Brand Ambassadors : A Brand Ambassador

This bond that is created between the viewer and a celebrity helps understand the effectiveness that endorsements have where marketers have failed. The celebrity builds character in the eyes of the public and that character carries on into the product he is endorsing, and even though a part of the persuasion has to exist in the product itself, but a celebrity uses his status and the character he has built to gain credibility and likeability among the target audience. This character the celebrity transfers to the product is known as the “meaning “(2). The transfer of the meaning to the product goes through three stages. The first stage is in finding the celebrity with the desired meaning that they want to carry to the product this requires casting from the wide world of celebrity endorsers. The second stage is choosing which celebrity embodies the meaning the marketing campaign requires for the product, this stage is subject to expense restraints and availability. After deciding on an endorser stage three is the most complicated stage as in this step the endorser has to be able to transfer that meaning into the product, they have to make this meaning “available to the consumer in a material form”(2), this stage allows the consumer to accept the meaning they are given and accept the product and you use is a tool to build their own character. These three steps not only

Another objective of sports marketing is creating sales. “The modern sports marketer is charged with one simple responsibility: to increase the sources of revenue” (Westerbeek 6). This includes obtaining more sponsors

Athletes want to be associated with agents who are reliable. Rosa states, "Athletes and entertainers face intense pressure and temptation, but many do not receive the education and counsel they need in order to plan for a secure financial future," (as cited in Levaux, 2015, p. 1). Sports are just a part of what athletes have to deal with, there’s also public relations. Any professional athlete has their own platform so when it comes to media relations, it would benefit them to have communication skills. A lot of athletes sign their first contracts when they’re still young so they have little experience dealing with media or huge amounts of money. That’s where agents come in and help them with managing money, and keeping them away from bad endeavors. The Sports Agent Responsibility and Trust Act ("SPARTA") aimed to deter sports agents from engaging in certain overreaching activities and to prevent the unknowing violation of NCAA regulations by universities and athletes (Willenbacher,

The ethos appeal is present in the Michael Jordan, LT and Polamalu commercials the most. In the Everything’s an argument textbook, it says, “We tend to accept arguments from those we trust, and we trust them in good part because of their reputations. Three main elements – trustworthiness/credibility, authority, and unselfish or clear motive – add up to ethos” (45). Of course, Nike wouldn’t use any one that had some trouble or were untrustworthy to represent their company. They know better than to include Sammy Sosa and Ray Rice to be representatives; however, someone like Michael Jordan is a great choice because of the influence he has had on many people. Michael Jordan is a role model to many; whereas, Sammy Sosa should not be one because of the illegal actions during his baseball career. He was “unaware” of the fact that he had used a corked bat during a game. Even though all his bats were tested and came back clean, Slammin’ Sammy had jeopardized much of his success from the past. Nike keeps a strong ethos by partnering themselves with famous athletes that everyone has at least heard of. Famous athletes increase their credibility because of the belief that if those athletes use their products then the product must be superior to its competitors. It proves that Nike is a high quality brand. By using famous athletes in their commercials, Nike shows that their products are not just

“People are more likely to pay attention to a TV commercial if one of their favorite players is talking, than they would be if the owner of the company was the star” (Miller). It is the association with the known and likeable character which may attract people to follow celebrity endorsements. It may also be the association with success which the athlete is characterizing. Whatever the case may be, Miller gives tips of what marketing companies look for before persuading a player with an endorsement:

Celebrity Endorsement is a form of brand or advertising that involves a well-known individual using their fame to help promote a product or service. The most common business users of products are manufactures of perfumes, and clothing. Some Techniques that are used are for example, television ads and launch event appearances.

By far the most important part of the sports industry is the duties of a sports agent. The agent is acting primarily for the benefit of another and must never think of themselves in this agreement. These agents

Sports agents are used, by both athletes and coaches, to provide a buffer between the client and the prospective team. As one of their primary focus is to negotiate various contracts, many agents are attorneys as well. All agents must work with their athletes’ best interest in mind. One of the most renowned sports agents, Drew Rosenhaus, is known for his exceptional ability to take on challenges and work with athletes for the benefit of them and himself. Rosenhaus is a leader in the industry.

Athletes and the sports industry have turned into a multi-billion dollar business annually. Stacked on top of that is that leagues and educational institutions receive multi-million dollar media contracts each year. This is so that broadcasters such as NBC, FOX, and TNT have the rights to broadcast that team or leagues games. The surge of money in the sports industry has led to an influx of agents into the world of agent athletes.

To this present day athletes are getting paid with the higher wages and as an athlete you get to enjoy what life really is. Most all-popular athletes make more than millions of dollars when people are working hard building houses and they don't get half of what they make in 3 years (Bhagat). However, these people had to build up steps to get where they are today. Nothing is free and in this world to succeed is to work. Also, athletes are bringing communities together, opening up jobs for people in need, and are world wide famous. Being worldwide famous is very important for dragging someone in for something. Making advertisements consisting of famous athletes will bring them more fame and attraction into it. It is very hard to build up to become one of the most famous players. They have to work hard by excising every day, staying in fit, and are always moving. This is why the amount of money

People have been entertained by sport since before the gladiators in the Roman Coliseum. In the 20th century, the publics’ passion for sport consumes more and more of their free time. As sports figures became internationally recognized, athletes began to realize their need for professional representation. Thus, sports agents were born. The field of sports agents has grown since then into an enormous field. Agents now deal with every aspect of an athlete’s life. Agents can be considered professional mangers who find the best place for their client’s talent.

The use of specific athletes in marketing campaigns really began to show promise when athletes like Jordan began wearing their own brands of shoes. The idea to consumers or fans of the NBA that they could wear the same shoes as Michael Jordan, and somehow play like him was an easy sell by Nike. Today it is now common for marketable athletes in almost all sports to wear their own style of shoes, spikes, or skates. An interesting point to make is that through Nike Michael Jordan eventually launched his own clothing line called Jumpman23 that makes everything from socks and underwear to winter coats. Even though Jordan has been retired since 1999 the Jumpman23 company has continued to release a new shoe every single year that are simply called “Jordan 24”, an increasing corresponding number to the number of years the shoes have been produced. The new Jordan shoes still retails at over $150 a pair even though Mike hasn’t stepped on the court in 11 years! After retirement and becoming the CEO of the Jumpman brand Michael Jordan has been able to court other famous athletes from a variety of sports to wear his brand. A few examples of the athletes include Derek Jeter (baseball), Dwayne Wade (basketball), Jason Taylor (football), and April Holmes (track and field). The wide range of athletes in all different sports who now market a brand for arguably the greatest athlete of all time truly shows the money, power, and influence an athlete can experience

New employees in the career of sports marketing lead by example from some of the most successful products such as the Red Bull energy drink and Skullcandy products. The most efficient way to be successful is to promote products with several sponsors. For example, everyone knows what Red Bull is, a sports drink known for its burst of energy right when we need it. The company has had great success taking a new approach on sponsorship. Conway argues in his article “A Sports Marketing Success Story” that “Red Bull wants to own teams and events. The company has a huge focus on brand management and ownership allows it to completely control how its brand

"If industry is to be successful in dealing with public opinion . . . it must learn the language of the people, it must consider the study of public opinion as important as any phase of its operations. It must recognize that public opinion can be measured, and utilize the increasingly scientific methods developing today for gauging it"(Ross)

Furthermore there are other researches as well which suggest that the approach of using a celebrity to endorse a product can not be viewed as a general practice of using any celebrity for any product endorsement. Pornpitakpan (2003), while discussing match-up hypothesis, describes the results of a study by Erdogen et al (2001) which suggests that "British advertising agency managers considered various criteria like celebrity- target audience match, celebrity-product match, overall image of the celebrity, cost of hiring the celebrity, celebrity trustworthiness, controversy risk, celebrity familiarity, celebrity prior endorsements, celebrity likeability, risk of celebrity overshadowing the brands, celebrity expertise, celebrity profession and celebrity physical attractiveness". A match between the target market and the endorser is important for effectively transmitting right message to target audience. For example, the advertisements which are produced by Pepsi, are mostly targeted for youths and so the celebrity endorsers that they use in their advertisements are young personalities. The match up hypothesis goes true for the multiple celebrity advertising as well. A good example of this is the Pulse Polio campaign taken up in India to eradicate the polio