Leading supplement brand, Musashi, recently announced their partnership with NRL star Reece Walsh.
Musashi is one of Australia's leading supplement and sports nutrition brands. The partnership sees Reece Walsh join a star studded line-up of sponsored athletes including Socceroo's Maty Ryan, UFC’s Robert Whittaker, AFL’s Cody Weightman and NBL’s Xavier Cooks.
So how do big brands choose who they want to work with?
Reece Walsh has a strong following across social media platforms and is one of the NRL’s biggest stars and brightest prospects. Musashi has not only capitalised on his star power now, but would have considered the impact Reece could have in the sport over the years to come. As his profile, platform and list of sporting accolades grow, Musashi will benefit from a partnership established early in his career. As he continues to develop as a professional, his endorsement of the brand will become wider reaching, more credible and ultimately more valuable.
For Musashi, working with top athletes across sport ensures they get the most value out of their marketing budget, getting a consistent brand message across to fans of different sports, being: we are the best brand and the best athletes in sport use our products. But their selection goes beyond variety across codes, they feature athletes of different backgrounds and ages - meaning they get exposure to different demographics in each sponsored athlete's audience. At scale, this is an incredibly important nuance; industry leading brands consider the value of an athlete partnership beyond just their current status.
Athletes of all levels can benefit from understanding the mechanics behind this partnership and the interests of brands when they choose which athletes to sponsor.
Some of the things brands take into consideration when assessing prospects to partner with are:
Social Media Following
An established audience is a strong consideration for brands as ultimately the size of an athlete’s audience and their reach across platforms, will reflect the likely growth and sales brands can expect to get from working with the athlete.
Brand Values
There are plenty of high profile sports stars with a big following - that are not the right fit for industry leading brands. Working with brands involves more than just numbers, brands also consider how your voice and image reflect on them and whether there is a disconnect between their brand values and your own.
Competitive Prospects
Beyond numbers, image and the way athletes can communicate a message to their audience, their competitive prospects in sport are a big consideration for brands. Whether athletes have the chance to achieve heights in the short term, or are a a budding prospect over a longer period - can be key factors in deciding to invest in an athlete.
Consider as an athlete how brands might assess you. Building the strongest personal brand you can will make it easier to leverage your platform and work with brands. For more insight into endorsements, follow ENVY SPORT.
Comments