Sell like Michael Jordan. Influencer marketing in the sports world
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In this article we are going to tell you what influencer marketing is all about, and of course we are going to talk about influencer marketing in the sports world, which for us, has been established for many years in the world of advertising.
Currently, an influencer is a person who, through his extensive community in social networks, has a powerful way to communicate and influence other people. This type of personalities are hired by brands, in order to make a type of advertising, which today is very effective depending on the market niche.
Influencers were born "officially" in the year 2004 - 2006, with the emergence of social networks. Currently we are sure that your favorite Youtuber or the influencers you follow on social networks, are sponsored or sponsored by brands that offer them something in return, usually an economic amount, although sometimes there may be another type of agreement.
In this article we will discuss which are the influencers that have been used by brands for many years, to make very effective marketing campaigns. In this case we are going to talk about athletes who influenced an audience and received multimillion dollar contracts in exchange for sponsoring certain brands. A significant milestone in sports and advertising was Michael Jordan's sponsorship with Nike in the 1980s.
The "Air Jordans" sneaker line became a cultural phenomenon and changed the athletic footwear industry forever. The partnership between Jordan and Nike transcended the basketball courts and became a symbol of style and success. This collaboration demonstrated the power of sports sponsorship to elevate a brand and transform an industry.
In the world of basketball, the NBA has maintained a strict policy regarding player footwear. For many years, there was a regulation requiring players to wear primarily white footwear.
However, on occasion, players like Michael Jordan defied these considerable rules by wearing non-regulation colored shoes. There is even a myth that Nike paid a $5,000 fine every time Jordan wore the shoes in a game. These incidents generated a great deal of media attention and allowed sneaker brands to harness the power of the scandal to promote their products. For its part, Nike sold the Air Jordan shoes far more than expected, making it a perfect marketing strategy, despite being threatened by the NBA with fines for non-compliance. Even if it had had to pay those fines, the profit would have been much higher.
CONCLUSIONS
It has been demonstrated from neuromarketing that when we see a public figure we admire and sympathize with, using any product of a particular brand, we automatically sympathize with that brand, and we want to get the item he/she is using.
But this goes even further, in addition to imitating haircuts or ways of dressing of public figures or influencers. In the 2002 World Cup, Ronaldo had a significant haircut, in which his whole head was shaved to 0 except for the fringe. Well, this translated into thousands of kids wanting to have the same haircut.
Subsequently, Ronaldo apologized in the media to all the mothers who had to put up with their children having this haircut. In soccer, star player sponsorships have been a fundamental aspect of sports marketing. In more current times, Lionel Messi, one of the greatest soccer players of all time, has had a long association with Adidas, which has been his soccer boot and apparel sponsor since the early years of his career.
Similarly, Neymar and Cristiano Ronaldo have maintained a close relationship with Nike for much of their professional careers (Neymar is currently a Puma sponsor). Nike has also sponsored prominent individual athletes, such as Serena Williams and LeBron James. Through its sponsorships, Nike has harnessed the power of sports stars to promote its brand and launch sports product innovations.
The German brand Adidas has also established relationships with athletes from different disciplines, such as tennis player Novak Djokovic and sprinter Allyson Felix. Adidas has used its sponsorship to promote its wide range of sports products and strengthen its image as a trusted performance brand.
These sponsorships have allowed both brands to capitalize on the popularity and global impact of these players, turning them into ambassadors for their products and strengthening their position in the market. Both Messi and Cristiano have multi-million dollar contracts with their respective brands, which in many cases have given them greater profitability than their own contracts with their soccer clubs. They are ambassadors for these brands.
On the other hand, Puma has established relationships with prominent athletes, such as French soccer player Antoine Griezmann or Brazilian Neymar and Jamaican sprinter, Usain Bolt. Through its sponsorship, Puma seeks to highlight its heritage in sport and its commitment to performance and innovation. Michael Jordan and Cristiano with Nike, as well as Messi's sponsorships with Adidas, we can appreciate the power of these collaborations in creating a strong brand identity, increasing visibility and establishing emotional connections with fans.
Sports sponsorship will continue to evolve, bringing new opportunities and challenges to brands and athletes in the future.
I hope you have a happy day!
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