CONNECTING BRANDS WITH ACTIVE PEOPLE.
BUILDING ATHLETE ENGAGEMENT
TO CREATE THE BIGGEST
MARKETING RETURNS
PART 3

CONNECTING BRANDS WITH ACTIVE PEOPLE.
According to research conducted
by Opendorse, the top 100
athlete endorsements were
valued at over $924 million
last year alone.

CONNECTING BRANDS WITH ACTIVE PEOPLE.
THE SIZE OF ATHLETE FAN COMMUNITIES RIVALS THAT OF
MANY TRADITIONAL PUBLISHERS
Instagram Audience
0 4.667 9.333 14
Tony Hawk Transworld Skateboard Magazine
Facebook Audience
0 2.333 4.667 7
Lewis Hamilton USA Today
Combined Audience
0 11.5 23 34.5 46
Valentino Rossi NY Times

CONNECTING BRANDS WITH ACTIVE PEOPLE.
FAN ENGAGEMENT SHOULD NOT END AFTER THE BIG
DAY, IT SHOULD ALWAYS BE ON ACROSS CHANNELS
Athlete Event
Social Media
Emerging Technology
TWSNOW.com

CONNECTING BRANDS WITH ACTIVE PEOPLE.
ASSIGNING VALUE TO AN
ATHLETE’S ONLINE
PRESENCE IS EASIER
THAN EVER
ENGAGEMENT
How many people does
the athlete reach and how
engaged are their fans
ADVERTISING
EQUIVALENT
Market cost of overall
impressions athlete
created.
LIKELIHOOD TO
CONVERT
Likelihood the exposure will
lead to a new customerX ÷ = RETURN
ON
ATHLETE

CONNECTING BRANDS WITH ACTIVE PEOPLE.
SHIMANO MTB
ATHLETE ACTIVATION
Dispatch launched an athlete-led social campaign to stimulate repeat
online brand engagement and build the #ShimanoMTB community.
The campaign doubled the number of authors using branded
hashtags, increased reach from 100k to over 1.3mm and
impressions from 140k to over 7mm.

CONNECTING BRANDS WITH ACTIVE PEOPLE.
ENGAGING HONDA
SUPERCROSS FANS
WITH INSTAGRAM
The Dispatch team is constantly creating experiential fan engagement
in-person at motocross and supercross races as well as digitally
across Honda Powersports social media channels - sharing unique
opportunities for fans virtually and in-the-flesh. Whether its experiential
fan engagement initiatives like Team Honda HRC rider autograph
signings and social photo kiosk activations at races, or virtual
engagement through behind-the-scenes social media content, the
storytelling and engagement is consistent and uniquely Honda.

CONNECTING BRANDS WITH ACTIVE PEOPLE.
5WAYS TO GET MORE MARKETING
VALUE FROM ATHLETES

CONNECTING BRANDS WITH ACTIVE PEOPLE.
“Marketers are increasingly integrating
sports into their broader campaigns, often
featuring elements of gaming, music and
live events.”
Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, senior content manager Mark St Andrew

CONNECTING BRANDS WITH ACTIVE PEOPLE.
1
ESTABLISH CLEAR
GOALS
From day one it's critical to set expectations for what you
hope to achieve through the partnership with your athlete.
Creating a simple brief for your athlete partners will allow you
to quickly onboard them while providing them a set of
guidelines in which they can be creative.

CONNECTING BRANDS WITH ACTIVE PEOPLE.
2
CO-CREATE WITH
ATHLETES
Don't assume you have all the ideas. Bring your athletes into
a brainstorming session and give them some creative
freedom on ways they would like to engage their fans in a
manner that is relevant to your product or service.

CONNECTING BRANDS WITH ACTIVE PEOPLE.
3
HELP THEM GROW
THEIR AUDIENCE
Athletes realize they are not only evaluated today by their
results but also by the size of their fan base. Have your
marketing teams package up a social media toolkit that
includes what to do, who to call and tips for sharing. You
could take this one step further by hosting immersion
sessions with a group of athletes or depending on their
schedules sending someone from your team to meet them for
a 1:1 session.

CONNECTING BRANDS WITH ACTIVE PEOPLE.
4
DEVELOP THE
SECOND SCREEN
87% of people use more than one screen at a time; this lack
of attention can actually become an opportunity to create
new ways to engage during live events. The second screen
experience is not just limited to TV watching, arenas are
transforming their environments with wifi and sensors
allowing teams and sponsors to take fan engagement to the
next level with integration.

CONNECTING BRANDS WITH ACTIVE PEOPLE.
5
MOVE BEYOND
SOCIAL MEDIA
As you begin to plan for 2017 explore ways to bring fans up
close and personal with an experience that allows them to
see what it is like to take a turn at 180mph or challenge their
physical abilities using sensor technology.

CONNECTING BRANDS WITH ACTIVE PEOPLE.
Billions of dollars are flowing into athlete
endorsements, and if you have not done
so already, it is time to rethink how you
partner with athletes and create new
ways to engage fans.
Learn more: www.dispatchco.com/athletemarketing