In the high-stakes game of sports marketing, brands are making a game-changing play by shifting their focus from professional athletes to college stars. This isn’t just about tapping into raw talent—it’s about leveraging the hyper-local loyalty and unparalleled community engagement that college teams generate.
As highlighted in a recent analysis from Harvard Business Review, this trend underscores a broader shift towards more authentic and community-centric marketing strategies. A similar conversation was driven by EssentiallySports Think Tank host Trey Holder, in an exclusive interview with none other than Derek Gaskins in the 28th episode Exploring Marketing Mastery with Derek Gaskins: NFL, NASCAR, NIL, and More.
Gaskins, the ‘marketing superhero’ who developed successful brands and businesses into billion-dollar+ enterprises, agrees with this game-changing strategy, where retailers leveraging college athletes are winning in brand activation and shelf space wars. But why this dramatic shift? Dive into our exclusive analysis by two esteemed thought leaders to discover how this trend is redefining sports endorsements and why it’s capturing the attention of marketers nationwide.
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Derek Gaskins initially spoke about the success of a marketing campaign involving Giant Eagle and the Pittsburgh Steelers, emphasizing the tangible benefits of strategic brand activations.
Trey Holder’s dear friend shared the ultimate goal of marketers in sports sponsorships: “I think every good marketer that’s involved in sponsorships and sports sponsorships the Holy Grail is the show this is giving me incremental growth it is driving more profitability more sales more revenue and this was a way to show it yes we had tickets and the hospitality aspects but activation has been something that’s stuck with me since so that was so successful that even now when I’m doing Partnerships and we have a big one with Texas Motor Speedway was looking for ways to bring that alive in the Allsups and Yesway stores to make more money.”
Adding to this perspective, Trey Holder, a 25-year veteran in diverse sports business fields, underscores the growing preference for college athletes, explaining how based on market research, brands are finding success in leveraging their strong local ties and widespread presence across various markets. “Totally makes sense. You got to build the basket right I mean that’s the goal of the retailer,” Holder agrees.
The host explains, “The goal of the brands is to you know drive revenue and satisfy that retailer so they get more space in those stores, and you know one of the things I always find interesting for retailers and Brands and especially in specific communities is those teams are the teams of the community and so those retailers that really embrace those teams they seem to excel.”
Trey Holder finds this interesting in the college space, and dissects the reasoning: “When you think about it from a pro perspective, you know how many markets are there with pro teams right you know…20 30 markets but how many markets have college teams right. So you know, being able to work be a retail or a brand and working with specific college athletes around Fayetteville Arkansas right Norman Oklahoma.”
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“I can’t believe I am calling my rivals,” Trey Holder exclaims, emphasizing his astonishment at acknowledging competitors in this context. Gaskins, of course, agrees to all of it.
Derek Gaskins has golden advice for the ‘New Marketing Powerhouses’!
The May-June 2024 Harvard Business Review article reflects that athletes’ “image and quality of social media posts are more important than their follower counts, posts should feature sports more than personal content, and s*xy imagery should be avoided.” Brand marketers are increasingly turning to college athletes over pros, and based on the Harvard Business Review findings, we’ve done a rather simple breakdown below:
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Besides notable names like Olivia Dunne (Vuori), Haley Jones (Nike), and Bryce Young (Cash App), prominent brands have chosen several other college athletes for sponsorships:
- Paige Bueckers: University of Connecticut basketball player, sponsored by Gatorade. Bueckers is expected to earn more than $1 million through this deal.
- Yonta Vaughn: University of Virginia women’s basketball player, sponsored by the Good Feet Store. Vaughn has fewer than 2,000 followers.
- Skylar Dahl: University of Virginia rower, also sponsored by the Good Feet Store, with fewer than 1,300 followers.
- Isaac McKneely: University of Virginia men’s basketball player, sponsored by the Good Feet Store, with fewer than 16,000 followers.
- Matthew Boling: The University of Georgia track-and-field athlete, sponsored by Dunkin’ Donuts. Boling’s social media posts often feature him in competition and training.
- Blake Corum: University of Michigan football player, sponsored by Subway. Corum’s social media is filled with candid photos of him working out and interacting with fans.
These examples show the diverse range of college athletes chosen by brands, focusing more on character and image rather than just follower counts.
In fact, Derek’s son is a track and field athlete and is breaking records! Coming to the hot topic of NIL, Trey reveals, “Nil is a big thing right now you know, and I have talked about that I know you have a son who’s a track star out there he’s breaking records which is pretty awesome I know you share that on LinkedIn and some other social media and you and I have talked about it before so if you’re talking to him or you’re talking to any young athlete what they’re doing is they’re building their own brand right and your entire career has been about building Brands.”
Trey’s million-dollar question to Gaskins: “What advice would you give to these athletes?” The answer to this “awesome question” is indeed a slam dunk. Gaskins says, “You know building your brand would be the key, and it is the way I raised him.” Gaskin’s got a couple of athletes in the family, for instance, his nephew Byron Brown, a QB at the University of Florida, is also breaking records.
He explains further, “I tell my son G Gaskins right and I mean he’s an old soul and very wise, you building your brand and you have to think as a steward and a brand manager for what is in the best interest of you and it’s how your actions are bigger than just you and yourself how they can impact the team and your brand…”
Gaskins’ thumb rule? He believes in sponsoring the whole team and not an individual. “So when nil first came out I was looking for opportunities to get involved with some of the under-nurtured and under-marketed sports but I think that’s changing I think people are now saying you know there are some personalities that can resonate and connect well with my audience or with my consumer that represents my brand and I’m willing to align my brand with the individual,” he claims.
Here’s golden advice from the Iowa alumni: “…so I think the advice that we have to give young people is just that understand that it can change on a whim…so I think that focus on the decisions and the choices and the lifestyle that you lead as an individual it’s never been more pressure-filled than now and while its name image and likeness and the opportunities are endless, the risks have also amplified.”
