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

The sports industry and its athletes have expanded their reach to the point of becoming influencers of fashion, lifestyle, fitness, and much more. Athletes can be a great resource to a brand and campaign in their ability to reach and connect with their fans and followers in a way that is hard to rival. In fact, the sports industry and market has been continuously growing, especially in this past decade, and is expected to grow by an additional 6%, reaching nearly $1,809.8 billion by 2022. The industry has grown in a way that has highlighted specific athletes and even enabled them to become household names as fashion and lifestyle icons. Much of this has been achieved through social media where athletes showcase more aspects of their lives and directly connect with their fans. Instagram drove more than $430M in Maximum Ad Value (MAV) during the first 9 months of 2019 with a 68% total value driven by sport properties and influencers.  Sports fans are a passionate consumer group who follow their favorite teams and athletes on various platforms where they see all the brands their favorite athletes associate with on and off the field. This is particularly true for youth because 32% of 13-36-year-olds, and 39% of 13-36-year-old males, follow athletes on social networks.

Athletes as Lifestyle Influencers

The health and wellness lifestyle movement has been on an upward trajectory for the past few years and athletes are in an ideal position to be influencers of this trend. This is because athletes are natural inspirations for exercise and fitness through their sport and daily lifestyles, which can be showcased through their personal social media accounts. This is why many look to their favorite athletes for inspiration and guidance towards a fit and healthy lifestyle.

The pandemic has contributed to this through the exponential growth of the at-home fitness industry. Through all the new developments and expansions brands and fitness influencers have done through the pandemic and quarantine has widened the scope of how the general public can get fit. A big part of this has come from fitness influencers and professional athletes who have shared their at-home workout routines and nutrition plans with their followers. Various sports teams and athletes have even participated or invited fans to join zoom workout sessions with them or to join them in a fitness challenge. This has enabled fans to become connected to their favorite athletes and sports in new ways.

This example of  Ashlyn Harris and Ali Kreiger doing a Zoom workout makes them more relatable and further connects them with their fans. This is because fans now have even more easy access to their favorite athletes, coupled with the boom in the use of digital communications, they actually have additional opportunities to interact with these athletes as well. So not only are professional athletes able to inspire aspirational athletes but to connect and inspire the average person as well.

Athletes as Fashion Icons

Athletes have a long history of collaborating with clothing brands, but they have gone beyond sportswear to become true fashion icons, even using their walk down stadium tunnels as their own personal runways. The rise of street style and athleisure has also been a contributing factor to the success of fashion influencers like that seen in the NBA. This influence is especially noticeable with younger audiences who are heavier social media users. These consumers develop deeper emotional and personal connections with athletes due to their affinity for the sport which also amplifies the connection they have with the style and brands the athletes promote.

Russel Westbrook is a great example of an active athlete who has become a fashion icon. He not only showcases his style en route to games and on social media, but he has also become a regular of fashion week and collaborator with apparel brands. He has become an influencer in more than one area, making him a more well-known name with a wider audience.

Since 2009 menswear has outpaced women's in sales growth and a recent report from Rakuten found that men are also engaging with fashion influencers at an increasing rate. Of the 3,500 surveyed consumers, most of whom were American, 65% of men said they interact with a style influencer every day.“ Men do not follow ‘style influencers’ in the traditional way women do, which is precisely why the NBA has been so successful,” Krista Corrigan, retail analyst at Edited, said. “The players have alternative mediums for reaching male consumers, and exposure is not always intentional. In particular, players entering the arena has become a regular aspect of game coverage. It’s one that is broadcasted across sports networks, news articles and team Instagram accounts. The player persona has evolved, and athletes are looked up to for more than just their abilities on the court.”

 

 

While scrolling through Instagram stories, chances are you’ll find at least one person asking you to swipe up or use their discount code. It’s easy, nonchalant, and we don’t think twice about it. Advertisers are using this type of marketing, coined affiliate marketing, as another way to promote their products. There has never been a better time, as an athlete or a brand, to get started with your affiliate program.

Although affiliate marketing has been around for years, many people are still not aware of what it is and have not yet taken advantage of the opportunity. As a brand, you are using a third party (the athlete) to sell your product or drive traffic to your website. You will give this athlete some of your product and a unique URL or discount code for them to share with their followers across all their social media platforms. The athlete will create content with your product and share it with their fans while providing the code. The URL/code can be trackable so that you can track the performance of the athlete’s post and, in some cases, pay them commission off of it.

As an athlete, it is important to remember that you’re more than a salesperson, you’re partnering with that brand. While you are endorsing the product, you should be doing more than just posting once or twice on your story. You must engage with your audience, who are now your customers. The more you show your followers that you believe in this product and show how it helps you, the more interest it will create. Check out Ebony's post below:

With the Coronavirus pandemic causing a major halt in the world, brands are being forced to cut back on costs. For many brands, spending your budget on a 30-second TV commercial is not financially feasible. Instead, you can spend a fraction of that and partner with an athlete. As a brand, picking an athlete gives you more control over who views your products. Rather than spending more money on an ad that may be seen by a larger audience, you can use athletes in affiliate marketing to focus on your desired target audience. You should also consider the type of ads you are generating. When you go on a website and an ad comes up on the top banner, what are the odds you click on it and go purchase something? Even if the ad is relatable, there is a good chance you will skip over it. Now, what if your favorite fitness instructor is giving you 20% off supplements? Odds are that will drive you to the website and see what that brand has to offer. Fans trust their favorite athletes and are willing to listen to their opinions. Athletes in affiliate marketing are a good way to effectively interact with customers and let them know about your product.

 

Athletes across the world are sitting at home with more free time than they could have ever imagined. As an athlete, no matter how big of a following you have, now is the perfect time for social media to be used as another source of income. All it takes is a few posts or stories on your Instagram to become an affiliate marketer. It is important to remember a few things once you partner with a brand. First, you must create a personal connection with the brand and product you are promoting. If you believe in the product, it will be easier to sell to your followers. Second, it’s important to diversify, but don’t go crazy. Chances are the followers you have are interested in the sport you practice. If you stray too far away from your niche, it could negatively impact sales. Lastly, stay on top of trends. Things change quickly, take the substantial rise of TikTok for example. You must be able to realize when something is trending up and when it is trending down and be able to capitalize on these trends before it’s too late.

Today, merchants see about 23% of their revenue being generated from affiliate marketing. With athletes having to think of creative ways to generate income, and brands trying to cut back costs, look out for affiliate marketing to take on a larger market share. Whether you are an athlete or a brand, capitalize on this opportunity for athletes in affiliate marketing and talk to an OpenSponsorship representative today, info@opensponsorship.com.

The Coronavirus pandemic has taken the sports world by storm, and athletes now have an unprecedented amount of time on their hands leading to an increase in the number of athletes on TikTok. Some are taking on new hobbies -see Giannis Antetokounmpo learning the guitar and Cody Zeller learning to cook and play the guitar (well, trying to). Some are doing their best to stay in shape at home- nice setup, Serge Ibaka! But most of all, athletes are more active and engaging on social media than ever before. The most interesting takeaway from this uptick in social media activity has been the increase in athletes on TikTok.

If you’re not familiar by now, TikTok is a social media platform where users can post short videos of just about anything they want- dancing, comedy, music, tricks, or one of the countless “challenges” that go viral on the platform. TikTok began to take off in 2019 has over 500 million active users, making it a great place for influencers, like athletes, to build their brand and engage with their audience.

The sports world began to take notice long ago, with teams, leagues, broadcast networks, and even team mascots creating accounts and regularly posting content, ranging from highlights, messages from players, and just normal funny clips. The NBA even invited TikTok stars Addison Rae, Charli D’Amelio, Dixie D’Amelio, Chase Hudson, and Jalaiah to 2020 All-Star Weekend. The former three made videos with several NBA stars, including OpenSponsorship athletes Nikola Jokic and Pascal Siakam, and even helped out Aaron Gordon with this Dunk Contest dunk! And now, with athletes home and quarantining, they have had the time to join in on the fun themselves, and we love seeing athletes on TikTok.

Philadelphia 76ers rookie Matisse Thybulle was one of the first- “the only logical thing for me to do at this point is to start making TikToks!” He has been regularly posting content, even taking the time one day to interact with a fan who was hoping an NBA player would notice his post. Star Grizzlies rookie Ja Morant joined in too, making a fake player introduction to help cope with him missing basketball. Young Thunder stars Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Darius Bazley teamed up in a different way than usual to perform one of the hundreds of viral dances that become popular on TikTok.

But it’s not just the young guys having fun on TikTok, even the world champ athletes are on TikTok! LeBron James and his family enjoy the platform, where LeBron’s son Bronny posted a video of the family dancing that LeBron later re-posted on his Instagram story. Retired athletes on TikTok include NBA Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal who is a regular on the platform and collaborated with Forto Coffee to create a fun and energized post promoting their coffee shots that received over 310 thousand impressions and nearly 19 thousand engagements.

TikTok is the hottest social media platform in the world right now and athletes on TikTok prove that the sports world is taking notice. These posts garner massive amounts of impressions and engagement from fans and partnering with athletes on TikTok is the perfect way for brands to connect with these audiences. Talk to an OpenSponsorship rep today to take advantage of this opportunity, or send us an email info@opensponsorship.com

Technology: Mankind's best friend

Crafting and innovating are two of the many unique qualities of mankind. We built cudgels and spears to defend ourselves against wildlife. Then, we started crafting and building to improve our daily lives. Today, as many of us strive for athletic excellence, science and technology come together to help us fulfill our goals and dreams. In this article we will focus on some key football technology which could shape the future of the game.

We at Opensponsorship are sports enthusiasts, weekend warriors and former sports agents. This is why we love all the new technologies that can help us and our athletes perform better and stay healthier. This is also one of the reasons why we love connecting our 2900+ professional athletes, teams and events with companies for marketing purposes!

Our friends at SportTechie have been a great source of information to us to write this post.

Football technology

Motus QB -- analysis of throws

The Motus for QB gives detailed data related to throwing metrics and technique. It tracks the angle of throw, speed, position of the arm, rotation and more! Providing athletes with an unprecedented accuracy of data collected from their throws. Basically, this offers athletes a great way to monitor their progress/performance as you can go back and compare your throwing stats.

One of the most important abilities of an athlete is consistency. Especially at the quarterback position which is considered the most important and difficult position in sports.

Indeed, an inch can make the difference between a catch, an incomplete pass and an interception. Therefore, owning a device that gives you precise data on your technique and results without disturbing your training is a must for athletes aiming for excellence. Coaches can also review their Quarterbacks' stats to determine which is the most consistent, strong,...

I believe this is why this Motus QB will be one of the upcoming football technology to be used by professionals and aspiring professionals of the sport to improve their already incredible abilities.

Go Rout -- Get your perfect rep. Everytime.

GoRout revolutionizes the way we learned to play the game. Forget about ever-lasting huddles and signal calling mess! Using GoRout, coaches can communicate with all players using one single button. And there's more to it... All players can now get the play directly on their device. No more interceptions because of a miscommunication!

These two features together allow the team to get more and better reps in, in the same amount of time. No wrong route or block! Coaches can also change a route or a concept through the device directly. During practice it may be easy to communicate with your coach and teammates. But, once come game time, the environment is completely different and quarterbacks already have so many plays to remember.

Having a visual display of the concept makes it easy for the coach and quarterback to communicate with each other and be understood by the other players. Especially with their new product that you can attach to your helmet. This one displays the plays directly in front of your eye!

GoRout in a few words? Simple, efficient and everybody is on the same page.

SportsVideoInnovations -- Integrated cameras in football helmets

Every ambitious athlete wants to review its workout or practice to spot and improve on its weaknesses.

SportsVideoInnovations brings this dream to life for football players. We had seen GoPro cameras mounted on players in some schools and professional teams. Schutt Vision Helmet Camera is much more fitting to the needs of this brutal yet beautiful game that is football. Indeed, the camera is integrated into the helmet.

Being able to replay performances with a POV angle is a remarkable innovation for both athletes and coaches. Coaches can see straight away if a player is not executing some directives. I.E.: wait until the last moment to play the deep ball as a Defensive Back. It also gives athletes the ability to get back into the mindset they had during the recording while simultaneously allowing them to analyze small details of what they and their opponent did.

X2 Biosystems' X-patch Pro -- Concussion monitoring with small device

Injuries are like the plague of sports. Everybody hears about it, but nobody really cares about it until it happens to them. Concussions are some of the most dangerous and overlooked injuries in sports.

It has become a very common injury, especially in Football where a lot of helmet to helmet contact is made. The major league obviously addressed the issue as best as they could by penalizing these conducts. However, the concussion test performed by medical staff has too much uncertainty. This is why this product is awesome! By simply wearing a 1.5x coin sized device behind your ear, hits which might lead to a concussion are accurately monitored and reported to coaches/staff! Coaches and athletes using this device can detect concussions that may have went unnoticed otherwise.

Football technology like these above will without a doubt impact the game as we know it today.
In a few years, maybe we will have complete vital signs trackers to have real-time information on the players I.E.: injuries/hits sustained and have POV cameras on every player, allowing fans to be as close to the action as ever before. But also new devices like GoRout to help athletes perform better and get ready faster for the next play.

If you are an athlete looking to start working with companies, please head over here for more info or here to sign up and start using the platform (free)!

If you are a brand looking to start working with some of our 2900+ professional athletes, teams and events, please head over here for more info or here to sign up to a free account.

How to Increase Sales Using Social Media

Anyone looking to sell a product or service needs to understand how to increase sales using social media. As the world continues to shift towards an online marketplace, digital marketing has not only become a powerful marketing technique to increase sales, but it has become a necessity. Social media outlets such as Facebook and Instagram have grown exponentially in the last few years. Facebook has about 2 billion active Facebook users a month while Instagram has about 700 million. When looking at how to increase sales using social media, it's important to be aware of this growth. Because of it, social media has become the ultimate platform in which to target potential customers or clients.

Due to their popularity however, many businesses have set aside large sums of money to swarm people’s news feeds with ads. Thus, being a smaller company that stands out in social media has become increasingly more difficult. One has to ask themselves "how can one increase sales using social media in the most efficient and cost effective way possible?"

The Power of Influencer Marketing

One of the most efficient ways to increase sales using social media is through the concept of influencer marketing. Influencer marketing is a type of advertisement that focuses on one powerful individual in a certain market that usually has a large (and loyal) social media following. For more details on what influencer marketing is, check out a previous blog post “Why Your Company Should Be Using Influencer Marketing”.

One of the benefits of attracting such an individual is due to the great influence and power that they have on social media. In a post entitled “Love it or hate it: Influencer Marketing Works” Daniel Newman offers countless statistics proving how one can increase sales using social media:

• “Influencer marketing is the fastest growing and most cost-effective channel. (Tomoson)
• Customers acquired through word-of-mouth have a 37 percent higher retention rate. (Deloitte)
• Word of mouth generates 2 times the sales of paid advertising. (McKinsey)
• Ninety-two percent of consumers turn to people they know for referrals above any other source. (Tapfluence and Influitive)
• Businesses make $6.50 for every dollar invested in influencer marketing. (Tomoson)”

In addition, there is another reason for how using an influencer can increase sales using social media. Generally on Facebook, posts with the most likes or comments are the ones that show up higher on news feeds. The problem however is that encouraging engagement on these posts can be difficult. With an influencer however, their followers are determined to have a connection with the influencer and thus like, comment, and share the post. With this engagement, the post is more likely to be located at the top of people’s news feeds. By being at the top of people's news feeds, it will lead to greater exposure for potential sales.

How Can I Get an Influencer for My Brand?

When determining how to increase sales using social media, influencer marketing is one of the most efficient & cost effective methods. Now, how does one attract an influencer to help increase sales using social media?

A common misconception is the idea that one needs to have connections to obtain these major influencers.  In reality however, at OpenSponsorship we have changed the game to better help you increase sales. OpenSponsorship is the leading marketplace for sports sponsorship.  We find ways to connect brands to professional athletes in the most efficient and cost effective way possible. Once paired with an athlete, your business is sure to take off. 

If you're a brand sign up for free here to access our roster of 2600+ athletes, teams and events. If you're an athlete, sign up for a free account here & start applying to campaigns posted by our brands.

What's cooler than sports innovation for athletes? It enables athletes to play harder for their team, be safer while competing and fans can know more about their favorite athletes.

OpenSponsorship is the leading marketplace for sports sponsorship. We are finding ways to connect more of these cool brands to professional athletes. This week we have been focused on finding out who are the coolest companies bringing sports innovation for athletes. We then find ways to make these matches between the brands and pro athletes. We help the sports innovation companies decide who to use, what to do and how to do it (clue: largely social media and content marketing based).

Our friends over at Sportstechie have been a major source of knowledge to understand who is leading the charge in sports innovation for athletes. We have also been referencing the sports brands highlighted by the Sports Technology Awards (quick plug: we were named a finalist in 2015 in the category of Best Technology facilitating commercial returns!).

So how do we do this matchmaking process for these companies who are bringing sports innovation for athletes? Thanks to integrations with IBM Watson and the largest marketplace network of athletes, globally, we are able to find which athletes who are talking about sports innovation; who are already promoting innovative products and even find which athletes get the best engagement on social media when they do promote a sports innovation for athletes.

Our Top 4 Sports Technology Products Which Stood Out As Great Sports Innovation For Athletes And Teams

I/ GuardLab's 3D Printed Mouthguard

Concussions are plaguing sports nowadays and thus this first entry on our 'sports innovation for athletes' list operates in the all-important security space. According to Head Case's website, the number of total concussions doubled from 2002 to 2012. Mouthguards are an integral part of head protection in many sports. Such as rugby, soccer, american football, combat sports and of course martial arts. Lots of players throw their elbows from left to right at head height. It is easily understandable that players want to protect their head, mouth and teeth. 3D printed mouthguards ensure a top-notch fit and thus, protection.

Our idea for this sports innovation, Guardlabs, is to find an athlete that is not happy with their current fit, and design a custom product for the athlete to use. A great before and after shot showing the better fit would be great. Using an MMA fighter who is known to produce great content would be recommended. Someone such as Andre Fili - full disclosure we assume he wears a good mouthguard.

II/ Vicis' Zero 1 Football Helmet

 

 

Football helmets are known to be hard, very hard. Football helmets all feature the same principle: a hard shell coupled with padding inside for comfort and shock absorption. However, Vicis is going in the opposite direction by featuring a soft shell and multiple layers to redistribute the impact over the whole helmet. And thus this helmet is second on our list of best sports innovations for athletes.  Judging by their testing, helmets are much more efficient by absorbing impacts with a soft and adaptive surface. This approach could reduce concussions significantly.

Our idea for this sports innovation, Vicis, is to find an athlete that is known for hard knocks. Such as a Defensive Tackle in the NFL e.g. Cleveland Browns athlete Desmond Bryant.

III/ StatSports' Sensors

StatsSports have been developing sensors which are being used by lots of sports teams across 6 of the most popular sports in the world. Soccer (FC Barcelona, Juventus), rugby (Springboks, Chiefs), football (Panthers, Raiders), hockey, athletics and basketball (Grizzlies, Wizards). These Sensors get into our list of top sports innovations for athletes thanks to the incredible accuracy in measuring many criteria. E.g. for American football - Power, Snap reaction, speed and acceleration at time of first hit. This sports innovation is all about helping performance.

Our idea for StatSports, is to use their sports innovation for athletes, by exemplifying the accuracy of Statsports Sensors over traditional methods. They could have a NFL player do the 40 yard dash and then post it on social media. Fans could guess what the acceleration rate was, and whoever got closest to the StatSports time gets to meet the player. Jeremy Langford, NFL running back for the Chicago bears would be great for this sponsorship.

IV/ Humon Hex

This innovation in sports for athletes focuses on performance and predicting tiredness, by determining Oxygen levels in real-time. This sports innovation also helps athletes know if they are warmed up enough before a workout. Then allows athletes to set limits for a workout and enables athletes to quantify the effort they are putting in.

Our idea for Humon Hex is to use their sports innovation on athletes who have been active on social media talking about oxygen levels and its importance. E.g. recently surfer Luke Davis told his Twitter followers that he was taking "oxygen utilization" supplements.

If you are a brand sign up for free here to access our roster of 2600+ athletes, teams and events. If you are an athlete you can sign up for a free account here. Then, start applying to campaigns posted by our brands! :)

It was the news that broke the internet in May of last year. No, not Kim Kardashian's bubbly balancing booty; we're referring to NBA commissioner Adam Silver announcing the opening up of NBA jersey advertising opportunities.

It was an unprecedented move in the U.S., at least for the major leagues (NFL, NHL, NBA and MLB), and it immediately ignited the interest of countless intrigued brands. But a year has gone by and most teams are yet to ink a deal.

Why Haven't More Teams Put Pen to Paper?

The main reason for the lack of movement seems to be the extreme difficulty in estimating the worth of such ads, as there is no data to go off in the new market. And without tangible evidence that these deals do in fact work in the NBA, we can understand the trepidation.

The ads are supposed to appear next season (2017/2018) when Nike will take over as the NBA’s official sponsor. This could therefore suggest that the teams have simply been waiting for the market to develop before signing the best contracts they can get; and once one team signs, the floodgates will open.

Let's take a quick look at some of the deals that have already been closed...

Philadelphia 76ers (StubHub, $5million/year)

Boston Celtics (General Electric, reported $8Million/year)

Brooklyn Nets (Infor, $8Million/year)

Sacramento Kings (Blue Diamond Almonds, $5million/year)

Utah Jazz (Qualtrics, $4Million/year)

A Few Different Ways to Look at These Deals

1. The teams are given a significant injection of capital, at little expense; a small sponsors logo on their shirt.
2. Feelings have been thrown into the mix. Sponsor’s director(s) are fans of the team and are willing to invest more money.
3. Business opportunities and belief impacts the decision. “It’s really about making them win more games with my name on their jerseys. That’s a great message for us and our customers.” (Infor President Stephan Scholl)
4. Deals involving the patches that fit with the team’s colors. It is worth noting that Brooklyn is the only team with an ad patch that doesn't match their team's colors.

Another Peculiar Perspective

Bizarrely, teams in poor form could become the most prized teams on the market due to their potential for change and the profit that would bring. We have seen this repeatedly in recent sports history; teams and franchises with average or even losing records in one season seem to turn it around in the next and tear up the league table. Nobody believed that the Panthers would go all the way to SuperBowl 50. Fewer still dared to dream that Leicester City would hoist aloft the EPL trophy last season.

Such sweet and surprising success stories have put brands on high-alert; if they choose wisely, they can secure cut-price deals with prospective champions and reap the rewards of their initial investment many times over once the prophecy is fulfilled. As a result, brands are willing to invest large amounts of money in the hope that a team with a rotten record will rediscover their form, rethink their strategies, and repay them with win-after-win.

We have 4 NBA teams on our platform that are still available for jersey sponsorship...

• Miami Heat
• Houston Rockets
• Detroit Pistons
• New Orleans Pelicans

An historical moment in major American sports leagues history. Want to be a part of it? Get working with the teams on Opensponsorship before those patches are all sold out!

 

We have a multinational and multicultural team here at OpenSponsorship, where different perspectives combine to share the same vision, and different skills combine to create the most efficient, effective and hassle free sports marketing platform. But what exactly could this magnificent, multitalented mix bring to a U.S. based company with a focus on international business?

A LOT!

 

Cultural differences and market knowledge

 

Sport is a global industry; millions of people from every corner of the globe either spectate or participate in some way. That being said, not all sports translate overseas with quite the same level of success and popularity: every country has its “predilection” sport. For instance, the U.S. has American Football. Brazil and England have soccer. New Zealand; Rugby. France and China; Basketball. The list goes on-and-on.

Just like having their “own” sport, every country has different commonly-accepted ways of interacting with each other: different customs, different ways of conducting business, different cultures and different points of view.

Simply put, people from different countries are subject to like and accept completely different things.

Companies with international experience are able to keep the impact of these differences superficial by adapting to - and embracing - these cultural differences in their strategy. This often leads to success in that specific market.

Handshake and bow: Barrack Obama and Japan's emperor Akihito

 

Some things, however, are just universally accepted and welcomed. Sport is one of those things. No matter which continent your feet may fall on, you’ll be able to see people playing sports. That being said, the type of sport is certainly going to be different depending on where you are and who you see, but the point is that sports bring us together. Unless we're supporting opposing sides of course!

 

International experiences

 

In a truly global industry like sports, first-hand international experience can be very valuable. In fact, as the world wide web connected continents together to form the global marketplace we live in today, there are few industries that wouldn't benefit from the experience and expertise of an eclectic mix of nationalities.

Obviously, for a company with a mission as ambitious as ours, having this kind of experience helps to develop our platform and reach out to athletes and brands abroad.

Common knowledge about a country is crucial to understand the market, its business habits and the most effective modes of communicating. It is critical to adapt to and appreciate these three aforementioned factors when doing sales.

 

 

 

Global companies and cultural differences

 

Global brands have very specific product ranges for each country - tailoring their offerings in accordance with native market tastes - to help them cut their operating costs and better manage their product surplus levels. This helps to drive down expenses, by limiting the number of total potential sales. However the company might also be slashing away at their chances of growth. For that they need to fully understand the market.

Another obvious observation would be that a lot of people around the world are not able to buy the products they want from their favourite brands. Simply because those specific products are not available for purchase in their country. As a result, those customers will simply seek a substitute and make-do should they not accept paying extortionate shipping costs.

Global brands could surely afford to drip some extra gear into new markets for testing through their well-oiled logistic machines. But they often neglect small opportunities because they assume there is too much risk - and not enough payoff - involved. Some companies, however, have thrown caution to the wind and started sowing their seeds further afield in order to meet the demand, regardless of its size.

For instance, Nike recently began testing the demand for American Football in Europe by offering American Football fan products on Nike.com, with more and more products seeming to appear as time goes by.

 

 

Global companies like Nike - with their vast financial resources and strong reputation - have the luxury of being able to take advantage of opportunities as soon as they emerge. But what about smaller companies with stringent budgets?

 

More about OpenSponsorship's mission

 

At OpenSponsorship we connect athletes and brands from all over the world on one unique platform to make sports marketing easy, effective and affordable for everyone. Think Match.com for sports marketing (without the creepy messages!).

We strive to get as many brands, teams and athletes to join our platform as possible, with the ultimate aim of creating a truly global and interactive marketplace where athletes can connect with companies that fit and vice versa.

It's an ambitious mission, but Rome wasn’t built in a day.

If you're a company looking to build your brand, Opensponsorship can help! With 2,000+ athletes available on our site, ranging from local hotshots to global superstars such as Russell Westbrook, you could give people around the world a good glimpse of what you do.

Sports marketing has evolved to a whole new level, where intimate details of athlete's lives, feelings, and opinions are easily shared with the whole world. Especially through social media. This has become a great way for athletes to endorse products and expose companies to their thousands of engaged and interested followers. 

Olympians, Rio may be over, but the limelight doesn’t have to be. Here are OpenSponsorship's four tips for staying connected to your fans and sponsors:

1. Broadcast your training regime. Most people are in awe of how hard Olympic athletes train, and when you allow this audience a glimpse into your regime, they can’t stop watching. Share the hardest part or your favorite part of your training to really wow your fans. If you’re looking for humor or relatability, you can even share your least favorite part! Give shout outs to your clothing and equipment sponsors who help you get awesome results. Our recommendation: turn your snapchat into a .LIVE channel.
2. Share yourself competing at local or national events. It might not be the Olympics, but it still counts and your fans still have a vested interest in watching your journey. Whether its international meets, or local events, show us what happens behind the scenes, how you interact with the other competitors, and stream your teammates racing too. Our recommendation: use YouTube to broadcast your event and brand it TracktoTokyo.live.
3. How does sponsorship really work? What does it mean when you have a photoshoot or some new Nike gear? A lot of your fans might be aspiring athletes who want to learn. Promote sponsors and the sponsorship journey through your own social channels. Our recommendations: turn these posts into a channel on .SOCIAL.
4. We love family, and the P&G ads are our faves! Thank your family through keeping your fans up to date about how they help your journey as an athlete and human being. Do you tease your little sister who isn't as good at sports as you, or maybe it’s your mum who sleeps in the car while you are training? Let the world see where you really came from and go back to. Our recommendations: use .FAMILY.

Fans love you for who you are and what you do. They want to know more about you. Our team speaks from experience when we say that fans will spend hours watching video of their favorite athlete, no matter what they are doing. The more information you give them, (in livestreams, tweets, and Instagram posts) the more they will talk about you. So take your fans on your next quest for Gold!