and then articulates it in a way that potential sponsors and athletes can evaluate each other in much more productive and useful ways. The result: more meaningful, more motivating, more valuable corporate allies (not sponsorships).
See our mention in Forbes.com, “Social Media Influencers Need To Turn The Table On Brands”
The enemy: random sponsorships.
Have you ever seen an athlete pitching a product and wonder, “How does HE make sense for THAT?” Yeah, we have too and it can be embarrassing for all involved, not to mention inauthentic to the viewing public. Well, we have developed a way for athletes to avoid such random acts of sponsorship.
The Branded Athlete is the brainchild of sports marketer, Darren Feeney, and Forbes Contributor/branding expert, Will Burns. We work with athletes to help them find and articulate their own personal, unique, powerful brand ideas so that corporate sponsorships become less random and more purposeful and mutually-beneficial alliances.
Reframing an athlete’s value.
NHL Goalie Robin Lehner & Will Burns
Marketing who the athlete is and not just what the athlete is invites potential sponsors to evaluate the athlete more holistically. It’s about much more than the performance on the field, but about a human being who shares a worldview with the allied brand. We align athlete/company causes, belief systems and purposes, yielding stronger, longer and more financially valuable relationships. Both brands—the athlete’s and the allied company’s—benefit. And by the way, we help the athlete say no to potential brand-allies who do not share significant beliefs. Our work gives the athlete a filter by which to make better business decisions.
motivated activation.
Because the partnership becomes a personal reflection of who the athlete is as a person means activation ideas are perceived as “less work” and the athlete is more motivated when it comes to implementation. In addition, it means less typical, more personal and more unique activation ideas from the sponsoring brand. There’s so much more to work with when the sponsoring brand understands the athlete is so much more than a golfer, a commodity.
For the long-term.
Further, and specific to the athlete, developing and articulating a strong brand idea now means co-building a branded platform that lasts far longer than his or her sports-playing career. When retirement hits, the brand is built (effectively and happily paid for by the allied brands) and is ready to be extended in exciting new ways.
The brand idea delivers.
When an athlete has a thoughtful, powerful brand idea uncovered and articulated, it becomes a commitment to him or herself, to the fans and to the marketplace. And it becomes a filter for making better personal and business decisions.
Armed with a brand idea, it’s much easier to say no to opportunities that don’t resonate. It’s much easier to say yes—with enthusiasm—to opportunities that do. Over time, everything the athlete does lines up, adds up, makes sense. From brand alliances, to charity work to communications to a platform for retirement. It’s what you are on the field of play, but with a brand idea it’s who you are everywhere else.
brand alliances
Knowing the athlete’s brand idea, we can now use syndicated research to find high indexing brands that share the athlete’s view of the world, key interests, passions and other aspects of the athlete. We will provide a short list of target brands and rationale for each.
communications strategies
The brand idea will give the athlete, and representatives, guidance as to how to handle key communications. Be that the athlete’s person Instagram, Facebook and Twitter posts, or even a fan web site. We will provide ideas for these that are inspired by the brand idea.
Philanthropic partnerships
Every athlete cares about the world and wants to leverage their fame to improve it some way. We find it’s best to find not just any philanthropic organization, but the ones whose causes are in line with an athlete’s. Armed with the brand idea, we can find perfect partners.
platform for retirement
While the athlete is building his or her brand with the tools listed above, the athlete will also be building a long-term platform. So when it’s time to retire, the athlete leverages this platform and aligns with or starts businesses that are further proof of the original brand idea.
Public relations
Armed with a tight, powerful brand idea, PR experts can more easily find the right publicity for the athlete, the kinds that further cement his or her brand idea in people’s minds. No more random acts of publicity. We can now help your team frame an effective PR strategy.
Branding the athlete.
Our four-week proprietary process includes a discovery period where we conduct interviews with the athlete and a few choice people around him or her, so we can truly understand who the athlete is as a person and his or her individual core values. From there, we develop brand ideas in the form of taglines, a professionally written manifesto for the approved brand idea that brings the idea to life and a presentation of marketing ideas the athlete/agent can use right away. Specifically:
1 week
Purpose: to understand the athlete. Who they are on and off the field, understand his or her motivations, beliefs, intentions for the future and what’s important in life.
Method: In-person interview with the athlete in comfortable setting. Interviews with 4-5 people close to the athlete—friends, coaches, teammates, spouses, etc.—either in-person or over the phone. The idea is to get a well-rounded view into who the athlete is as a person.
1 week
Purpose: to explore many different ideas, each of which focus who the athlete is.
Method: Inspired by the immersion, we present a variety of brand ideas in the form of tag lines. Each idea includes the tag line, an explanation of the intention behind it and business rationale as to why we think it will help the athlete. The discussion that ensues after seeing multiple brand ideas is often nearly therapeutic, as it allows the athlete to “try on” different ideas. We discuss each for as long as it takes and get it down to one tag line, even if that’s a new line inspired by those presented.
1 week
Purpose: it’s impossible to “channel” a brand idea if one doesn’t fully understand it. So our manifesto explains, dramatizes and even romances the approved tag line so that others representing the athlete are 100% clear as to the athlete’s brand intentions.
Method: We write a powerful one-page manifesto designed to be framed and hung on the wall. Language from this piece will be used for all kinds of future communications.
1 week
Purpose: to equip the athlete and supporting staff with marketing ideas inspired by the manifesto.
Method: We present multiple marketing ideas, again, each inspired by the brand idea that only the athlete would do, all designed to inspire further thinking. Includes a list of potential sponsors who share the athlete’s view of the world (as indicated by syndicated research), ideas for a fan web site, ideas for public appearances, philanthropic topics/associations, etc.
Darren Feeney, Sports Marketing and Communications Expert
“Darren and I have spent decades personifying brands. It’s exciting and powerful to now ‘brandify’ our athletes.”
Will Burns, Branding and Communications Expert
Let's Chat.
Use the form below to contact us regarding your inquiry. Please be as detailed as you’d like. You may also email or call us to make an appointment.
We welcome the athlete or the athlete’s agent to start a conversation with us.
☎ CONTACT
Darren Feeney
darren@thebrandedathlete.com
(508) 463-5769