Barry Bonds: The Anti-Armstrong?

Armstrong has established and managed his personal brand with great effort. The same cannot be said for perpetually scowling San Francisco Giants outfielder Barry Bonds. Without a doubt, Bonds is among the very best athletes of any generation. Between his incredible on-field performance that culminated in his breaking Mark McGwire's single season record by hitting 73 home runs during the 2001 season and the size of the Bay Area media market, one would expect this future first ballot hall-of-famer to be a familiar, sought-after spokesman.

A five-time MVP and 11-time All-Star, Bonds alienated Madison Avenue for many years and has limited his value as an endorser.

This, of course, assumes that he wanted to build a personal brand. Bonds seldom signs autographs for fans. He has consistently failed to even be courteous to those who shape his personality for the masses, namely the press. His lack of team focus has angered many who have played with him.

Building, maintaining, and extending a personal brand is not important to everyone, and perhaps Bonds is a great example of this. Until the final months of the 2001 season, as the media surrounded him during his pursuit of the single-season home run record, he seemed unconcerned about his personal brand. However, that didn't mean he hadn't been branded. Accordingly, as he sought to reposition himself to sports fans and advertising executives during the home run chase, he might have recognized that what he failed to say and do for himself, society said and did for him in its own way and on its own terms. Basically, you either define yourself or allow others to do it for you.

Bonds contends that it was not his personal brand that had alienated people, but rather it was the media's and the white media in particular portrayal of him that was causing the real harm to his personal brand.

Why would companies attempt to be hands-on with him, retaining Bonds to build their corporate brand, when he had been so aloof and disinterested in building his own? He has a black leather massage recliner in the "Barry Section" of the Giants clubhouse, which includes four lockers, a VCR, and TV. Bonds, when asked about relationships with teammates at the 2001 All-Star Game, responded by asking reports whether they in fact liked everyone they worked with. Bonds quickly noted that neither did he.

Because of this alienation, Bonds, as he was ready to break Mark McGwire's home run record, had only modest endorsement deals with Conagra Refrigerated Foods for Armour Hot Dogs, Fila, and Pacific Bell.

Brands that have been developed over 15 years can seldom be reinvented in a matter of months. However, with guidance from his agent Scott Boras and a new sports marketing agency, Bonds had success persuading corporate America that he could pitch their products in 2002. Bonds was portrayed as happy-go-lucky in advertisements for Kentucky Fried Chicken and Charles Schwab and his baseball achievements were highlighted during MasterCard commercials. But Bonds was still a liability. For every good moment, there was a clubhouse fight with Jeff Kent or an idiotic comment like when he said he believed a strike in 2002 wouldn't significantly hurt the game.

Managers must go out of their way to make sure they aren't perceived as the company's Barry Bonds during those Monday morning staff meetings. Conversely, senior management teams are routinely forced to deal with their own Barry Bonds that awesome but rogue salesperson who puts up huge numbers but alienates everyone in the process. When businesses consider forging an association with an athlete (or employee), they must make sure to research his or her personality and determine what people think of him or her, and not merely rely on his or her athletic prowess (ability to sell).