Menu
Marketing and Sponsorship

USOC Sponsors Look To Add Athletes With Compelling Stories Ahead Of Sochi Games

USOC sponsors are “finalizing and announcing rosters of athletes to represent their brands" in advance of the '14 Sochi Games, according to Rachel Axon of USA TODAY. Skier Torin Yater-Wallace, who signed with Target in '11, has since “signed a sponsorship with Kellogg’s and is expected to add other USOC sponsors." Figure skater Evan Lysacek, Alpine skier Ted Ligety and hockey player Julie Chu have “each added three sponsors.” Sled hockey player Rico Roman, “an Army veteran who had his left leg amputated after an IED explosion in Iraq, also has added three USOC sponsors.” Some companies have “chosen to sponsor lesser-known athletes." PMG Sports President & CEO Evan Morgenstein said that lesser-known athletes or “those in less popular sports” can draw “small amounts -- from $7,500 to $30,000 -- from sponsors, while superstars can earn low- to mid-six figures." Axon notes Liberty Mutual, which “became a USOC sponsor in January and has a roster of 13" Olympians and Paralympians, "sought stories of athletes overcoming adversity.” Liberty-sponsored bobsledder Jazmine Fenlator “lost her family’s home in Hurricane Irene” in ’11, and skeleton athlete Katie Uhlaender “overcame the death of her father and shattering her kneecap in a snowmobiling accident to compete in Vancouver.” Sponsors generally look for “a compelling story and medal potential” in a potential brand representative, but “more and more, companies are looking to social media influence.” Agent Brant Feldman said, “At the end of the day, if you don't have a story, a sponsor can't spin that another way" (USA TODAY, 10/8).

RING BEARERS: USANA Health Sciences has signed U.S. ski jumper Sarah Hendrickson, U.S. speedskater Travis Jayner and Candian hockey player Meaghan Mikkelson as its newest brand ambassadors (USANA).

SBJ Morning Buzzcast: March 25, 2024

NFL meeting preview; MLB's opening week ad effort and remembering Peter Angelos.

Big Get Jay Wright, March Madness is upon us and ESPN locks up CFP

On this week’s pod, our Big Get is CBS Sports college basketball analyst Jay Wright. The NCAA Championship-winning coach shares his insight with SBJ’s Austin Karp on key hoops issues and why being well dressed is an important part of his success. Also on the show, Poynter Institute senior writer Tom Jones shares who he has up and who is down in sports media. Later, SBJ’s Ben Portnoy talks the latest on ESPN’s CFP extension and who CBS, TNT Sports and ESPN need to make deep runs in the men’s and women's NCAA basketball tournaments.

SBJ I Factor: Nana-Yaw Asamoah

SBJ I Factor features an interview with AMB Sports and Entertainment Chief Commercial Office Nana-Yaw Asamoah. Asamoah, who moved over to AMBSE last year after 14 years at the NFL, talks with SBJ’s Ben Fischer about how his role model parents and older sisters pushed him to shrive, how the power of lifelong learning fuels successful people, and why AMBSE was an opportunity he could not pass up. Asamoah is 2021 SBJ Forty Under 40 honoree. SBJ I Factor is a monthly podcast offering interviews with sports executives who have been recipients of one of the magazine’s awards.

Shareable URL copied to clipboard!

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Daily/Issues/2013/10/08/Marketing-and-Sponsorship/Sochi-Sponsorship.aspx

Sorry, something went wrong with the copy but here is the link for you.

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Daily/Issues/2013/10/08/Marketing-and-Sponsorship/Sochi-Sponsorship.aspx

CLOSE