SPORTS MARKETING
ENDORSEMENTS:
What To Consider
When Choosing Sports
Personality
By Richard Wanjohi
E
though, what do brands look for
when picking sports personalities to
endorse their products?
arly March 2016, the sports
world was treated to appalling
revelations by one of sports’
most recognizable figures. Russia’s
Maria Sharapova had called a
presser to reveal that she had failed
a drug test in Melbourne during the
Australia Open for a prescription
drug mildronate.
had played in her career, getting
more lucrative deals than even the
more decorated Serena and Venus
Williams among others.
The drug mildronate also known as
meldonium was added to the list of
performance-enhancing substances
by the World Anti-Doping Agency
(WADA) and International Tennis
Federation (ITF).
However, my rebuttal was to give the
case of one Manny Pacquiao who not
too long ago lost his Nike deal after
making homophobic statements. She
brought up the cases of Tiger Woods,
Lance Armstrong to name but a few,
but then again, my take was that each
needed to be treated in its own merit.
Their appeal is drawn from across
all parts of the populace in the
country (remember the song which
proclaimed Yego’s exploits last
year?). Such endorsements can create
exposure and a good vibe about a
brand with a number of factors such
as association, favourability, and
recognition (“fiatu finang’ara na …”)
among others.
Not to belabor these arguments
Endorsement is loosely defined
Post-press conference, the dominos
started falling with one major
sponsor dropping off her stable and
suspending their association with her.
The jury is still out there about her
innocence and use of performanceenhancing drugs, but the world of
tennis and that of sport is still reeling
from the revelations.
Who Endorses What?
Of importance to our discussion
though is the sponsorships and
endorsements by major sponsors. I
was having a discourse with some
colleagues and of particular interest
was the role that Maria Sharapova
90 MAL 11/16 ISSUE
Her argument was that the sponsors
did not blink an eye while dropping
her deals compared to some of the
disgraced sports personalities.
Yego, Injera, Wanja et al draw
attention from the local media and
ultimately the corporate sponsors.
‘‘Consumers are expected to buy products
endorsed more than those not endorsed at
all. Fans and brands also love being identified
with a winning athlete and/or team. Younger
and future people usually mimic their role
models and the endorsing athletes – it
becomes easy for them to have someone to
look up to and even mentor too.’’