Building the Brand: The Difference in Brand Profiles between Team and Individual Athletes

Billions of dollars are spent in the sport marketing industry each year; more specifically investors are looking to put their money into specific sponsorship and endorsements of athletes. Millions of dollars are put into each sponsorship deal by managers due to the ability of the athlete’s endorsement to elevate their brand. There has been several studies conducted that asses the effectiveness of athlete sponsorship due to the fit and qualities of the athlete. There is little known about the differences in athlete’s endorsement profiles in regards to their sport, as well as their gender, ethnicity, and media exposure. This is of interest to managers as they spend thousands of hours and dollars on market research to pick effective athletic sponsors. The purpose of this research was to identify differences in brand profiles between team and individual athletes through content analysis of the athletes existing endorsements. Through the findings it was concluded that there is little difference between the brand profiles of the different types of athletes, although the study was limited by its small sample size. Differences appeared in categories including equipment, food and beverage, and entertainment