Athletes as Brand Ambassadors Analysis - Term Paper Example

ATHLETES AS BRAND AMBASSADORS Name Institution Professor Course Date Introduction Sports’ stars are powerful in marketing products. As a result, firms appeal for specific athletes to endorse their products and market them. Athletes are careful in selecting the products they want to endorse. This is because they names and images can be tarnished if they endorse inappropriate products or services, which do not match their personas. Scores of athletes focus on cultivating well-developed images that are cautiously crafted and upheld. To ensure that athletes get good deals as well as get to endorse products that match their personas, they make use of agents. The athletes’ agents normally negotiate the deal on behalf of the athletes and earn a commission from their time, skill and expertise. The agent is tasked with sourcing sponsors and ensuring that the athlete endorses the appropriate brand. The focus of this paper is on Tiger Woods, a golfer and John Wall, a basketball player. The paper analyzes and compares the brands endorsed by each athlete besides evaluating the ability of their agents to maximize the objectives of all stakeholders. Athletes as Brand Ambassadors In the contemporary and competitive business world, firms use athletes as their brand ambassadors. Brand ambassadors in simpler terms are people who breathe, live and eat a firm’s brand. They are individuals who are recruited to talk about and represent a firm’s products or services in a positive manner. A brand ambassador lives and embodies a given brand. Laucella, and Andrea (2013, p.245) define brand ambassadors as everyday users of a firm’s products who represent the brand among the general population. Hicks and Nicols (2016, p.324) further define a brand ambassador as a representative of a given brand in a positive light to increase sales and brand awareness. A brand ambassador is supposed to embody the corporate identity in value, ethics and character. The role of a brand ambassador is to embody the firm’s identity in ethics, demeanor and appearance and more essentially, to augment brand awareness and sales. Rogers (2011, p.1) asserts that a brand ambassador has a role of promoting a brand over an agreed-upon amount of time. The brand ambassador must walk the company’s talk and influence people to buy the firm’s products. He/she should represent a firm’s brand to the targeted consumers to augment awareness, generate sales prospects, develop customer preference and establish a specific brand image. A firm selects a brand ambassador to be the face of its brand. The brand ambassador becomes the tastemaker in the market and uses all available channels to market the brand besides representing the firm at certain events. For instance, in 2014, The Hero Group signed the American golf legend, Tiger Woods, to be its brand ambassador in a 4-year deal while John Wall was a brand ambassador for Adidas, Rebook, American Express and currently seeking endorsement from Nike after he turned down 7.5 million dollar with Adidas. Brand Ambassador’s Agents Brand ambassador programs differ in structure but usually involve a contract amid the sport brand and the ambassador specifying the terms of brand ambassadorship. The programs often involve free products for the ambassador in exchange for promoting the brand (Temporal 2011, p.1). Major athletes involved in brand ambassadorship uses agents who take the role of negotiating the deal on their behalf. The athlete agents get some commission in return for their negotiations. The agents are important party in a contract as they facilitate the deal amid a firm and an athlete. Appropriateness and relevance are key aspects when it comes to brand endorsements. With correct endorsements, the returns are attractive, but when things go wrong, the reputation of a brand suffers. For instance, Pepsi once encountered a misfortune after having endorsement deals with Madonna, Mike Tyson and Michael Jackson when all the three celebrities were having reputation issues. McDonald’s was embarrassed when Kobe Bryant, its then brand ambassador, was charged with rape before the lapse of his contract (Temporal 2011, p.1). Just as a firm researches the appeal of specific athletes as their brand ambassadors, athletes should also research the appeal of specific brands to endorse. John Wall Athletes through their agents research the appeal of specific brands to endorse. For instance, John Wall endorses different brands, specifically shoe signatures. John Wall has endorsed many brands through the help of his former agent Dan Fegan and his current agent, Rich Paul. He has been an ambassador for Rebook, Adidas and currently eyeing Nike. John Wall had signed a contract with Rebook worth $2.5 million a year in 2010, but the contract was terminated during the 3rd year when the basketball player suffered some injuries. For the remainder part of the contract, John Wall joined Adidas. In 2016, John Wall turned down a 7.5 million dollars deal with Adidas. According Jones (2016), John Wall turned the offer because he needed ‘Harden money”, which he maintained that it would have doubled with what Adidas had offered. John Wall fired Dan Fegan, his former agent, when the Adidas deal failed to materialize the way he wanted it and no other offers were available for him. After his decline, John Wall’s agent Rich Paul is currently trying to push for a deal with Nike. Wall requested Rich Paul to focus on on-court and NBA contracts only while a friend takes over other contracts. It is worth noting that his agent has 11 eleven other clients with similar deals with Nike (O’Shaughnessy 2017). As of now, John Wall has no sneaker deal but he regularly wears Nike shoes. To create brand awareness, brand endorsers are required to use other similar brands that they have not legally endorsed. For instance, when Wall and his agent were negotiating his deal with Adidas, which he later declined, he was not required to wear any other brand on-court. As a result, Wall wore Jordan and Nike brand off the court. When he wore the Nike shoe brand during a match with Orlando Magic, he had to give a practical explanation why he had the shoe on during a match as this contravened his contract terms. In this perspective, John Wall claimed that he wore the shoe to accommodate a sprain he was dealing and not for fashion purpose. He taped off the side panels of the shoe in order to uphold the agreement he had with Adidas. This is an indication that during contract negotiation, the number of the sponsors that an athlete represents is paramount as well as the credibility of the athlete as a brand ambassador. Tiger Woods Similar to John Wall, Tiger Woods has sponsored a number of brands. His newest brand being the Monster that is owned by Coca-Cola Company. Tiger being a legend in golfing has sponsored other brands such as Hero, Rolex, Upper Deck and Nike. Tiger gets good money for simply putting the firm’s logos in his bag. The player uses Nike sticks and he is in the processes of getting sticks from other clubs through his agent given that Nike is getting out of the equipment business (Porter 2016). Tiger Woods also uses Bridgestone golf ball an aspect that makes him a brand ambassador for Bridgestone. Unlike John Wall, Tiger Woods is currently sponsoring a number of brands. Tiger Woods has an endorsement deal with Nike Golf, which he signed in 1996. Although Nike stopped making golf clubs in 2016, the firm outfits Woods in shoes and apparel. Tiger Woods also has brand sponsorship with TaylorMade Golf, a sponsorship deal that was signed in 2017. Tiger plays with the brands wedges and woods. Other brand endorsements for Tiger Woods includes Rolex, which is a watch maker, Kowa, a pharmaceutical company, Upper Deck, a sports cards and collectibles firm and Hero Moto Group , an Indian-based motorcycle manufacturer (Kelley 2017). Tiger has other brands endorsements, which he dropped. These brands include EA Sports, American Express, General Mills, Gillette (Proctor & Gamble), Buick (General Motors) Golf Digest,Tag Heuer, AT & T and Gatorade to mention but a few. Remember that some of these Sponsors dropped him following his 2009 extramarital scandal (Levy 2013, p.44). Most of Wood’s endorsements were made possible and negotiated by his long time agent Mark Steinberg. Mark Steinberg has negotiated so many deals for Tiger Woods. He has been instrumental in Woods sponsorship deals and has negotiated on his behalf. The athlete’s agent has also advised his client on which deals to drop or renew. For instance, after the termination of his contract with General Motors, a year before its end, Mr. Steinberg took the role of answering questioning concerning the golfer’s next move (Thomaselli 2008). The agent has been faithful to Woods and has been always available to answer any questions and collect opinions relating to Wood’s brand sponsorship and endorsement as well as his career as a golfer. More essentially, Steinberg has been able to manage all his client’s sponsors and has been instrumental in helping Woods to honor his commitment with every sponsor. Mr. Steinberg has not been an advocate of switching sponsors for short-term gain. For instance, when Woods General Motors’s endorsement ended a year before its lapse, Steinberg was quick to state that they were not in a rush to sign another automobile sponsor. He instead confirmed that they had a very strong relationship with General Motors. Steinberg does not support regular switch of sponsors, but instead focuses on getting long-term and renewable contracts with their sponsors. He has been faithful to his client because even attar the 2009 scandal, Woods has not lost his value with major firm seeking his endorsements. Evidently, the number of brand that an athlete sponsors affect brand sponsorship contract and is key in contract negotiation. This is because endorsement of more than one similar brand by the athletes has an impact on brand sponsorship. The number of brands a given athlete sponsors also affects the athlete’s ability to honor his/her commitment to every brand that he/she sponsors. In addition, the number of sponsors an athlete represents may impact on his credibility to promote brand awareness and recognition. The athlete’s agent must therefore, consider the above factors in order to maximize the objectives of all the parties involved in brand ambassadorship. To ensure maximization of objectives of all the involved parties, an athlete’s agent must demonstrate knowledge of negotiating and reviewing of contracts besides extensive knowledge of the sports industry. According to Floyd and Allen (2008, p.82), the main role of an athlete’s agent is contract negotiation. The role is extended to include endorsement representation and financial consulting. Athletes’ agents hold a special fiduciary relationship with their clients. Maintaining a relationship of confidence and trust is of great importance. According to Epstein (2012, p.3), agents must be diligent, skilful and careful Conclusion Drawing on the two major athletes and their agents, it is evident that Tiger Woods and his agent, Mark Steinberg are effective as brand ambassadors and endorsers. Evidently, Tiger Woods has many major endorsements compared to John Wall. Although Tiger Woods has been a long-time golf player, his endorsements speaks volume about his effectiveness and loyalty to his sponsors. More so, Tiger Woods has maintained one agent for a longer period compared to John Wall who fired his former agent and employed Rich Paul. Wall fired Fegan because the Adidas deal did not materialize the way he wanted it. Even after hiring a new agent, Rich Paul, Wall has not been able to get an endorsement deal yet. Mark Steinberg, on the other hand, has helped sign Tiger Woods in several deals despite the 2009 scandal. Steinberg has remained faithful to his client, who in turn has remained faithful to his sponsors. As opposed to Wall, Woods does not switch sponsors regularly and this explains why companies choose him as their brand ambassador. For the short time Wall has been in sports, compared to Woods, he has switched sponsors and this affects his credibility as a brand ambassador. Even before the lapse of his Adidas contract, Wall was wearing Nike and Jordan shoes. Therefore, ineffectiveness and unfaithfulness of athletes and their agents can make sponsors to consider as not the right representative of their brands Reference List Floyd, P & Allen, B 2008, Careers in health, physical education, and sports, USA, Cengage Learning. Hicks, N & Nicols, C 2016, Health industry communication, UK, Jones & Bartlett Publishers. Jones, R 2016, ‘John Wall turned down $7.5 Million per Year Deal With adidas Because He Wanted "Harden Money"’,Complex Cover. Accessed from http://www.complex.com/sneakers/2016/03/john-wall-turned-down-7-5-million-adidas Laucella, P, & Andrea, G 2016, Strategic sport communication, 2E, USA, Human Kinetics. Levy, S 2013, Tweet naked: A bare-all social media strategy for boosting your brand and your business, USA, Entrepreneur Press. O’Shaughnessy, H 2017, ‘ Why doesn’t john wall have a sneaker deal:’, The Ringer, Accessed from https://theringer.com/2017-nba-playoffs-john-wall-sneakers-shoes-deal-ebfe32a83265. Porter, K 2016, ‘Reports: Tiger Woods adds new bag sponsor, golf balls; still trying out clubs’, CBSSPORTS.COM, Accessed from http://www.cbssports.com/golf/news/reports-tiger-woods-snags-new-sponsors-for-bag-golf-balls-still-trying-out-clubs/. Rogers, B 2011, Rethinking sales management: A strategic guide for practitioners, UK, John Wiley & Sons. Temporal, P 2011, Advanced brand management: Managing brands in a changing world, UK, John Wiley & Sons. Thomaselli, R 2008, ‘ Tiger Wood’s agent: No more car sponsors for Tiger’, Advertising Age, Accessed from http://adage.com/article/agency-news/woods-agent-car-sponsors-tiger/132877/ Read More