If you are a professional athlete and are looking to generate commercial opportunities outside of your club contract then you already know what we’re about to say. Building a strong personal brand is a non-negotiable. It’s not an extra. Not something for extra credit or a 1% competitive advantage. It’s fundamental. It’s purposeful practice, which as we all know, is the only route to perfection.

Athletes seeking brand deals have typically partnered with single brand suppliers, but the rise of multi-brand retailers offers new opportunities. Athletes can promote multiple brands, appeal to a wider audience, and gain ongoing revenue. British athlete Dina Asher-Smith's partnership with JD Sports is a prime example. By choosing a multi-brand retailer, she was able to showcase her versatility while promoting Nike, Adidas, and Puma.

In this blog post, we explore the key pillars of a successful sports marketing strategy. From identifying your target audience to measuring your success, we provide questions for readers to ask themselves along the way. By following these pillars, sports organizations can build their brand, create engaging content, utilize social media and influencer marketing, build relationships with fans, and ultimately drive revenue.

Personal branding is crucial for success in women's sports, and with the rise of women's sports in the UK, it has become even more important. Athletes need to differentiate themselves from their peers and create a unique brand that reflects their strengths, values, and personality. By doing so, they can attract more meaningful sponsorships, control their image and reputation, and develop a strong emotional connection with their fans. Professional athletes such as Lucy Bronze, Dina Asher-Smith, Sarah Hunter, and Nicola Adams have successfully leveraged their personal brands to achieve success on and off the field, and female athletes around the world can follow in their footsteps.

More than in any other phase a business, a good marketing plan can dramatically alter the course a company takes. A startup marketing strategy is a plan for promoting and growing a new business. It typically includes a variety of tactics and activities designed to increase brand awareness, generate leads, and drive revenue. A startup marketing strategy typically includes the foll

Sports investment should not be seen as a sports bet; where you put some money down, back a winner and take your money home. It’s about seeing that you plus them makes everyone better off - and that can be financially better off if that’s your motivation, no shame in that.

What can Athletes do to improve their chances when shooting their shot for brand partnerships? Before the typical DM pitch of. “I’ve always been such a big fan…” you can set yourself up for success in clever ways…

Growth-related KPI's are important for any business, but they’re especially vital for startups.

Use a mix of short and long term metrics to monitor your business’ growth, scale what is working and discard the rest!

Sponsorship is key to help Athletes grow commercially and support them to focus on their on-pitch performance 👍

But it's not always as simple as signing you image away for a load of boots and money, other types of sponsorship is on offer, which may or may not be just as valuable to you at that time. 🤔

Ok so you've found what you feel is the right brand partner, someone who fits yours and your audience's needs.You've read all of our previous posts about not just working for stash and finding brands who fit your core values. 😉

Let’s not sugar coat it, the absolute guaranteed best thing to do is to become the world #1 in your sport - that is definitely without a shadow of a doubt the easiest route to success!

What type of paid partners should athletes be looking to work with. Assume your kit is sorted, then what else do you need look for in a brand sponsor?

Producing content can be difficult at the best of times - knowing the right format, tone and creative approach. How do you know what type of content will achieve your objective? We often talk about the 3 E’s, a way to guide your thinking to make sure you’re off to a strategic start

Ok the first thing to make clear is that we are not qualified to give any tax advice - we’ve just been around the block a bit!

Secondly there is no official ‘influencer tax’. But for both brands and influencers, everyone needs to keep records and pay correctly when the Tax man comes knocking.

To create a powerful and effective Brand, you need to have a story that connects in your audience in an emotive way.

𝗔 𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗼 𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁.

𝗔 𝗯𝗶𝗴 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗺𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗮 𝗯𝘂𝗱𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽.

𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗮𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝘁𝗼𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗕𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀.

Other than appreciating the brilliant work of Ben Marlow & Jack Tompkins, we were left feeling even more inspired to continue to champion equality and equity in all Sport.

A brilliant move.

Not only to create higher quality product content, with and for a more engaged athlete audience closer to the target consumer, but also a far more efficient purchase funnel along with cheaper acquisition of both customers and future assets.

What’s not to love?

Fuelled and funded by coffee, one Olympic athlete’s business venture stands out as the template for success in athlete run businesses.

Find the right Athlete leader for your audience

How to deliver value for your audience…

Write it down, Throw it out, Write it down again, Share it with the team, and take action…