Helping brands to partner with athletes in their influencer marketing and sponsorship marketing campaigns

If you didn’t know who UFC star Conor McGregor was when we gave his video game appearance a shout out in our blog post last week, chances are that you became aware of him over the weekend. Despite being 5’9”, he has become a giant within the UFC along with the gold standard for sports sponsorship.

 

He is so valuable, in fact, that he recently requested ownership in the multi-billion-dollar-valued UFC to continue performing. He has taken over the UFC scene and his image and following are incredibly valuable- including for brands looking to sponsor.

McGregor, who is known for his dominating record, lavish lifestyle, and unapologetic antics, drew sponsorships from the likes of Reebok, Monster Energy, and Rolls Royce well ahead of his meteoric rise to stardom. Expect to see plenty of Conor, and his endorsements, in 2017.

The UFC has two more mega-events scheduled before the end of the year; UFC 206 in Toronto on December 10th and UFC 207, featuring the hugely-anticipated return of Ronda Rousey, on December 30th in Las Vegas. To get brand exposure in front of these massive audiences, visit opensponsorship.com now to explore hosting a UFC-associated event, receiving logo placement, or even sponsoring the next Conor McGregor.

• **UFC 206 sponsorship availability**: View Matt Brown's OpenSponsorship profile here!

• Joe Warren, who fights for Bellator MMA, also has availability for his huge Title Fight on December 2nd.

To learn more about opportunities with athletes in the UFC or any other sport, reach out to an OpenSponsorship rep today or send us an email at info@opensponsorship.com. Don't let this opportunity slip away!

One element that we often see missing from brands' influencer efforts is how they leverage the events afterwards.

If a WORLD CLASS athlete is endorsing your products or services, the world needs to know about it!

Alex Morgan and other athletes will create site validation.

Once an athlete brand ambassador has worn your gear in a press conference, attended your corporate event, or shouted out your app on their social media, you must continue to build on this exposure. Use the images on your homepage to gain instant credibility and hold new visitors’ attention longer. Repurpose audio and video for marketing purposes. Write a press release to get picked up by news outlets.

Having an athlete endorse your brand should never just be seen by the 10k, 100k, or even 1m followers they have on Instagram; execute on your follow up to get as many eyeballs on the endorsement for the lowest cost possible. Only by maximizing your audience can you optimize your ROI.

To schedule a call to learn how we can make the biggest impact for you, please visit opensponsorship.com today. One of our account managers will be happy to help you create the perfect campaign.

Three of our favorite current sports sponsorships:

Conor McGregor in Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare - Athletes, like The Notorious, aren’t only limited to real-life appearances :)

Hankook Tires & NBA Multi-Team Deal - We love seeing brands expand their sports-folio. Hankook has branched into the NBA to complement an ongoing MLB partnership.

AIG & the New Zealand Rugby Union - You already know we love B2B deals. Especially to the tune of $80m.