Examining Athlete Brands... Part 1

This is the first in what I anticipate will be a series of posts examining further the nature and characteristics of athlete brands. Given the growing interest in the marketing of athletes and a few recent events of note, consider this the start of an on-going discussion...



There have been a number of stories the past few weeks surrounding the value and nature of athlete brands, particularly in the wake of the massive transfers of footballers Christiano Ronaldo and Kaka to Real Madrid. Despite both players' undoubted talents and status as two of the best players in the world and of their generation, the money spent by the Spanish side (£80 million and £56 million respectively, according to most reports), was without doubt inflated by the international marketing values of both.

Ronaldo in particular, it has been suggested, is in many ways the new David Beckham, and is poised to assume his role as the leading football player brand in the world. However, despite similar career paths, and good looks as well as on-field talent to rely on, the comparison between Beckham and Ronaldo is, in many ways, premature. While it is not unfair to suggest the Portuguese star to achieve the same status as Beckham one day, I would argue that day is not yet here.

This reticence is largely due to the actual nature of brands and of athlete brands more specifically, and our occasional confusion between athlete brands, and athlete endorsers. While Ronaldo's marketing value is among the highest in the world among athletes, to date he has yet to explore the full value of his own potential brand in the same way as Beckham. By contrast, Becks has extended his commercial interests beyond football and driven his own commercial value, outside of endorsements and club-led marketing initiatives. In doing so, he (and his management team - let's not be naïve) has built Brand Beckham into a nearly unrivaled athlete brand among his contemporaries.

It's premature to cite Ronaldo as an athlete brand on par with the Beckhams and Woods' and Jordans of the world. But, the potential is there, latent and waiting to exploited further. It will be interesting to see what influence Real Madrid may have in pushing it further...