Welcome to the blog of Dr. Lisa Burns' Media Studies senior capstone class (3:30 pm section) at Quinnipiac University. If you're looking for the latest on media industry trends and insightful media analysis, you've come to the right place!
Wednesday, April 4, 2018
Sports & Celebrity Blog 9, Question 2 (April 10th)
Why is branding so important in sports?
How is it similar to, and different from, celebrity branding?What are some of the ways that successful athletes
and franchises leverage their brands in the marketplace?Limit:
8 responses
Branding is very important in sports because it is the DNA of the organization and helps to promote the entire team in a positive way (Adler). This is different from celebrity branding because celebrities need to brand themselves on their own or have an agent brand them, however sports branding is for a larger entity. One way that successful athletes and franchises leverage their brands in the market place is by creating a passionate and devoted fan base.
Branding is a very essential part of sports. ESPN+ is a prime example of this. This company will be the upcoming, “direct-to-consumer subscription streaming service from Disney,” featuring ESPN branded content (Adler). ESPN was built on a strong belief in the powerful connection between sports, “and a remarkable array of fans” (Adler). The Walt Disney Company stated that the launch of ESPN+ marks the beginning of an, “exciting new era of innovation for our media businesses” (Adler). This would be an era defined by an enlarging direct and personal relationship with consumers.
Celebrity branding is different from sports branding because celebrities need to brand themselves. There are a few Internet “sensations,” that have come from nothing and had to brand themselves (Wakabayashi). Additional examples include Logan and Jack Paul, Amanda Cerny, and Juanpa Zurita. Some are comedians and some are models, “and some are famous for being famous” (Wakabayashi). Either way, all of these people are apparent influencers; because social media speaks for people with a gigantic digital audience (Wakabayashi). Gaining followers is a prime example of a way to market yourself as a celebrity. Ms. Cerny, as mentioned before, is one of the “top tier influencers” (Wakabayashi). Cerny has 18.8 million instagram followers and 1.1 million subscribers to her YouTube vlogs (Wakabayashi). In branding yourself as a celebrity, it’s important to accumulate a substantial number of followers and to be the face of your brand.
One way that successful athletes and franchises leverage their brands in the market place is by creating a passionate and devoted fan base. Dr. Alyssa Tavormina, a faculty member at the University of Florida’s online Master of Science in Sport Management states, “Through the media fans not only connect with sports’ teams and leagues but the athletes themselves have specific accounts which allow them to also connect personally with millions of fans” (Clapp). This direct connection has given fans the opportunity to be a part of the, “sport organizations story” (Clapp).
Branding is extremely important in sports, especially because it is the backbone of the organization and it helps the team in a positive way. This type of branding is different from celebrity branding because celebrities have to brand themselves on their own. One important way successful athletes and franchises leverage their brands is having loving and devoted fans.
Works Cited
Adler, Kristie. “ESPN+ to Launch April 12, Bringing Sports Fans More Live Sports, Exclusive Originals and On-Demand Library – All for $4.99 Per Month.” ESPN MediaZone U.S., 4 Apr. 2018, espnmediazone.com/us/press-releases/2018/04/espn-to-launch-april-12-bringing-sports-fans-more-live-sports-exclusive-originals-and-on-demand-library-all-for-4-99-per-month/.
Clapp, Brian. “Brian Clapp.” Sports Jobs Blog, WorkinSports.com Publisher Logo, 28 June 2017, www.workinsports.com/blog/unique-strategies-for-using-social-media-in-sports-marketing/.
Wakabayashi, Daisuke. “Inside the Hollywood Home of Social Media's Stars. (Don't Be Shy.).” The New York Times, The New York Times, 30 Dec. 2017, www.nytimes.com/2017/12/30/business/hollywood-apartment-social-media.html?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=THR%27s%2BToday%2Bin%2BEntertainment_now_2017-12-30%2B10%3A30%3A30_rrahman&utm_term=hollywoodreporter_tie.
Branding in sports has become so important in keeping sports franchises alive. Brand endorsements from individual athletes increase their revenue and also provide an association to the whole team that athlete may be apart of. According to professor George Foster at Stanford University, a brand is “a visible symbol which shows how a product is different from competitors in the eyes of consumers/public” and that the “most important part of a brand is the intangible ideas and values that fans associate with it” (Rishe). Sports branding is different from celebrity branding because celebrities are creating their own, personal image. Though, it is similar because brands often choose one particular athlete on the team to represent their image.
These brands also rely on the viewership of these sports to get their name out there. However, some sports have lost viewers, specifically the NFL. The U.S. Daily Gallup survey found that “57% of American adults say they are fans of pro football, down from 67% in 2012 when Gallup last asked the question” as of the 2017 season (Roberts). A 10% drop is something that other major brands start to pay attention to because that means that they now have to question if sports athletes are really as influential compared to a big-name celebrity.
Sports teams have shown to be quite beneficial in the past. The Dallas Cowboys are a perfect example. Owner and general manager of the team Jerry Jones helped transform “America’s Team from a franchise losing $1 million a month to a financial juggernaut with $300 million in annual operating profit… and built the club into the most valuable team in sports, worth $4.2 billion” (Badenhausen). With a team like that, why wouldn’t brands want to plaster their name all over the team?
Branding also tends to do well in sports when that team or athlete associated with the brand is doing well within their sport. When this happens, that team or athlete’s marketability rises. An example of this would be tennis star Serena Williams. She won the Australian Open in January 2017, and then later announced that she was eight weeks pregnant while competing. This increased her popularity and made her admirable. She has “more than 22.6 million social media followers and was the highest paid female athlete in 2017, according to Forbes. Intel was among the newest organizations to sign endorsement deals with Williams, joining brands like Beats by Dre, Gatorade, JPMorgan Chase, Nike and Tempur-Pedic” (Nielsen). Because she was successful in her sport, and gained lots of social media attention from her pregnancy announcement, brands used her likability to increase their market.
Works Cited
Badenhausen, Kurt. "The Cowboys and Yankees Top the World's Most Valuable Sports Teams Of 2017," Forbes 12 July 2017.
"Year in Sports Media Report 2017," Nielsen.com Feb. 2018. Web.
Rishe, Patrick. “Brand Building, Lavar Ball, And The Business Of Sport Marketing.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 10 May 2017.
Roberts, Daniel. "NFL lost fans in past 5 years, while NBA, NHL, pro soccer gained," Yahoo Finance 17 Oct. 2017. Web.
Branding is a huge part of sports. A single athlete can have a direct impact as the face of a brand or a franchise. When you think of women’s tennis you think of Serena Williams. Take LeBron James as another example. He is singlehandedly the face of Nike, the NBA, and the Cleveland Cavaliers. What LeBron does for one of the biggest brands in the entire world, the best basketball league on the planet, and one of the most popular teams is a true rarity and should never be taken for granted. An article from Nielson reads, “LeBron James (N-Score 76) led the Cleveland Cavaliers to their third straight NBA Finals appearance in 2017, and he leads all U.S. athletes in terms of brand marketability via social media with more than 96.9 million social media followers. Like Serena Williams, James added Intel to his list of endorsement contracts, which also includes a $1 billion lifetime contract with Nike and deals with Beats by Dre, Coca-Cola, Kia Motors and Verizon” (Neilson.) Even though Williams and James are the ones endorsing the brands if you think about it, it really works the other way around even more. They are both such icons that their identities as people are each a brand in itself. You could make the argument that today Nike revolves around LeBron. He has created his own brand as an athlete and activist unlike very few ever have. In regards to celebrity branding, branding with sports and with celebrities are so similar that they sometimes even overlap. LeBron is considered the biggest sports branding tool as well as a branded celebrity. Maybe that is why they call him the king after all! A Forbes magazine article reads, “The New York Yankees are undergoing a youth movement on the field led by Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez, but the team’s finances are still tops in baseball. The Yankees are the world’s second most valuable team, worth $3.7 billion, up 9% from 2016, when the Bronx Bombers ranked fourth. The Yankees have the highest sponsorship revenue ($120 million) and premium seating revenue ($130 million) in the sport” (Badenhausen.) As you can see, the Yankees continue to hold the title of the richest team in baseball. The reason they are the most valuable team is a byproduct of their brand around the world. An article from the The Pastime says it best, “No matter where you sit reading this, there is likely a store within driving range offering New York Yankees merchandise. Such is the power of one baseball team, characterized by the vaunted interlocking NY insignia, we see its gear worn by urchins and immortals, heroes and villains, village folk and Presidents, from the Bronx to Berlin, from Birmingham to Brussels, from Bangkok to Brisbane” (Ferguson.) This just speaks to the Yankees brand as a whole and how it is such a transcendent brand worldwide. It is a brand that goes beyond the sport itself. It has given them the platform to also flourish in their sport as well. Some of the best players dream to play for the renowned Yankees in the house that Ruth built. This is huge leverage to a team like the Yankees just as it is any team that LeBron would ever go to.
Badenhausen, K. (2017, July 12). The Cowboys And Yankees Top The World's Most Valuable Sports Teams Of 2017. Retrieved April 10, 2018, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/kurtbadenhausen/2017/07/12/the-cowboys-and-yankees-top-the-worlds-most-valuable-sports-teams-of-2017/#56daaac05018
Ferguson, R. (2016, October 12). How the Yankees' Brand Became Universally Popular. Retrieved April 10, 2018, from https://ryanfergusonbaseball.wordpress.com/2015/02/24/how-the-yankees-brand-became-universally-popular/
Tops of 2017: Pro Athlete Marketability. (n.d.). Retrieved April 10, 2018, from http://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/news/2017/tops-of-2017-pro-athlete-marketability.html
Branding in sports is important because it keeps sports franchises popular and keeps fans involved. “As a sports team, your branding is more about your fans, sponsors, club members and their personalities and performance. You also want them to perceive you in certain way so they cheer for you, support you and have respect for you” (Schäferhoff). A team has to have good branding to also put a good face on sports team. Celebrity branding and sports branding are different in many ways. Celebrities brand themselves as individuals. They are representing themselves only where as sports branding you are representing a team. But, with sports branding, brands can represent one individual athlete. The brands that represent sports teams and individual athletes, need people watching sports teams to be able to advertise their brand. Many popular sports have decreased in viewership where as many sports that weren’t as popular have increased in viewership. “Gallup also asked about other sports. Football was one of only two sports to see a significant drop from five years ago; the other was Olympic sports, which fell 12 percentage points and isn’t likely to get much help from the 2018 Winter Games in PyeongChang, though it still has the biggest chunk of fans, at 63% of Americans. Pro baseball and college basketball saw drops of 2 percentage points each” (Roberts). If sports would have better brands representing their teams, they can get better viewership and keep their revenue high. “Using the ad/sponsorship spend by sports betting companies in the UK and Australia where sports betting is legal, Nielsen projects that it will generate over $2.6 billion for U.S.-based leagues, teams and media companies if the majority of states pass sports betting legislation” (Stainer, Master). Branding boost sports because if the team is doing well than they brand can get good viewership. There are many athletes who help represent brands in many ways. Some of those athletes are: Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Serena Williams and many more. But, someone who has turned there brand into a multi million dollar company is Lonzo Ball. Lonzo Ball and his family have branded there company, Big Baller Brand, in many ways that has helped make there brand bigger than anyone would of ever thought. Lonzo Ball being the star he is has made many people want to wear Big Baller Brand apparel. Lonzo Ball uses social media to promote Big Baller Brand which has helped increase profit for the brand. The ball family has come up with many smart ways to promote their brand and that is why they are so successful. If it wasn’t for devoted fan to sports teams, man brands wouldn’t have the success they have.
Work Cited:
"Year in Sports Media Report 2017," Nielsen.com Feb. 2018. Web.
Roberts, Daniel. "NFL lost fans in past 5 years, while NBA, NHL, pro soccer gained," Yahoo Finance 17 Oct. 2017. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/nfl-lost-fans-past-5-years-nba-nhl-pro-soccer-gained-135434674.html?utm_content=buffer6ccb6&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer
Schäferhoff, Nick. “Sports Team Branding and How to Do It Right.” ThemeBoy. 21 July 2016. https://www.themeboy.com/blog/spor
Think of the all time sports teams of all time. The Lakers, The Cowboys, The Yankees, The Red Wings. All of these teams have a pedigree, they have an aurora about them. The Lakers are showtime, Jack Nicholson will be sitting courtside along with all of the stars of Hollywood. The Cowboys are America’s team, with legends of football like Rodger Staubauch and Tony Dorsett. The Yankees have murderers row and the house that Ruth built. Detroit is hockeytown and an original six franchise that took no prisoners. The images of these organizations make them staples in sports media and a model for other franchises in the league. Players too have a brand behind them. Ron Artest has the worst brand in the NBA after the Malice in the Palace when he went into the stands to fight fans. Artest had to change his name and go through a long process to clear his name and his actions. The best player to ever brand himself was Michael Jordan. Michael Jordan brought the game of basketball and the country together. Michael Jordan transcended races and made the country fall in love with an athlete. There are two ways to become a successful brand if you’re an athlete. Step one is the most difficult and not many achieve is become a winner. You need to become a champion, a consistent winner to become a noticeable brand and pick up a buzz about you. Step two is be a good person. The Athletes with the highest N-Score according to nielsen.com are athletes of the likes of J.J Watt who does so much for his community and a tremendous player. In some cases you can be so good at what you do that you can still be a not so great of a guy and have a strong brand. Floyd Mayweather is a boxer with multiple accusations of domestic violence against his girlfriend and assault and battery. But despite the shortcomings Floyd still is a top 100-earning athlete in the world according to an article written by Forbes.com. Floyd has a personal brand in the “The Money Team” and a very large following because of all his antics and he is arguably the greatest boxer to ever do it. Now as a franchise the recipe gets a little more complex to be a dominant brand. The one driving factor that helps many of these franchises is their markets. Larger markets like New York, Dallas, Los Angeles, will dominate. These cities are too large and have a long reach of sports fans. But the more successful you are the more fans you get. And the top 10 sports franchises according to an article written by Kurt Badenhausen five out of the top ten sports franchises are from a big market like Boston, LA, New York, Dallas. The other five are global franchises that are highly successful. If you are not in the biggest of markets that is ok, the other way you can raise the value of your franchise is to win like always. Washington D.C. Is known for politics not sports but the Redskins are a top 20 franchise. The one thing that the Redskins have is they have tradition. The Redskins won a super bowl with a black quarterback in Doug Williams and it was the first time that happened in NFL history. Not all franchises are created equal. Some are losers and others are winners. The losers have loyal fans and there is no question that they have a place in sports. But the Yankees of the world, they make dollars and win championships. The Cowboys have the Emmit Smith, Michael Irvin, hall of famers wear the star. The way to build a brand is to win. If you want to be a big time brand, then win and do it often. That’s the key to becoming a millionaire in the sports world and get all the sponsors.
Works Cited Badenhausen, Kurt. "The Cowboys and Yankees Top the World's Most Valuable Sports Teams Of 2017," Forbes 12 July 2017. "Tops of 2017: Pro Athlete Marketability," Nielsen.com 21 Dec. 2017. Web. https://www.forbes.com/athletes/list/
Branding has become so increasingly entrenched in sports culture that it is hard to imagine a time when the two were not so interconnected. This time did exist, however, and it existed fairly recently. Michael Jordan catapulted what it meant to brand yourself in the sports world because, before him, no athletes had the foresight to understand how they could expand their brand. It truly is incredible how Michael Jordan expanded his image and brand though his talent and his intelligence. His skills and talent separated him from the rest of the league, and he was smart enough to capitalize on this fact in order to become the face of basketball. He began with shoes, knowing that if he combined his image and name with a brand new shoe, people of all ages and backgrounds would scramble to get them. His talent demanded the national attention it received, and a new shoe with the logo of Jordan flying through the air would represent a physical item for fans to latch onto if they wanted to be “like Mike”. Current NBA star Chris Paul described how influential MJ and his shoes were, and why they will always be influential. He said that “MJ will always be a staple on the NBA because guys care about how they look when they play and what shoes they wear on-court” (SI). Paul remembers MJ telling him how he would intimidate rivals on the opposing team with his shoes, saying that “MJ used to tell e about going down to the corner in front of the other team’s bench so the other teams could look at his shoes, which is killer” (SI). That was the mentality MJ had for everything: Killer. He was deadly on and off the court, and the “flare and style” he played with, as described by Paul in the same article, was all connected to his confidence in his game and evolution of his brand. MJ wanted to show off his new flashy shoes to the world and to his opponents. His opponents would be intimidated, fans would be mesmerized, and everyone would want to be like Mike. The emergence of the Jordan brand changed sports entirely, for now every athlete now dreams of not only making it to the NBA, but then receiving huge deals with companies like Nike and Under Armor in order to build their brand. Players like LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, and Kevin Durant all have successfully connected their names and games to athletic brands, resulted in massive deals with these companies. According to a Nielson report, in 2017 LeBron led all athletes in social media branding with more than 96.9 million followers. The prominence of brand building in the mind of the modern athlete is massive, which is clear through the emergence of the Ball family. Lonzo Ball, a very talented and versatile rookie for the Lakers, is often overshadowed by his vocal father who will say and do just about anything to the media in order to get the Big Baller Brand name out there. Some think, however, that Lavar Ball, Lonzo’s father, has gone overboard in branding his sons image to the point where it could be costly in other ways for Lonzo. Patrick Rishe in a Forbes article describes how Lavar has “potentially cost his son millions in short-term [endorsements]” as well as “heaped considerable pressure on Lonzo to succeed” (Forbes). The Ball scenario shows the danger of branding usurping on court performance, which is a new phenomenon. Future athletes must be careful not to let branding usurp their on court/field performance.
1. “MJs Influence as Strong as Ever in Todays NBA.” SI.com, www.si.com/nba/2018/01/02/michael-jordan-sneaker-culture-influence-nba-chris-paul-nas. 2. Rishe, Patrick. “Brand Building, Lavar Ball, And The Business Of Sport Marketing.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 10 May 2017. 3. Tops of 2017: Pro Athlete Marketability. (n.d.). http://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/news/2017/tops-of-2017-pro-athlete-marketability.html
Sports have always dominated live entertainment. For example, look at the rating for high-end networks and see which live events gain the most viewers; the answer is sporting events. Events like the super bowl and World Series and other sport championships are TV marketers dream scenario. According to Nielsen.com, in an article, “Year In Sports Media Report”, they go on to claim “More than 103.4 million viewers watched the Philadelphia Eagles, led by back-up quarterback Nick Foles, defeat Tom Brady’s New England Patriots in Super Bowl LII. Even with increased focus on the political landscape, social activism and, most importantly, changing media consumption habits, the league’s programming dominated much of the top 100 televised programs in 2017, despite a 9% decline in average viewership during the regular season. New emphasis on out-of-home (OOH) viewership of the NFL shed light on the diversity of its fan base across demographics and locations”. Even with a decline in viewership, the super bowl was still the most viewed live event. With that being said, sports marketing and branding is one of the easiest, mot poplar ways to market your product. With that large of a viewing base, marketing teams mouths water up as they plead to get their hands on any form of commercial appeal for this single event and individual players take advantage of that better than anyone. For example, NBA legends Lebron James Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant have each individually created their own basketball and clothing brands and the best part about their marketing strategy is all they need to do is wear their products during the game to showcase to the world how cool their product/bran is. Every little kid has a sports hero and want to grow up to be just like them and professional athletes took advantage of that opportunity. Celebrities need to make appearances and all kinds of marketing to market their product while sports athletes just have to continue doing their job, and do it well to market their brands. And for those of you questioning why the NFL dropped 33% in viewership past season simply need to understand that their was a political stance within the NFL the past two years and once Trump became president he vouched for people to stop watching these games as they “disrespect our flag and what it stands for” during the kneeling during the national anthem. That drop will be temporary as the NFL is working around trying to find new alternatives to peacefully protest. In fact the ports industry is caught upon marketing they even allow big time corporations to pay for their brand new stadiums and name the stadium after these companies just for marketing purposes. Instead of investing in commercial advertisement, they go after the sports industry to advertise, for example the New York Mets play at Citi field, funded and sponsored by Citizens bank. Athletes and big time corporations have been taking advantage of the sports marketing field since the beginning of sports and were now watching all these individual athletes brand off on their own creating their own market and desire for their brand. Lebron James has probably made more money through his endorsement deal with Nike then he has his entire NBA career, and that’s a long career. Nike signed Lebron to long-term agreement worth over one billion dollars while Nike inked Kevin Durant to a ten year 300 million dollar deal with Nike in 2014. Players especially the superstars aren’t just getting paid handsomely for their athletic abilities, but their public spotlight that their under every waking day. Athlete branding is non-stop marketing that never goes away until the player can no longer play.
Knowlton, Emmett. “LeBron James' Business Partner Confirms Lifetime Deal with Nike Is Worth over $1 Billion.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 17 May 2016, www.businessinsider.com/lebron-james-nike-deal-exceeds-1-billion-maverick-carter-says-2016-5.
“Poll: 33% of NFL Fans 'Purposely Stopped Watching' This Season.” Yahoo! Finance, Yahoo!, 8 Jan. 2018, finance.yahoo.com/news/poll-33-nfl-fans-purposely-stopped-watching-season-split-trump-kaepernick-110215783.html.
Consistent strategic branding lies at the heart of what makes professional sports successful. Professional sports associations like the National Basketball Association, NFL, and Major League Baseball are all brands in themselves that oversee a myriad of internal brands in their teams and players.
Professional sports leagues make great efforts to keep their brands in the public eye; they sponsor charitable events, health and wellness campaigns, and buy ad space on a variety of media to get their messages out regarding upcoming events. It is the athletes however, not the leagues, who make greater efforts to brand themselves and reap greater benefits.
Much like celebrities, brands employ sports stars to leverage their influence on specifically targeted demographics through endorsement deals. Nielsen has a system for keeping track of the most valuable celebrities in terms of endorsement deals, “Nielsen’s N-Score talent tracker assesses the endorsement and casting potential of actors, athletes, musicians and other celebrities in the U.S. It accounts for Awareness and Likeability, and 10 other attributes such as: ‘Influential’, ‘Role Model’ and ‘Trendsetter’” (Nielsen).
If one were to compare some professional athlete’s salaries to their actual net worth, they would find huge discrepancies if they did not take into account their endorsement deals. Successful athletes often have multiple revenue streams coming from their annual salaries, endorsement deals, apparel lines, and other capital ventures. Portuguese soccer icon Cristiano Ronaldo, for example, has a myriad of revenue streams as his international influence has grown throughout his career. A 2017 article from Forbes describes, “Sponsors get a good bang for their buck from Ronaldo thanks to his 277 million followers across Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. His 121 million Facebook fans are more than any other person in the world. Ronaldo posts actively with mentions or logos of his sponsors displayed. His posts highlighting Nike generated $500 million in media value alone for the sportswear giant during 2016, according to Hookit, which tracks the social engagement of athletes” (Badenhousen).
The manners in which advertisers use celebrities and professional athletes (who are celebrities in their own right) are similar, but not completely alike. Traditional film, television, or music stars are brands in themselves who seek to promote themselves as well as the products and services they are chose to endorse. In contrast, sports stars are often featured in branded material as background, with the focus more on the product than the influencer. This is merely an observation however, and is not a ubiquitous truth throughout the entire advertising field.
If there is one thing that celebrity and athletic influencers have in common, it is their uncanny ability to increase leads, sales, and overall awareness of the products and services they are chosen to influence on behalf of (Olenski).
Works Cited “Tops of 2017: Pro Athlete Marketability.” What People Watch, Listen To and Buy, Nielsen, 21 Dec. 2017, www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/news/2017/tops-of-2017-pro-athlete-marketability.html.
Badenhausen, Kurt. “Ronaldo, LeBron Top The World's Highest-Paid Athletes Of 2017.”Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 12 June 2017, www.forbes.com/sites/kurtbadenhausen/2017/06/07/ronaldo-lebron-top-the-worlds-highest-paid-athletes-of-2017/#5d1b338f4a1c.
Olenski, Steve. “How Brands Should Use Celebrities For Endorsements.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 20 July 2016, www.forbes.com/sites/steveolenski/2016/07/20/how-brands-should-use-celebrities-for-endorsements/#3462b95f5593.
Lauren Tuckman
ReplyDeleteBranding is very important in sports because it is the DNA of the organization and helps to promote the entire team in a positive way (Adler). This is different from celebrity branding because celebrities need to brand themselves on their own or have an agent brand them, however sports branding is for a larger entity. One way that successful athletes and franchises leverage their brands in the market place is by creating a passionate and devoted fan base.
Branding is a very essential part of sports. ESPN+ is a prime example of this. This company will be the upcoming, “direct-to-consumer subscription streaming service from Disney,” featuring ESPN branded content (Adler). ESPN was built on a strong belief in the powerful connection between sports, “and a remarkable array of fans” (Adler). The Walt Disney Company stated that the launch of ESPN+ marks the beginning of an, “exciting new era of innovation for our media businesses” (Adler). This would be an era defined by an enlarging direct and personal relationship with consumers.
Celebrity branding is different from sports branding because celebrities need to brand themselves. There are a few Internet “sensations,” that have come from nothing and had to brand themselves (Wakabayashi). Additional examples include Logan and Jack Paul, Amanda Cerny, and Juanpa Zurita. Some are comedians and some are models, “and some are famous for being famous” (Wakabayashi). Either way, all of these people are apparent influencers; because social media speaks for people with a gigantic digital audience (Wakabayashi). Gaining followers is a prime example of a way to market yourself as a celebrity. Ms. Cerny, as mentioned before, is one of the “top tier influencers” (Wakabayashi). Cerny has 18.8 million instagram followers and 1.1 million subscribers to her YouTube vlogs (Wakabayashi). In branding yourself as a celebrity, it’s important to accumulate a substantial number of followers and to be the face of your brand.
Lauren Tuckman Continued
ReplyDeleteOne way that successful athletes and franchises leverage their brands in the market place is by creating a passionate and devoted fan base. Dr. Alyssa Tavormina, a faculty member at the University of Florida’s online Master of Science in Sport Management states, “Through the media fans not only connect with sports’ teams and leagues but the athletes themselves have specific accounts which allow them to also connect personally with millions of fans” (Clapp). This direct connection has given fans the opportunity to be a part of the, “sport organizations story” (Clapp).
Branding is extremely important in sports, especially because it is the backbone of the organization and it helps the team in a positive way. This type of branding is different from celebrity branding because celebrities have to brand themselves on their own. One important way successful athletes and franchises leverage their brands is having loving and devoted fans.
Works Cited
Adler, Kristie. “ESPN+ to Launch April 12, Bringing Sports Fans More Live Sports, Exclusive Originals and On-Demand Library – All for $4.99 Per Month.” ESPN MediaZone U.S., 4 Apr. 2018, espnmediazone.com/us/press-releases/2018/04/espn-to-launch-april-12-bringing-sports-fans-more-live-sports-exclusive-originals-and-on-demand-library-all-for-4-99-per-month/.
Clapp, Brian. “Brian Clapp.” Sports Jobs Blog, WorkinSports.com Publisher Logo, 28 June 2017, www.workinsports.com/blog/unique-strategies-for-using-social-media-in-sports-marketing/.
Wakabayashi, Daisuke. “Inside the Hollywood Home of Social Media's Stars. (Don't Be Shy.).” The New York Times, The New York Times, 30 Dec. 2017, www.nytimes.com/2017/12/30/business/hollywood-apartment-social-media.html?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=THR%27s%2BToday%2Bin%2BEntertainment_now_2017-12-30%2B10%3A30%3A30_rrahman&utm_term=hollywoodreporter_tie.
Branding in sports has become so important in keeping sports franchises alive. Brand endorsements from individual athletes increase their revenue and also provide an association to the whole team that athlete may be apart of. According to professor George Foster at Stanford University, a brand is “a visible symbol which shows how a product is different from competitors in the eyes of consumers/public” and that the “most important part of a brand is the intangible ideas and values that fans associate with it” (Rishe). Sports branding is different from celebrity branding because celebrities are creating their own, personal image. Though, it is similar because brands often choose one particular athlete on the team to represent their image.
ReplyDeleteThese brands also rely on the viewership of these sports to get their name out there. However, some sports have lost viewers, specifically the NFL. The U.S. Daily Gallup survey found that “57% of American adults say they are fans of pro football, down from 67% in 2012 when Gallup last asked the question” as of the 2017 season (Roberts). A 10% drop is something that other major brands start to pay attention to because that means that they now have to question if sports athletes are really as influential compared to a big-name celebrity.
Sports teams have shown to be quite beneficial in the past. The Dallas Cowboys are a perfect example. Owner and general manager of the team Jerry Jones helped transform “America’s Team from a franchise losing $1 million a month to a financial juggernaut with $300 million in annual operating profit… and built the club into the most valuable team in sports, worth $4.2 billion” (Badenhausen). With a team like that, why wouldn’t brands want to plaster their name all over the team?
Branding also tends to do well in sports when that team or athlete associated with the brand is doing well within their sport. When this happens, that team or athlete’s marketability rises. An example of this would be tennis star Serena Williams. She won the Australian Open in January 2017, and then later announced that she was eight weeks pregnant while competing. This increased her popularity and made her admirable. She has “more than 22.6 million social media followers and was the highest paid female athlete in 2017, according to Forbes. Intel was among the newest organizations to sign endorsement deals with Williams, joining brands like Beats by Dre, Gatorade, JPMorgan Chase, Nike and Tempur-Pedic” (Nielsen). Because she was successful in her sport, and gained lots of social media attention from her pregnancy announcement, brands used her likability to increase their market.
Works Cited
Badenhausen, Kurt. "The Cowboys and Yankees Top the World's Most Valuable Sports Teams Of 2017," Forbes 12 July 2017.
"Year in Sports Media Report 2017," Nielsen.com Feb. 2018. Web.
Rishe, Patrick. “Brand Building, Lavar Ball, And The Business Of Sport Marketing.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 10 May 2017.
Roberts, Daniel. "NFL lost fans in past 5 years, while NBA, NHL, pro soccer gained," Yahoo Finance 17 Oct. 2017. Web.
Branding is a huge part of sports. A single athlete can have a direct impact as the face of a brand or a franchise. When you think of women’s tennis you think of Serena Williams. Take LeBron James as another example. He is singlehandedly the face of Nike, the NBA, and the Cleveland Cavaliers. What LeBron does for one of the biggest brands in the entire world, the best basketball league on the planet, and one of the most popular teams is a true rarity and should never be taken for granted. An article from Nielson reads, “LeBron James (N-Score 76) led the Cleveland Cavaliers to their third straight NBA Finals appearance in 2017, and he leads all U.S. athletes in terms of brand marketability via social media with more than 96.9 million social media followers. Like Serena Williams, James added Intel to his list of endorsement contracts, which also includes a $1 billion lifetime contract with Nike and deals with Beats by Dre, Coca-Cola, Kia Motors and Verizon” (Neilson.) Even though Williams and James are the ones endorsing the brands if you think about it, it really works the other way around even more. They are both such icons that their identities as people are each a brand in itself. You could make the argument that today Nike revolves around LeBron. He has created his own brand as an athlete and activist unlike very few ever have. In regards to celebrity branding, branding with sports and with celebrities are so similar that they sometimes even overlap. LeBron is considered the biggest sports branding tool as well as a branded celebrity. Maybe that is why they call him the king after all! A Forbes magazine article reads, “The New York Yankees are undergoing a youth movement on the field led by Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez, but the team’s finances are still tops in baseball. The Yankees are the world’s second most valuable team, worth $3.7 billion, up 9% from 2016, when the Bronx Bombers ranked fourth. The Yankees have the highest sponsorship revenue ($120 million) and premium seating revenue ($130 million) in the sport” (Badenhausen.) As you can see, the Yankees continue to hold the title of the richest team in baseball. The reason they are the most valuable team is a byproduct of their brand around the world. An article from the The Pastime says it best, “No matter where you sit reading this, there is likely a store within driving range offering New York Yankees merchandise. Such is the power of one baseball team, characterized by the vaunted interlocking NY insignia, we see its gear worn by urchins and immortals, heroes and villains, village folk and Presidents, from the Bronx to Berlin, from Birmingham to Brussels, from Bangkok to Brisbane” (Ferguson.) This just speaks to the Yankees brand as a whole and how it is such a transcendent brand worldwide. It is a brand that goes beyond the sport itself. It has given them the platform to also flourish in their sport as well. Some of the best players dream to play for the renowned Yankees in the house that Ruth built. This is huge leverage to a team like the Yankees just as it is any team that LeBron would ever go to.
ReplyDeleteSources
DeleteBadenhausen, K. (2017, July 12). The Cowboys And Yankees Top The World's Most Valuable Sports Teams Of 2017. Retrieved April 10, 2018, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/kurtbadenhausen/2017/07/12/the-cowboys-and-yankees-top-the-worlds-most-valuable-sports-teams-of-2017/#56daaac05018
Ferguson, R. (2016, October 12). How the Yankees' Brand Became Universally Popular. Retrieved April 10, 2018, from https://ryanfergusonbaseball.wordpress.com/2015/02/24/how-the-yankees-brand-became-universally-popular/
Tops of 2017: Pro Athlete Marketability. (n.d.). Retrieved April 10, 2018, from http://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/news/2017/tops-of-2017-pro-athlete-marketability.html
Branding in sports is important because it keeps sports franchises popular and keeps fans involved. “As a sports team, your branding is more about your fans, sponsors, club members and their personalities and performance. You also want them to perceive you in certain way so they cheer for you, support you and have respect for you” (Schäferhoff). A team has to have good branding to also put a good face on sports team. Celebrity branding and sports branding are different in many ways. Celebrities brand themselves as individuals. They are representing themselves only where as sports branding you are representing a team. But, with sports branding, brands can represent one individual athlete.
ReplyDeleteThe brands that represent sports teams and individual athletes, need people watching sports teams to be able to advertise their brand. Many popular sports have decreased in viewership where as many sports that weren’t as popular have increased in viewership. “Gallup also asked about other sports. Football was one of only two sports to see a significant drop from five years ago; the other was Olympic sports, which fell 12 percentage points and isn’t likely to get much help from the 2018 Winter Games in PyeongChang, though it still has the biggest chunk of fans, at 63% of Americans. Pro baseball and college basketball saw drops of 2 percentage points each” (Roberts). If sports would have better brands representing their teams, they can get better viewership and keep their revenue high. “Using the ad/sponsorship spend by sports betting companies in the UK and Australia where sports betting is legal, Nielsen projects that it will generate over $2.6 billion for U.S.-based leagues, teams and media companies if the majority of states pass sports betting legislation” (Stainer, Master). Branding boost sports because if the team is doing well than they brand can get good viewership.
There are many athletes who help represent brands in many ways. Some of those athletes are: Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Serena Williams and many more. But, someone who has turned there brand into a multi million dollar company is Lonzo Ball. Lonzo Ball and his family have branded there company, Big Baller Brand, in many ways that has helped make there brand bigger than anyone would of ever thought. Lonzo Ball being the star he is has made many people want to wear Big Baller Brand apparel. Lonzo Ball uses social media to promote Big Baller Brand which has helped increase profit for the brand. The ball family has come up with many smart ways to promote their brand and that is why they are so successful. If it wasn’t for devoted fan to sports teams, man brands wouldn’t have the success they have.
Work Cited:
"Year in Sports Media Report 2017," Nielsen.com Feb. 2018. Web.
Roberts, Daniel. "NFL lost fans in past 5 years, while NBA, NHL, pro soccer gained," Yahoo Finance 17 Oct. 2017. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/nfl-lost-fans-past-5-years-nba-nhl-pro-soccer-gained-135434674.html?utm_content=buffer6ccb6&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer
Schäferhoff, Nick. “Sports Team Branding and How to Do It Right.” ThemeBoy. 21 July 2016. https://www.themeboy.com/blog/spor
Think of the all time sports teams of all time. The Lakers, The Cowboys, The Yankees, The Red Wings. All of these teams have a pedigree, they have an aurora about them. The Lakers are showtime, Jack Nicholson will be sitting courtside along with all of the stars of Hollywood. The Cowboys are America’s team, with legends of football like Rodger Staubauch and Tony Dorsett. The Yankees have murderers row and the house that Ruth built. Detroit is hockeytown and an original six franchise that took no prisoners. The images of these organizations make them staples in sports media and a model for other franchises in the league.
ReplyDeletePlayers too have a brand behind them. Ron Artest has the worst brand in the NBA after the Malice in the Palace when he went into the stands to fight fans. Artest had to change his name and go through a long process to clear his name and his actions. The best player to ever brand himself was Michael Jordan. Michael Jordan brought the game of basketball and the country together. Michael Jordan transcended races and made the country fall in love with an athlete. There are two ways to become a successful brand if you’re an athlete. Step one is the most difficult and not many achieve is become a winner. You need to become a champion, a consistent winner to become a noticeable brand and pick up a buzz about you. Step two is be a good person. The Athletes with the highest N-Score according to nielsen.com are athletes of the likes of J.J Watt who does so much for his community and a tremendous player. In some cases you can be so good at what you do that you can still be a not so great of a guy and have a strong brand.
Floyd Mayweather is a boxer with multiple accusations of domestic violence against his girlfriend and assault and battery. But despite the shortcomings Floyd still is a top 100-earning athlete in the world according to an article written by Forbes.com. Floyd has a personal brand in the “The Money Team” and a very large following because of all his antics and he is arguably the greatest boxer to ever do it.
Now as a franchise the recipe gets a little more complex to be a dominant brand. The one driving factor that helps many of these franchises is their markets. Larger markets like New York, Dallas, Los Angeles, will dominate. These cities are too large and have a long reach of sports fans. But the more successful you are the more fans you get. And the top 10 sports franchises according to an article written by Kurt Badenhausen five out of the top ten sports franchises are from a big market like Boston, LA, New York, Dallas. The other five are global franchises that are highly successful. If you are not in the biggest of markets that is ok, the other way you can raise the value of your franchise is to win like always. Washington D.C. Is known for politics not sports but the Redskins are a top 20 franchise. The one thing that the Redskins have is they have tradition. The Redskins won a super bowl with a black quarterback in Doug Williams and it was the first time that happened in NFL history. Not all franchises are created equal. Some are losers and others are winners. The losers have loyal fans and there is no question that they have a place in sports. But the Yankees of the world, they make dollars and win championships. The Cowboys have the Emmit Smith, Michael Irvin, hall of famers wear the star.
The way to build a brand is to win. If you want to be a big time brand, then win and do it often. That’s the key to becoming a millionaire in the sports world and get all the sponsors.
DeleteWorks Cited
Badenhausen, Kurt. "The Cowboys and Yankees Top the World's Most Valuable Sports Teams Of 2017," Forbes 12 July 2017.
"Tops of 2017: Pro Athlete Marketability," Nielsen.com 21 Dec. 2017. Web.
https://www.forbes.com/athletes/list/
Branding has become so increasingly entrenched in sports culture that it is hard to imagine a time when the two were not so interconnected. This time did exist, however, and it existed fairly recently. Michael Jordan catapulted what it meant to brand yourself in the sports world because, before him, no athletes had the foresight to understand how they could expand their brand. It truly is incredible how Michael Jordan expanded his image and brand though his talent and his intelligence. His skills and talent separated him from the rest of the league, and he was smart enough to capitalize on this fact in order to become the face of basketball. He began with shoes, knowing that if he combined his image and name with a brand new shoe, people of all ages and backgrounds would scramble to get them. His talent demanded the national attention it received, and a new shoe with the logo of Jordan flying through the air would represent a physical item for fans to latch onto if they wanted to be “like Mike”. Current NBA star Chris Paul described how influential MJ and his shoes were, and why they will always be influential. He said that “MJ will always be a staple on the NBA because guys care about how they look when they play and what shoes they wear on-court” (SI). Paul remembers MJ telling him how he would intimidate rivals on the opposing team with his shoes, saying that “MJ used to tell e about going down to the corner in front of the other team’s bench so the other teams could look at his shoes, which is killer” (SI). That was the mentality MJ had for everything: Killer. He was deadly on and off the court, and the “flare and style” he played with, as described by Paul in the same article, was all connected to his confidence in his game and evolution of his brand. MJ wanted to show off his new flashy shoes to the world and to his opponents. His opponents would be intimidated, fans would be mesmerized, and everyone would want to be like Mike.
ReplyDeleteThe emergence of the Jordan brand changed sports entirely, for now every athlete now dreams of not only making it to the NBA, but then receiving huge deals with companies like Nike and Under Armor in order to build their brand. Players like LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, and Kevin Durant all have successfully connected their names and games to athletic brands, resulted in massive deals with these companies. According to a Nielson report, in 2017 LeBron led all athletes in social media branding with more than 96.9 million followers. The prominence of brand building in the mind of the modern athlete is massive, which is clear through the emergence of the Ball family. Lonzo Ball, a very talented and versatile rookie for the Lakers, is often overshadowed by his vocal father who will say and do just about anything to the media in order to get the Big Baller Brand name out there. Some think, however, that Lavar Ball, Lonzo’s father, has gone overboard in branding his sons image to the point where it could be costly in other ways for Lonzo. Patrick Rishe in a Forbes article describes how Lavar has “potentially cost his son millions in short-term [endorsements]” as well as “heaped considerable pressure on Lonzo to succeed” (Forbes). The Ball scenario shows the danger of branding usurping on court performance, which is a new phenomenon. Future athletes must be careful not to let branding usurp their on court/field performance.
Delete1. “MJs Influence as Strong as Ever in Todays NBA.” SI.com, www.si.com/nba/2018/01/02/michael-jordan-sneaker-culture-influence-nba-chris-paul-nas.
2. Rishe, Patrick. “Brand Building, Lavar Ball, And The Business Of Sport Marketing.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 10 May 2017.
3. Tops of 2017: Pro Athlete Marketability. (n.d.). http://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/news/2017/tops-of-2017-pro-athlete-marketability.html
Sports have always dominated live entertainment. For example, look at the rating for high-end networks and see which live events gain the most viewers; the answer is sporting events. Events like the super bowl and World Series and other sport championships are TV marketers dream scenario. According to Nielsen.com, in an article, “Year In Sports Media Report”, they go on to claim “More than 103.4 million viewers watched the Philadelphia Eagles, led by back-up quarterback Nick Foles, defeat Tom Brady’s New England Patriots in Super Bowl LII. Even with increased focus on the political landscape, social activism and, most importantly, changing media consumption habits, the league’s programming dominated much of the top 100 televised programs in 2017, despite a 9% decline in average viewership during the regular season. New emphasis on out-of-home (OOH) viewership of the NFL shed light on the diversity of its fan base across demographics and locations”. Even with a decline in viewership, the super bowl was still the most viewed live event. With that being said, sports marketing and branding is one of the easiest, mot poplar ways to market your product. With that large of a viewing base, marketing teams mouths water up as they plead to get their hands on any form of commercial appeal for this single event and individual players take advantage of that better than anyone. For example, NBA legends Lebron James Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant have each individually created their own basketball and clothing brands and the best part about their marketing strategy is all they need to do is wear their products during the game to showcase to the world how cool their product/bran is. Every little kid has a sports hero and want to grow up to be just like them and professional athletes took advantage of that opportunity. Celebrities need to make appearances and all kinds of marketing to market their product while sports athletes just have to continue doing their job, and do it well to market their brands. And for those of you questioning why the NFL dropped 33% in viewership past season simply need to understand that their was a political stance within the NFL the past two years and once Trump became president he vouched for people to stop watching these games as they “disrespect our flag and what it stands for” during the kneeling during the national anthem. That drop will be temporary as the NFL is working around trying to find new alternatives to peacefully protest. In fact the ports industry is caught upon marketing they even allow big time corporations to pay for their brand new stadiums and name the stadium after these companies just for marketing purposes. Instead of investing in commercial advertisement, they go after the sports industry to advertise, for example the New York Mets play at Citi field, funded and sponsored by Citizens bank. Athletes and big time corporations have been taking advantage of the sports marketing field since the beginning of sports and were now watching all these individual athletes brand off on their own creating their own market and desire for their brand. Lebron James has probably made more money through his endorsement deal with Nike then he has his entire NBA career, and that’s a long career. Nike signed Lebron to long-term agreement worth over one billion dollars while Nike inked Kevin Durant to a ten year 300 million dollar deal with Nike in 2014. Players especially the superstars aren’t just getting paid handsomely for their athletic abilities, but their public spotlight that their under every waking day. Athlete branding is non-stop marketing that never goes away until the player can no longer play.
ReplyDeleteSources-
DeleteKnowlton, Emmett. “LeBron James' Business Partner Confirms Lifetime Deal with Nike Is Worth over $1 Billion.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 17 May 2016, www.businessinsider.com/lebron-james-nike-deal-exceeds-1-billion-maverick-carter-says-2016-5.
“Poll: 33% of NFL Fans 'Purposely Stopped Watching' This Season.” Yahoo! Finance, Yahoo!, 8 Jan. 2018, finance.yahoo.com/news/poll-33-nfl-fans-purposely-stopped-watching-season-split-trump-kaepernick-110215783.html.
https://quinnipiac.blackboard.com/bbcswebdav/pid-2466454-dt-content-rid-21436990_1/courses/MSS49502_18SP/2017%20year-in-sports-media.pdf
Consistent strategic branding lies at the heart of what makes professional sports successful. Professional sports associations like the National Basketball Association, NFL, and Major League Baseball are all brands in themselves that oversee a myriad of internal brands in their teams and players.
ReplyDeleteProfessional sports leagues make great efforts to keep their brands in the public eye; they sponsor charitable events, health and wellness campaigns, and buy ad space on a variety of media to get their messages out regarding upcoming events. It is the athletes however, not the leagues, who make greater efforts to brand themselves and reap greater benefits.
Much like celebrities, brands employ sports stars to leverage their influence on specifically targeted demographics through endorsement deals. Nielsen has a system for keeping track of the most valuable celebrities in terms of endorsement deals, “Nielsen’s N-Score talent tracker assesses the endorsement and casting potential of actors, athletes, musicians and other celebrities in the U.S. It accounts for Awareness and Likeability, and 10 other attributes such as: ‘Influential’, ‘Role Model’ and ‘Trendsetter’” (Nielsen).
If one were to compare some professional athlete’s salaries to their actual net worth, they would find huge discrepancies if they did not take into account their endorsement deals. Successful athletes often have multiple revenue streams coming from their annual salaries, endorsement deals, apparel lines, and other capital ventures. Portuguese soccer icon Cristiano Ronaldo, for example, has a myriad of revenue streams as his international influence has grown throughout his career. A 2017 article from Forbes describes, “Sponsors get a good bang for their buck from Ronaldo thanks to his 277 million followers across Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. His 121 million Facebook fans are more than any other person in the world. Ronaldo posts actively with mentions or logos of his sponsors displayed. His posts highlighting Nike generated $500 million in media value alone for the sportswear giant during 2016, according to Hookit, which tracks the social engagement of athletes” (Badenhousen).
The manners in which advertisers use celebrities and professional athletes (who are celebrities in their own right) are similar, but not completely alike. Traditional film, television, or music stars are brands in themselves who seek to promote themselves as well as the products and services they are chose to endorse. In contrast, sports stars are often featured in branded material as background, with the focus more on the product than the influencer. This is merely an observation however, and is not a ubiquitous truth throughout the entire advertising field.
If there is one thing that celebrity and athletic influencers have in common, it is their uncanny ability to increase leads, sales, and overall awareness of the products and services they are chosen to influence on behalf of (Olenski).
Works Cited
“Tops of 2017: Pro Athlete Marketability.” What People Watch, Listen To and Buy, Nielsen, 21 Dec. 2017, www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/news/2017/tops-of-2017-pro-athlete-marketability.html.
Badenhausen, Kurt. “Ronaldo, LeBron Top The World's Highest-Paid Athletes Of 2017.”Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 12 June 2017, www.forbes.com/sites/kurtbadenhausen/2017/06/07/ronaldo-lebron-top-the-worlds-highest-paid-athletes-of-2017/#5d1b338f4a1c.
Olenski, Steve. “How Brands Should Use Celebrities For Endorsements.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 20 July 2016, www.forbes.com/sites/steveolenski/2016/07/20/how-brands-should-use-celebrities-for-endorsements/#3462b95f5593.