Jack, Joe, Michael, and Tiger

Over the last 40 years, four athletes have significantly contributed to shaping the endorsement landscape. Jack Nicklaus, Joe Namath, Michael Jordan, and Tiger Woods each refined and redefined the attachment of athletes to products and services. Like today's executives, each crafted a personal brand that enabled him to excel.

These athletes recognized that the right marketing relationships would further their careers. They also knew that the products and services they endorsed said as much about their own brand names as they did about the companies they promoted, much the same way people project, accurately or not, personal qualities onto you based on the company you work for or the decisions you make.

With the guidance of Mark McCormack, the founder and chairman of International Management Group (IMG) and patriarch of the sports business industry, Jack Nicklaus became one of the sporting world's greatest brands. While Nicklaus battled with Arnold Palmer, another equally prominent McCormack client, on the golf course throughout the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, the man dubbed "The Golden Bear" captivated audiences in the galleries and on TV.

Along the way, and because of his credibility and believability, he established numerous business relationships with companies who shared the golfing world's target market, namely men 40 years of age and older who earned in excess of $100,000 annually.

Forty years after his professional debut, Nicklaus' name has been associated with about 30 companies and products, including Lincoln-Mercury, Rolex, Visa, Pepsi, Drexel Heritage (furniture), and Gulfstream Aerospace. Notice how all of these endorsements are for middle-class or upscale products. By virtue of being a golfer, Nicklaus has somewhat excluded his personal brand from being associated with fast food companies or cleaning products. Nicklaus still earns twice as much from endorsements on an annual basis as he made in his entire career on the PGA Tour ($5.7 million).

Joe Willie Namath, the following generation's superstar spokesman, was no Nicklaus, nor did he want to be. Namath was a showman; he positioned himself as a "personality" as much as an athlete. He literally and figuratively played to a different crowd. The New York Jets quarterback and cocky bachelor is most remembered for one game and one moment his guarantee that his Jets of the American Football League would defeat the 18-point favorite Baltimore Colts of the NFL in Super Bowl III.

The man who wore a full mink coat on the sidelines starred in three movies. He was among the first athletes to recognize that being outrageous would put money in his pocket. Namath also knew his sex appeal commanded attention. His most famous spot was in 1974 for Hanes Beautymist pantyhose, where he admitted that although he didn't wear them, if Beautymist could make his legs look good, imagine what they could do for women.

Although one could say that Namath's endorsement of pantyhose was inconsistent with his job as a football player, Namath's guarantee of winning something truly ridiculous at the time allowed him to be seen as a wild and wacky character.

Namath understood the importance of winning in the nation's largest media market and seized on the marketing platform provided by the combination of his brashness and a still evolving media, TV. Companies also appreciated the powerful combination of winning and market size, and realized products could be elevated to a winning status by association with a sports winner. In short, Namath's familiarity, whatever its origin, was worth a lot of money.

TV gave you the feeling that you knew Joe Namath as an outrageous, yet endearing personality. The commercial star of the late 1980s through the 1990s, Michael Jordan, went one step further he made you feel as if you were his friend.

The ultimate in personal branding is when you are simply known by a single name, and such was the case with "Michael." He was one of the most competitive athletes the world has ever seen, a quality revered by all who believed they knew him.

But it was Michael's soft side, shown in playful spots like Nike's Mars Blackmon "Do You Know? Do You Know?" commercial with Spike Lee (1989) and his McDonald's "Nothing But Net" spots with Larry Bird (1993) that made the marketing difference. These commercials made Jordan appear more human, allowing legions of fans and consumers to relate to this "regular guy."

Jordan, like Namath, turned to film to extend his personal brand. In 1996, Jordan teamed up with Looney Tunes characters in Space Jam, which grossed more than $220 million at the box office and sold more than 8.5 million home videos.

For an entire generation of TV viewers, Jordan morphed between superstar athlete and media personality, relying equally on both to extend his brand name beyond compare. In fact, Jordan needed the symbiotic relationship with the entertainment industry as much as it needed him.

Through this cobranding, which legitimized both Jordan and the properties he attached his name to, the endorsement business reached new heights.

Although Tiger Woods was afforded a brief introduction in his first professional season with Nike's "Hello, World" advertisements in 1996, he fully emerged during Michael Jordan's second retirement nearly three years later. Despite his talent and global appeal, it took a while for Tiger to be on the same level as Michael because of Woods' constant intensity. Sure, it was that intensity that enabled him to win major tournament after major tournament on his way to becoming the best golfer of all time, but his seriousness was hindering consumers' ability to forge a close relationship with him.

Jordan's personality was reinforced by his style of play and infectious smile. Tiger, on the other hand, only occasionally exuded the personality that everyone assumed he had.

The issue facing Tiger, much like the employee who misses company gatherings because he or she is always the first one to the office in the morning and the last one to leave at night, was that his intensity contributed to his success on the golf course but limited his ability as a marketer. He could concentrate more than anyone else; he could block out the crowd, focus on the shot, and forget about the surroundings. Golfers might respect that, but to transcend the sport Tiger had to communicate something else off the course: fun.

Like Jordan, it started with Nike. A tape of Woods bouncing the ball on his club and then smacking it for a long drive, "proved" that Woods could have fun and introduced millions to a newer, more approachable Woods. Tiger not only started having fun in Nike commercials but he also had lighter scripts written for him for his Buick and American Express commercials as well.

Don't think it wasn't a conscious decision to show Tiger's smile. His agent, Mark Steinberg of IMG, the same sports management firm that built the Nicklaus and Palmer brands, told Tiger that it was okay for people to see the real side of him that it was alright for people to view Woods as human smiling, laughing, and joking away from swinging in a robotic fashion and hitting every drive perfectly.

Made-for-TV events orchestrated by IMG, such as "The Battle at Bighorn," enabled Woods to show a more relaxed and light-hearted side. Competing against David Duval, Sergio Garcia, and teaming with Jack Nicklaus in these exhibitions that aired in prime time on ABC allowed Woods' personality to shine.

Managers seeking to make a name for themselves should heed Steinberg's advice. They need to know how and when to show their clients' lighter side in otherwise serious business settings.

Collectively Nicklaus, Namath, Jordan, and Woods shaped the endorsement industry and, in the process, shed enormous light on the process of personal branding.

By studying which products certain athletes endorse and understanding why companies enlist their support when representing a corporation's products or services to consumers, you can observe how athletes, with the guidance of their handlers, create, develop, and reinforce their personal brands.

We mostly know Lance Armstrong because of his amazing comeback story and we seem to know Barry Bonds as a selfish jerk. We all want to relate to Cal Ripken's consistency, both on and off the field. At times, we wish we could exude Andre Agassi's flashy style and infectious personality. Although none of us would admit it, we're somewhat envious of Anna Kournikova's success even if it has little to do with her athletic prowess.

All of these athletes have successfully shaped their own brand image and those who have done so most successfully understand that defining moments on and away from the playing field go a long way in establishing and reinforcing personal brands.

Executives can and must appreciate this. Managers must ask themselves what they are doing day-to-day to establish, build, and protect their own brand name.

Athlete endorsers are concerned about how they are perceived by fans, teammates, and corporations. So too should business people be aware of how they are perceived by customers, colleagues, and (potential) employers.



On the Ball. What You Can Learn About Business from America's Sports Leaders
On the Ball: What You Can Learn About Business From Americas Sports Leaders
ISBN: 013100963X
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2003
Pages: 93

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