Who’s Your Jerry Maguire?

One of the people who helps sports stars do exactly that is Russell Reimer, a partner with Agenda Sport Marketing http://www.agendasport.ca/ in Calgary. ASM’s roster of 2010 Olympic hopefuls includes snowboarder Maëlle Ricker and speedskaters Charles and François Hamelin. The agency takes what Reimer calls an “un-agency approach,” arranging media appearances, sponsorship deals and carving out downtime so the talent doesn’t burn out. This makes sense, because the product literally has skin in the game. Take one of Reimer’s clients, speedskater Kristina Groves. She will compete in five events during the Games. “Kristina is in increasingly higher demand as her story has come into focus,” Reimer says. It’s important for ASM to tell her story, but not at the expense of why people care about the story in the first place: how well she performs during her races. If one of his clients wins a medal, the ROI for corporate sponsors, Agenda Sport Marketing and, of course, the athlete, will increase dramatically. An athlete on the podium will instantly become a household name – and household names move products.

Not surprisingly, expectations of Groves are high both on the rink and in the public eye. Representing corporate brands like Nike demands that amateur athletes like Groves are “well-rounded individuals, strong role models, engaging storytellers and corporate culture builders,” says Reimer.

The Future of Sports Marketing

Establishing a story gives the athlete something to trade in along with speed and physical skill. There is a reason companies such as Proctor & Gamble continue to use athletes to promote their products. “We know, from empirical research, that sponsorship works if activated properly in the right demographics and with the right sponsee,” says Norman O’Reilly, an associate professor of sport management at Syracuse University, who co-wrote Sport Marketing: A Canadian Perspective http://www.sportmarketing.nelson.com/default.html and is collaborating on another book sports business management. “It is superior to advertising and other promotional methods in reaching specific marketing if it’s done right.

Reimer points to another trend in the field. Sports marketing professionals are looking beyond hockey and soccer. “We’re taking on emerging sports like speedskating, where we are building a grassroots culture around our tremendous international success. Or alpine skiing, which has strong associative value for brands and embodies bravado, risk, speed and style and appeals to an upscale consumer.” You can almost picture the story unfolding. And if Reimer could write the ending, at least during the Olympics, it would likely involve gold medals, smiling athletes on podiums and really happy corporate sponsors.

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