Saved by $110 Million and Reunited With Olivia Dunne, Sports Illustrated Makes All the Waves With Gymnastics? NIL Queen

New-age athletes like Olivia Dunne, have capitalized on the NIL opportunities that brought a major boost in wealth and fame. The opportunity eventually led to millions in deals, which were made available to all collegiate athletes in early 2021. Since the age of three Dunne walked her way on the mats and by 6 she was taking gymnastics classes at ENA Gymnastics in her native New Jersey. Homeschooled, she diligently practiced her routines, and finally, her prestigious admission to LSU gave her the final push. The 20-year-old became one of the two collegiate gymnast athletes featured in the 2023 SI Swimsuit Issue earlier this year.

While the headlines gave plaudits to the gymnast it was a win-win for the brand-athlete duo! Long before the brand’s name began to decline, its market rivals were already questioning its very existence. However, the dream team successfully painted over the blues across this age of Millennials, Gen Z, and Generation Alpha. A recent update from the Dunne-SI collaboration added some fresh excitement after the cover debut success.

Olivia Dunne returns for the much-awaited collab

Olivia Dunne stepped out of her dazzling leotard and stepped into a bikini for the first-ever feature for the 2023 SI Swimsuit Issue. It was one of its kind, not something typical for collegiate athletes to take part in. All the while its peculiarity further boosted the market exposure of the brand as well as Dunne. A recent Instagram post by LSU’s digital content creator Giovanni Lamonte featured a?behind-the-scenes video from the much anticipated Sports Illustrated Magazine session with Dunne.

The mesmerizing clip started off with Dunne saying, “Off we go. I am so excited.” The gymnast appeared in a slideshow of several frames donning a stunning purple and white bedazzled leotard with a bold LSU motif on the front while wearing subtle makeup. Her flowing blonde hair and powerful postures throughout made her appear like a total knockout.

In less than a day, the reel already garnered 482K views on the platform. But the question remains, how does one shoot save the decades-old brand? Sports Illustrated is an American sports magazine that debuted in August 1954. Despite being anchored for years to provide true journalism, they had to fire or buy out 300 staff members in 2017.

Next year, SI was downsized to a biweekly magazine as the age transitioned to editorial articles put on digital platforms. There has been huge pressure on the SI team for an electrifying concept for a while. Then finally, for $110 million, Authentic Brands Group acquired SI’s intellectual property (IP) and licensed the publication rights to The Maven, which changed its name to The Arena Group in September 2021. What happened next?

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How Olivia Dunne became an unintentional savior for the swimsuit brand

When SI needed to change the perception of its brand on social media, Dunne stepped in. It was the ideal pairing since the gymnast was the highest-paid female collegiate athlete in the country and had millions of followers on social media.

In May, she flew to Puerto Rico for her first-ever magazine picture shoot with visual artist Ben Watts. All the while keeping her followers updated about the brand and her first collegiate segment feature which was a hit.

Just last year, Dan Dienst, executive vice chairman of SI’s savior group said, “This brand is on fire right now.” Only earlier this year, when the audience was drawn in by the youthful cover page models, did the words actually start to show potential.

Dunne, who previously announced her intention to give up gymnastics, is making the most of her last year at LSU.

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