The Athlete as Data Brand
Today, more than ever, elite athletes are positioned as brands. Gone are the days of athletes simply plying their trade on the field or ice, and letting their performance define their identity.
For better or worse, it’s far more complicated now. Elite athletes are building their brand identity through their performances on, and off the field of play—they are expected to excel at their sport, have a clear sense of values and mission in culture more broadly, and they are influencers of style and taste-makers. The trajectory of “athlete as cultural icon” has been in development for more than 50 years, tracing from DiMaggio to Ali, Namath to Mia Hamm to countless others.
What’s new in the last decade is the technology that has facilitated direct access to athletes for fans, no longer intermediated by teams, or leagues, or even brands like soft drink companies or apparel manufacturers. Athletes like LeBron James, Serena Williams, and Tom Brady, are redefining what it means to be an “athlete as a brand” from building their media empires to having a logo. Even as athletes are refining their brand-building strategies, a new form of technology-powered access is on the horizon: performance data as brand assets.
Photo by Sven Mieke on Unsplash
The Role of Performance Data in Athlete Branding
The consumer performance data wearable market continues to grow through the progress made by companies like Whoop, Fitbit, Garmin and Apple, and elite athletes—who are already more accustomed to measuring and analyzing their performance and biometric data—are looking to use data as a means for connecting with fans directly.
Through technologies developed by companies like Zwift, and Homecourt, Wyscout, Tonsser, athletes are able to not only record their performance data, but also interact with fans around that data. These applications allow fans to compare their own performance and technique with that of elite athletes. It’s a new technology that latches on to an age-old fan behavior driven by the question “how do I compare to my favorite elite athlete?”
The primary technology driving current versions of this behavior is computer vision. Using the cameras on smartphones, and smart optical tracking, fans are empowered to track and compare their mechanics with those of their favorite athletes. Furthermore, these applications offer the potential to reinvigorate the scouting process for teams looking for new talent, providing a centralized platform for comparable performance data.
The Business Opportunity
For Athletes, building their brand is not only valuable for negotiating deals with teams and leagues, it also empowers them to demand more from their corporate partnerships by providing audience data to justify a return on investment. Leagues and teams are beginning to understand that when they invest in an athlete, not only are they buying the on-field performance, they are also assuming the fan affinity that comes with incorporating the player’s brand into their portfolio (for better or worse). When Serie A giants Juventus invested in a late-career, yet still elite Cristiano Ronaldo, owner Mr. Agnelli was quoted saying: “It was the first time that the commercial side and the sporting side of Juventus came together in assessing the costs and benefits [of a signing].” Dubbed the “Ronaldo effect,” Juventus are betting on Ronaldo’s popularity as a brand accelerating sponsorship deals and merchandise sales for the team. It’s a clear example of the impact an athlete as a brand can have on the entire sports ecosystem.
And with performance data, in connection with targeted marketing, this athlete-as-brand effect is not limited to only the top, most elite stars like Ronaldo. Professional, and now collegiate athletes through the Name, Image and Likeness legislations, will be able to build their own audiences as a brand, using performance tracking technology as part of their gameplan. With their own audiences, athletes will be more effectively positioned in negotiations relative to their participation in a sport.
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