Introduction
Every business wants to form a positive relationship with consumers. Branding is one way businesses accomplish that goal. Branding through the use of spokespersons, especially athlete spokespersons, has proven to be an incredibly effective branding tool for businesses. However, a branding relationship between a business and an athlete may not always be perfect for either one or both parties, and therefore great thought to one’s branding strategy should be put forth prior to forming such a relationship. 
What is branding
A brand is a collection of feelings toward an economic business; more specifically, it refers to the concrete symbols for the brand, such as a name and design scheme. Branding is the act of associating a face, feeling, image, or personality with a business or a product in an effort to create a connection between the business or product and consumers.
It is through this connection that feelings are created by an accumulation of experiences with the brand, both directly relating to its use, and through the influence of advertising, design, and publicity.
Athlete branding refers to the use of athletes as the face or spokesperson of a product. This has been an increasingly popular trend over the past decade. Athletes such as Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, Lebron James, and Lance Armstrong are all examples of athletes who have not only served as spokespersons for businesses, but who have also built their own brands in themselves. For example, Michael Jordan built the widely popular Air Jordan brand around his personality, charisma, and performance on and off the court. He then to transferred his intangible brand assets like his drive, competitiveness, determination, dominance, clean image, and the feelings and emotions of being a champion to tangible products like sports apparel, shoes, and athletic gear.
How Does Athlete Branding Work?
Often, a business will hire a celebrity, athlete, or other personality to put a face with its product. For this strategy to be successful a business should not simply hire a well-known athlete or celebrity to represent its product, rather it should be very selective and hire only an athlete or celebrity who represents the same values, ideals, personality, and image that the business wants its product to embody.
An athlete spokesperson can be an incredibly effective tool for a business. Athletes, often times, have the ability to draw consumers’ attention to and raise awareness of a business’s products almost instantaneously.
How Can an Athlete Spokesperson Help With Branding?
Before selecting a spokesperson, a business should consider: (1) Its mission; (2) the benefits and features of its products and services; (3) what its customers and prospects already think of the company; and (4) what qualities it wants consumers to associate with it. 
Only after these decisions are made should a business determine whether an athlete and which athlete would best fit its brand. A business must also determine how an athlete spokesperson will benefit its branding efforts more than another type of spokesperson.
Perhaps more than any other type of spokesperson, athletes have the ability to create, almost instantaneously, brand recognition and brand awareness for a business. Because Sport is omnipresent in today’s culture, consumers are often immediately able to view an athlete’s image, and transfer the athlete’s intangible assets, such as personality, character, and talent, to a tangible product or service.
For example, most know of Lance Armstrong’s amazing story in which he found himself months away from losing a battle with cancer that he didn’t even know was consuming him. However, instead of backing down to the disease, he went on to not only beat the disease and live, but also to win the Tour De France seven consecutive times. With this background in mind, a consumer is able to, almost immediately, perceive the values of fearless determination, will, drive, ambition, athletic success, and almost unearthly skills, talent, and ability that Armstrong embodies and apply those intangible assets and values to the tangible Nike and Trek products that he represents. Consumers who are looking for products that embody those values, which appeal to the majority of competitive athletes, are thus more likely to purchase Nike and Trek gear.
However, while an athlete spokesperson may draw immediate attention to a business or product initially, the branding effort will only be successful in the long term if the athlete and business embody and reflect the same values.
Is the Spokesperson A Good Fit?
It is mentioned by Jeff Van Hoosear in an articles entitled, United States: Fame and fortune in the International Financial Law Review, that the fit between the business and athlete will depend on four things: (1) how hot the athlete’s celebrity is (the Q score); (2) what product the athlete is promoting; (3) what is the quality of the licensed product; and (4) the amount of design input the athlete has in either the marketing or the product itself.
Further, the branding campaign will only be successful if the athlete and product convey the same values. For instance, a middle linebacker who has built his brand as one of the hardest-hitting players in the League, may not want to participate in a commercial for 1-800-Flowers. Then again, this might be a wise move for him if the advertising campaign intends to play off the obvious contradiction in a humorous way and the athlete wants to add a sense of humor to his brand.
Likewise, a fifteen-year old, female figure skater might not be the best fit for a manufacturer of commercial-grade, heavy-duty trucks. On the other hand, if she had just competed in the Olympics and had proven her durability by winning the gold medal after breaking her arm in a fall, then this move might be the right move for both parties.
Additionally, an athlete must take measures to avoid diluting his brand through over exposure. For example, Tony Hawk endorses video games, books, and skateboarding equipment amongst other products, but he was very careful not to enter the black hole of extreme commercialism which would detract from his non-conformist, x-game image.
In addition, a business must be sure to be consistent in its branding message. Hiring several personalities who convey different messages will be confusing to consumers and create a mixed message of the brand.
Both the athlete and business must carefully consider how each has built its brand and develop a strategy for shaping its brand in the future. Both should determine if the fit is right and avoid damage to its brand through overexposure or inconsistent messages.
Let’s Make A Deal
If the parties determine that the right fit exists, then they must contract with each other. To engage an athlete spokesperson, a licensing agreement between the athlete and business must be made. While these licensing agreements are similar to other licensing agreements, several different considerations arise. The use of the athlete’s name, signature, voice, image, likeness, or other identifiable attribute of an athlete under certain circumstances typically is licensed. The license, as with general licenses, can be as narrow or as broad in scope as the parties choose. Additionally, considerations such as already assigned intellectual property rights, publicity rights, and outstanding licenses with third parties may exist.
For example, George Foreman recently licensed the exclusive use of his name, likeness, and personal services through an exclusive assignment of his intellectual property. However, Foreman previously entered into numerous licensing, endorsement and other agreements over the last decade, so the threat that a third party may asset a claim to some or all of the intellectual property rights presented a large hurdle to the completion of the deal.
Therefore, a certain amount of due diligence in addition to great forethought must occur before a licensing deal is struck. “Four of the essential elements to an athlete license are: (1) identifying the rights involved; (2) clearing those rights; (3) defining the term and scope of grant of license; and (4) determining the payment and other terms of the license.
This process can straightforward or quite rigorous depending on the background of the athlete. Typically, though, these licensing deals are not much different from ordinary licensing deals.
Can an Athlete Make the Difference?
The short answer is yes. Numerous athletes have not only endorsed products, but have become the face of their own brand, such as Tiger, MJ, and Lance. Perhaps the most successful athlete to enter the marketing ring, was at one time, the king of the ring. George Foreman created an entirely new career for himself following his successful boxing career during which he was a two-time heavyweight boxing champion and an Olympic gold medalist. He has been so successful in transcending himself from athlete to businessman that many consumers in their twenties and early thirties know George Foreman more for his grills than for his boxing career.
It is reported that his name, likeness, and jovial character have produced billions of dollars in revenues for the companies that manufacture, distribute, and sell his products. From 1997 to 2001, the period during which Foreman signed as the spokesman for the George Foreman Lean Mean Fat Reducing Grilling Machine, the company went from $77 million in revenues to over $792 million.
But what makes athletes like George Foreman, Michael Jordan, and Tiger Woods successful as endorsers; it is their personality, their ability to connect with the consumer. The athletes are successful on the field without a doubt, but what separates these successful athletes from others, is what separates Allen Iverson from Tim Duncan or Terrell Owens from Marvin Harrison...personality. It is the ability to connect with consumers that defines the difference between athletes that sell and those who do not. 
However, businesses should not choose an athlete simply based on his personality. Why? What do these athletes have in common, Dennis Rodman, Bode Miller, Terrell Owens, and Michael Irvin? These are all successful athletes, with attention-getting personalities who also get into trouble. One of the greatest risks of signing an athlete to endorse one’s brand is character volatility. Even Kobe Bryant, an athlete with a squeaky clean image until the summer of 2004, found his way into trouble as did the businesses who hired him as their spokesperson, Sprite and Nike. Sprite kept him on its payroll but did not use him in future campaigns.
To be successful as the face of a brand, an athlete should have: (1) personality and charisma; (2) success on the field of play; and (3) character. With these intangible, transferable assets, an athlete can be a very effective and powerful marketing tool for a business.
Conclusion
There is a little doubt that selecting the right athlete to endorse your brand can be a very successful strategy resulting in large financial rewards for your business. However, both the business and athlete must be cautious before forming a relationship with each other. Each must study the core values of the other and make certain that the parties’ values align. Additionally, businesses must be selective when choosing an athlete to market their brand. A successful athlete, with a great personality and strong character will be the one with the greatest potential to create a positive connection between the business and consumers.
