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

OpenSponsorship is the world’s largest and smartest digital marketplace,  our tech-platform has created and closed thousands of partnerships for our community of 12,000+ professional athletes and brands, who are looking to for authentic marketing relationships.

Meet Charles Turner, Head of our U.K. Team ! 

Charles is head of our U.K. Team. He has done some amazing webinars with brands in the finance industry and talking about hot topics such Cryptocurrency, NFT's for athletes & Web3. Aside from his extensive knowledge about the finance industry he is an expert with the EMEA region. In our most recent webinar with Sportcash One, Charles talked to Andrew Lubahn, COO of Sportcash One about athletes for NFT's.

Prior to his role as Head of U.K. for OpenSponsorship, Turner co-founded Neat Nutrition, an award winning plant-based protein and whey powder brand based out of the U.K. with his fellow British Swimming teammate, Lee Forster. He has broad experience across sales, partnerships, and brand marketing, both as a brand owner and formerly representing some of the most recognisable rights holders in the entertainment industry.

Let's take a look at our very first NFTs webinar !  

An Interview with Charles Turner

• 1. What do you love best about OpenSponsorship?

As a former struggling athlete, I love the fact that OpenSponsorship creates brand partnership opportunities with athletes of any status and from any sport. We can have a huge impact on these lesser known athletes by providing them something as simple as free products (like supplements or kit) to help with day-to-day training. We now also know that these athletes tend to have really high engagement rates and have genuine influence over their followers, helping brands to quickly build authentic communities.

• If you had to spend a day in any athlete's life who would it be and why?

The Olympic Games has alway been special to me having had two parents that competed as swimmers in the 1968 and 1972 Games respectively. As a former swimmer myself, seeing what Michael Phelps did at the Olympic Games in Beijing was remarkable and it would be amazing to experience the jubilation of one of those closely fought gold medals.However I'm a terrible, terrible golfer and I'd love to play one round like a pro - so maybe Rory McIlroy or Tiger! Imagine not losing 5+ balls and hitting every bunker on the course!

• Since you’re the head of our UK team, what excites you about our European market?

After a couple of tough years sport is back and it's more emotive than ever! For the UK in particular we have some amazing events on home soil, like the Commonwealth Games, Women's UEFA Football Championship and evergreen events like Wimbledon, which create an opportunity for brands to capitalise on the halo effect competing athletes bring to a product or service.I also love the diversity of the brands we work with having already collaborated with businesses in the Nordics, Germany, Netherlands, UAE, India and of course the UK, on a range of briefs all entirely unique to one another. It excites me that we can impact sales and marketing efforts in so many different ways via athlete marketing.

This post is designed to help fitness industry professionals make crucial business decisions now to capture additional business in the future. In 2020 the fitness industry reached new heights. The industry is now valued at over 105 billion USD, up about 6 billion from 2019. Over the past 4 years the industry growth rate has averaged between 3-8%, with 2018 showing almost 10% growth. With the trend pointing decidedly upwards it is clear that fitness brands investing in this area will most likely yield a high ROI. The question now becomes what are the best, most cost efficient ways for a fitness brand to increase their market share? Here at OpenSponsorship we have the cost effective solutions to your problems.

1. Boost your market exposure by investing in a booth at one of the major expos. Hundreds of thousands of avid fitness industry consumers pass through each of the expos listed below. For a one off cost you can gain loyal consumers by exhibiting your products. On top of this the expo allows for your brand to gain organic exposure and provides excellent B2B marketing opportunities.

Here is a list of this years hottest, most visited expos across the country and
globe:

1. Arnold Expo Columbus, OH March 5-8
2. Fibo Power, Cologne Germany April 2-5
3. BodyPower Marston Green, UK May 15-17
4. The Fit Expo San Jose, CA June 27-28
5. The Fit Expo Anaheim, CA August 15-16
6. The Fit Expo San Diego, CA November 14-15

2. Take advantage by building and marketing your products to match the hottest fitness trends of 2020. The American College of Sports Medicine has conducted a survey every year for the past 14 years. In this survey they identify and expand on what they believe are the hottest trends for the next year based on the past year’s data.

Here are a few highlights from 2020’s list:

Wearable technology - Wearable tech has been the number one trend in fitness since 2016. This category includes fitness trackers such as smart watches, heart rate monitors and GPS tracking devices.

Exercise programming for weight loss and weight loss products - This category includes both weight loss training programs as well as weight loss tools and supplements.

Yoga - We all know that yoga is massively popular around the world, but in 2020 it will become an even larger phenomenon. Yoga apparel, gear and applications are sure to do well in 2020.

Recovery tracking and programming - Recovery will be a hot area in 2020. Consumers have increasing access to personal data, and this will affect the fitness industry. From wearable technology tracking more and more areas of health and wellness to the increasing importance placed on recovery tools by trainers and athletes it should come as no surprise that recovery products, programming and tools will be a big part of the 2020 fitness landscape.

3. Ensure your brand is on the right track to gaining a loyal consumer base. Industry leaders have identified cultural trends and practices of brands that succeed in this highly competitive market.

Here are two industry practices and cultural trends you should care about implementing at your company or within your brand:

Consumer and member experience - The question here is how can you create the most engaging, best possible experience for your members or potential members? The answer is ease of onboarding. If your brand is easy to use, requires little equipment and does not break the bank you are on the right track.

Social engagement - From applications like Classpass to brands like Peloton it is clear consumers thoroughly enjoy the social side of fitness. Community brings motivation and affirmation in a way exercising alone cannot. Your brand should place an emphasis on its social side. Does your brand help connect your consumers with each other? Does your brand help create a sense of community within the industry? These are key questions to ask if you are creating and marketing a fitness product.

With so many incredible fitness products on the market it may seem daunting trying to get ahead of the crowd. If your product is part of a hot consumer trend, or if your brand prioritizes service, experience and engagement you are sure to have a lucrative 2020.

Here at OpenSponsorship we love working with a variety of different athletes each with their own unique interests. Having so many wonderful athletes with such a diverse range of passions lets us match the right brand with the right athlete. One of the most popular interests among our athletes is family. Athletes love including their families in their social media and fans don’t seem to mind either. Here is a list of our top 5 family-oriented athletes:

1. Eric Wood

This retired Buffalo Bills Pro-Bowler never misses an opportunity to show off his beautiful family. From opening days with the Bills to events at Oishei Children’s Hospital Eric and his family seem to brighten everyone’s day while helping brands and charities alike. See below for a great example of Eric partnering with a family-oriented brand and check out his Instagram here.

https://twitter.com/EWood70/status/1175895364513255425

2. Ashley Paulson

As a pro triathlete Ashley definitely knows how to balance different disciplines, so it comes as no surprise that she is also an amazing mother of four on top of dominating her sport. Ashley is extremely active on OpenSponsorship and has worked with many different brands from headphone companies to nutrition companies. One look at her Instagram and it is obvious her kids are as important to her as her training! Check out Ashley’s Instagram here.

3. Nathan Stupar

This New York Giants Linebacker is a family force to be reckoned with. As a caring father and husband Nathan has completed several campaigns with the help of his kids! See an example of a great family-oriented post that Nathan “STUPLYFE” Stupar has made below and check out his Instagram here.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B3Uvndpjnmd/

4. Yonder Alonso

As a father of two this Colorado Rockies Infielder is a family man through and through. With strong ties to his roots Yonder’s father and son never miss a minute of his games and have even gone viral cheering for one of Yonder’s grandslams. Yonder is a great addition to the OpenSposorship platform and is actively looking for new family friendly brands to partner with. Check out Yonder’s Instagram here (if it wasn’t already obvious how important family is to Yonder, just read his bio).

5. Sara Vaughn

Sara is the perfect fit for any family focused brand looking to expand their market reach with the help of a professional athlete. She is a three-time Team USA member in track and field as well as a mother of four. Sara’s social media is chock full of great pictures that cater perfectly to a lifestyle brand. See a great example of a partnership Sara was involved in below and check out her Instagram here.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B3NcoNaHGgQ/

If you are a family-oriented brand looking to step up your marketing efforts, then look no further! OpenSponsorship has these as well as hundreds of other family friendly athletes and influencers to choose from. Get started here. 

New sports technology

Most aspects of our lives are now linked to the internet and electronics. Food delivery, social networks, shopping, entertainment, communication.. You name it. Sports are no exception to the rule. In fact, new sports technology might just be one of the most dynamic market as possibilities are pushed further everyday by both developers and athletes.

Our OpenSponsorship team is made of athletes as well as huge sports fans. Which is one of the reasons we love those new sports technology products so much. These products make athletes safer, help them reach their peak and improve competitiveness levels in every sports. We love being the connecting point between these great products/brands and our awesome OpenSponsorship athletes!

SportTechie has been an invaluable source of information for this article.

4 brands caught our eye through their amazing new sports technology:

I/ AfterDark Technologies: LED jerseys and ball for flag football

 

 

These awesome jerseys and balls are definitely going to revolutionize flag football. Indeed, these kits will allow us to enjoy our favorite sport at any time of the day. No more cancelling a game because of the hour! Not only do these amazing kits let you play in the dark, these also include some useful features such as alternating colors on the QB's jersey, representing the rush count down. Also, its optic fiber flags to never miss your "tackle"!

Our idea for a campaign is to have a major league player from the NFL, NBA or NHL, to take a video playing some flag football with their friends, family, teammates or have kids play at one of their football camps! The NFL player could be Michael Vick who is now playing in the AFFL: American Flag Football League or Eric Berry (ballhawk safety and 2016 all-pro). Another idea could be finding an athlete from a Niche sport like Rowing, Skiing or Triathlon, who loves football, to test the product out, thus showing the appeal of the fastest growing sport to athletes (in college) to all.

II/ Mobile Virtual Player (MVP)

 

 

The MVP is the future of american football and rugby training. Dummies have been used for decades in contact sports training as it reduces unnecessary injuries during practice. However, a moving target makes training more realistic, thus prepares athletes better to in-game action. This is one of the reasons MVP has been developed! The MVP also has been tested for tactical training: now preparing shooters better than ever! Our idea for MVP is to make a campaign is to have a player with a reputation for his tackling such as Clay Matthews (NFL linebacker) or Fulgence Ouedraogo (Flanker, France national team 7s and Union), record and post a 30 seconds video trying the dummy out in different game like settings.

III/ CTRL Eyewear: Tint changing glasses 

 

 

Vision is key to any sport, it is even more important for activities during which you are highly exposed to environment changes and sunlight such as cycling. CTRL Eyewear released a pair of glasses changing tint within 0.1sec depending on your environment's light. Finally, people are safer during situations such as: being exposed suddenly to very bright light. Or on the contrary, riding through a dark zone right after having the sun in your face.

Our idea for a campaign is for a skier/snowboarder or a cyclist such as Travis Rice or Cam Zink to record a close angle video while riding down a mountain to show how quickly and accurately the glasses change tint (from the sunny top to a dark valley for example).

IV/ FlyPro Drones

 

 

FlyPro revolutionizes the drone industry for athletes and sports enthusiasts with its smartwatch controlled drones. No more worrying about your filming: just focus on your activity! This is like having a photographer following you around. It makes it easier than ever to record your best feats no matter where you are and if you are alone! This helps you keeping your followers up to date and content going at all times.
Our idea for a campaign is to have one or more snow or water sports athletes such as Gus Kenworthy or Kelia Moniz taking the drone for a ride and post curated highlights of it on their social media!

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 then sign up for a free account here and start applying to some of the awesome campaigns posted by our brands