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

Why Brands Should Work with Athletes to Improve Black Friday Sales

For many brands, Black Friday is the biggest shopping day of the year. It's a time when businesses can make a lot of money by offering steep discounts and attracting customers with great deals. However, in order to make the most out of Black Friday, brands need to plan ahead and work with athletes to create promotional content that will drive traffic and sales. In this blog post, we will discuss why it is beneficial for brands to work with athletes on Black Friday and some tips on how to do it effectively!

There are a few reasons why working with athletes can be beneficial for brands during Black Friday. First, athletes have a large following on social media and can promote deals to their fans. Second, athletes are trusted influencers and their endorsement of a product or service can increase consumer confidence. Finally, athletes are often seen as experts in their field and can provide valuable insights to brands about how to appeal to their target audience.

 

If you're a brand considering working with athletes on Black Friday, here are a few tips to make the most out of the partnership:

1. Plan ahead and give athletes plenty of time to create content. This will ensure that the content is high quality and that the athlete has a good understanding of the brand and what is being promoted.
2. Make sure the athlete is a good fit for the brand. There should be alignment between the values of the athlete and the brand, and the content should be relevant to the athlete's fans.
3. Be clear about what is expected from the partnership. What kind of content will be created? How will it be promoted? What are the goals of the campaign? Having a clear plan will help ensure that both parties are on the same page and that everyone knows what their role is in making the campaign successful.

Working with athletes on Black Friday can be a great way to boost sales and create buzz around your brand. By following these tips, you can make the most out of the partnership and ensure that it is successful!

Here are some successful Black Friday marketing campaigns to get you inspired:

- Nike's "Find Your Greatness" campaign from 2012 featured a number of top athletes, including LeBron James, Allyson Felix, and Michael Phelps. The campaign was very beneficial, improving sales and brand awareness.

- Umbro and West Ham United Football Club utilized their black Friday campaign in 2017 to sell merchandise at a discounted rate. The campaign was very successful, with Umbro seeing a sales increase of 300% on the day.

- Under Armour's "Rule Yourself" campaign from 2015 featured a number of top athletes, including Michael Phelps, Misty Copeland, and Jordan Spieth. The campaign was a success, driving sales and increasing market reach.

Finishing Point

OpenSponsorship is the best way to connect with top athletes and brands around the world. We have a database of over 10,000 athletes and counting, so you’re sure to find the perfect fit for your brand. Sign up today and start promoting your Black Friday deals!

3 Campaign Ideas to Build Awareness this Halloween

Halloween is a time when everyone gets excited to dress up in their favorite costumes and have a good time. For athletes, it's also a great opportunity to get involved in some fun and creative marketing campaigns. Here are three of the best ideas for Halloween campaigns that will help build awareness for your brand.

Best Costume Contest with an Athlete

One fun and easy way to generate awareness for your brand around Halloween is by hosting a best costume contest. This can be done in a variety of ways, but involving an athlete as a judge is a great way to add excitement and generate some press. For example, the National Basketball Association (NBA) hosted a “ Trick-or-Treat with the NBA” contest in which fans could submit photos of themselves in their best costumes for the chance to win tickets to an NBA game. In order to make things even more interesting, they enlisted the help of well-known athletes such as Stephen Curry and LeBron James as judges. As a result, this campaign generated excitement and media attention leading up to Halloween.

 

Social Media Giveaway

Another great way to get people excited about your brand around Halloween is by hosting a social media giveaway. This can be as simple as giving away a prize to one lucky winner who posts about your brand on social media, or it can be more complex like running a sweepstakes with multiple winners. Whatever format you choose, partnering with an athlete is a great way to generate excitement and increase participation. For example, earlier this year Dunkin’ Donuts teamed up with Boston Celtics player Isaiah Thomas to run a social media giveaway campaign. Fans were encouraged to post photos of themselves enjoying Dunkin’ Donuts products using the hashtag #DDxIT for a chance to win tickets to a Celtics game and other prizes. The campaign was successful in driving engagement on social media and helping to promote Dunkin’ Donuts’ products.

Product Photoshoot

If you want to go all out for Halloween, you could organize a product photoshoot with athletes as the stars. This would be a great way to create some buzz around your brand and generate interest in your upcoming Halloween sale. You could even make the photoshoot into a contest, asking fans to vote for their favorite photos. Alternatively, you could release sneak peeks of the photos leading up to the sale in order to generate anticipation. Whatever approach you take, working with athletes is sure to create some excitement and boost foot traffic in your store during the holiday season. For example, Reebok partnered with NFL player DeAngelo Williams to shoot a series of Halloween-themed product photos.

Closing Thoughts

So there you have it, three great ideas for building brand awareness this Halloween. Now all that's left to do is put them into action!

OpenSponsorship is the perfect platform to help you connect with athletes and celebrities who can help take your Halloween campaigns to the next level. Sign up today and get started on building the perfect brand.

As Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) become more and more popular, an increased number of partnership opportunities have begun to emerge across numerous platforms and interfaces. Daily Fantasy Sports platforms such as DraftKings and FanDuel have seen first hand the benefits of using athletes to assist in the  promotion and the use of Daily Fantasy Sports gameplay. 

In a few weeks, families around the United States will be celebrating Mother's Day and thanking their mothers for all of the sacrifices they make every day. In the sports world, female athletes juggle their athletic careers with their duties as mothers, often even having to take time off from their sport during and after pregnancy to care for their children and get their bodies ready to go back to competing.

For this reason, athletes who are mothers can be the perfect influencers to include in your brand's influencer marketing campaign around Mother's Day. Read below for OpenSponsorship's Top 10 Instagram influencers who are athletes and mothers and about the sacrifices they have made for their families. They deserve all the love coming their way this Mother's Day!

10. Glory Johnson

Glory is an 8-year WNBA veteran currently playing for the Atlanta Dream. In 2015, coming off of her second straight All-Star appearance, she announced that she was pregnant and would be sitting out the entire 2015 season. In October 2015, 4 months before her due date, Glory gave birth to her twin girls Ava and Solei.

It is common for WNBA players to play internationally to make extra money during the WNBA offseason, and things were no different for Glory. When she was playing overseas in countries like Russia and China, her mother and sisters cared for her children. This was becoming increasingly difficult for Glory and, after two seasons of playing overseas after her daughters were born, she decided to return home.

Glory and her children Solei, left, and Ava, right, in their bedroom (Louis DeLuca/The Dallas Morning News) (Louis DeLuca/Staff Photographer)

In May 2018, Glory purchased her first house for her and her two two-year old daughters. In an interview with the Dallas News, Glory said, "Having to do it all by yourself is really, really tough. Pulling all-nighters trying to get everything done before the babies come was tough, especially through training camp, but it was all worth it." Glory set up bedrooms and a jungle-themed playroom for the girls, equipped with a projector on the wall, jungle green chairs, a grassy floor and a tree on the wall made of pool noodles, and, of course, a giant pink dollhouse. 

9. Montana De La Rosa

Montana De La Rosa and her husband Mark, both UFC fighters, are also parents to their 9-year-old daughter Zaylyn. Montana and Mark are the only married couple to be signed to UFC contracts at the same time, but that has taken anything away from their jobs as parents. Zaylyn is following in her parents' footsteps in the family business, too- she is currently the Texas state champion wrestler in the open division, which is nearly all boys.

Montana and her daughter Zaylyn preparing a snack. (Cooper Neill, ESPN)

Montana got pregnant with Zaylyn in high school and had to give up an opportunity to wrestle at Oklahoma City University, the 4-time consecutive national champions. She met Mark in 2014 when Zaylyn was 3 and got married two years ago. Their schedules are now mapped out entirely, full of responsibilities as both fighters and parents. In an interview with ESPN, Mark said, "She's a supermom. When I'm 100% into training, I come home and do house stuff here and there. She'll go into the gym and be a professional athlete. As soon as she's done at the gym, she puts her mom hat on. She's a good fighter, good wife, good mom." Montana made the decision to put her career on pause as only a teenager, which is tough to swallow for most that age. However, now, she couldn't be happier. Her career is on the rise, she has an incredible husband, and her daughter is poised to follow in her footsteps and have a career in the UFC as well.

8. Bec Rawlings

Bec Rawlings is an Australian MMA fighter and mother of two young boys. Her second was born just months before her first MMA fight in October 2011, leaving her balancing caring for her two young boys and training to begin her MMA career. On top of all this, Rawlings was also stuck in a physically abusive relationship with her now ex-husband.

Rawlings lost her first fight, but bounced back after that with five straight victories. After two years of hiding her abuse, Rawlings finally filed a police report in 2012 and made the decision to leave the relationship on Mother's Day of 2013. Her past only fueled the fire for her career, and she now lives safely and happily with her two boys.

7. Lauren Holiday

Lauren Holiday is a retired soccer player who played in the NWSL and represented the United States in the World Cup and the Olympics. She was a part of the World Cup-winning US team in 2015 and also won two gold medals with the Olympic team. In 2013, she married NBA star Jrue Holiday after the two met and started dating as students at UCLA.

Lauren and Jrue showing love to their daughter. (Lauren Holiday/Instagram)

In 2016, shortly after Lauren's retirement from soccer and six months into her pregnancy, it was discovered that she had a benign brain tumor. She gave birth to her daughter, Jrue Tyler Holiday, in September and had the brain tumor removed one month later. After the tumor was discovered, her husband Jrue announced he would be taking a leave of absence to focus on the health of his family. In February, three months after her daughter was born and her surgery was complete, she posted a photo of her daughter on Instagram and said she "had never known suffering like (she) experienced the last six months." Three years later, the family is happy and healthy with their beautiful daughter.

6. Sanya Richards-Ross

Sanya Richards-Ross is a former Olympic track and field athlete who won four gold medals during her Olympic career. While training for the 2016 Olympics, she suffered a hamstring injury and announced her retirement shortly after.

Sanya and her husband, Aaron, and son, Aaron II. (Sanya Richards-Ross/Instagram)

In college at the University of Texas, she began dating former NFL cornerback and 2-time Super Bowl champion Aaron Ross and the two eventually got married in 2010. Shortly after her retirement, Sanya and Aaron announced the birth of their son Aaron Jermaine Ross II and has spoken extensively about the incredible positive impact that having a son has had on their lives.

5. Jennie Finch

Jennie Finch is a retired softball star who was a three-time All American in college at Arizona and a two-time medalist in the Olympics with the US National Team. Her husband Casey is also a former MLB pitcher. The two are parents to three children, sons Ace and Diesel and daughter Paisley.

Jennie's first son, Ace, was born in 2007. One year later, Finch competed in the Olympics with the US National Team and posted a 2-0 record during the competition where the US won a silver medal. This would be her last Olympic appearance, but Finch's career continued on in the National Pro Fastpitch softball league until 2010. Finch absolutely dominated in his career here, posting a 35-8 record and a 1.08 ERA.

4. Cat Zingano

Cat Zingano is a UFC fighter and the mother of one son, Brayden. In 2013, the undefeated Zingano was set to fight champion Ronda Rousey for a chance at the bantamweight title. However, a torn ACL suffered during a workout stripped this opportunity away from her and left her with a long road to recovery ahead.

Months later, in January 2014, her husband Mauricio was found dead near their home. Tragedy seemed to keep following Zingano, and eventually she decided to spend time in Thailand to recover both mentally and physically. Away from the bright lights and constant media attention, she was able to get back into shape and recover from past tragedy.

She was surprisingly released from the UFC, but signed a deal with Bellator in August 2019 to begin fighting there. Even when things seemed like they couldn't possibly be worse, Zingano stayed motivated and has a fresh start ahead of her.

3. Candace Parker

Candace Parker's name has been in the spotlight since her college days, being dubbed the player that could transcend women's basketball and become the face of the WNBA. She did not disappoint in her rookie year, taking home the Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player awards in the same season. Then, 6 months later, Parker made the announcement that she was pregnant.

This, of course, meant that her career would be on pause. After giving birth to her daughter Lailaa, Parker returned to the court just 53 days later and didn't miss a beat. Nearly 11 years later, she doesn't regret a single second of it.

Candace and her daughter Lailaa. (Willy Sanjuan/Associated Press)

In 2016, Parker was surprisingly left off the Olympic basketball roster. When coach Dawn Staley took over the program, she talked to Parker and tried to lure her back to be on the 2020 roster, but Parker refused. She told the Daily News, “I understand the responsibility of it now, later in life when somebody does my daughter wrong, or she doesn’t feel that she was respected, I want her to have the ability and the amount of respect for herself to understand when it’s time to move on."

2. Sydney Leroux

Sydney Leroux is a star soccer player for the US Women's National Team and the Orlando Pride of the NWSL. Her and her husband Dom Dwyer, another professional soccer player, welcomed their second child Roux in June of 2019. Less than one month later, Leroux was back on the field practicing with the Pride and in September, she appeared in her first match since giving birth.

She was visibly emotional on the field after the match as she was joined by her 3-month-old daughter and later described the moment in a heartfelt post on Instagram. The caption read, "I love this game. This past year was filled with so many ups and downs but I made a promise to myself that I would come back. No matter how hard that would be. It’s been a long road but I did it. 3 months and one day after I gave birth to my baby girl.‬"

1. Bethany Hamilton

Bethany Hamilton is no stranger to overcoming obstacles. She has been in the spotlight since 2003 when, as a 13-year-old, she was the victim of a shark attack while surfing that nearly took her life. She survived, but lost her left arm as a result.

She was committed to continuing to surf and returned to competition in 2004, where she placed 5th in the NSSA National Competition in Australia. Her career continued into 2016 and she competed in, and won, several more events. In 2015, she and her husband Adam gave birth to her first son, Tobias, and later in 2018 they welcomed their second son Wesley to the world.

 

To learn more about these incredible athletes and many more and how you can sponsor them, contact an OpenSponsorship rep or send us an email at 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

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.

With the Holidays about to begin it is important to remember just how beneficial marketing is during this season. Consumers plan on spending approximately $1,048 per household, a slight increase from 2018’s spending. Consumers also outspent their planned budget by about 30% in 2018. This trend is expected to repeat itself in 2019. With greater consumer spending comes greater opportunity to market your brand through sports sponsorship for the Winter Holidays.

Ensuring that athletes are a part of your brand’s digital marketing strategy for the Holidays is a must. Sports and the Holiday season have become synonymous, so it follows that a well-timed, athlete driven campaign is the perfect way to bring attention to your brand for the Winter Holiday shopping spree. Data from the National Retail Federation shows that a significant amount of consumers (around 39%) start their Holiday shopping before November. This means that you cannot be too early to the game when it comes to investing in digital marketing for the Winter Holidays.

At OpenSponsorship we pride ourselves in not wasting marketing manager’s time trying to figure out whether the ROI we offer is worth it. Instead we like to give guaranteed results. Through our platform we offer access to the big 4 (NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL) and hundreds of other sports. On top of this, our platform also allows any brand to boost their posts through their own channels and through the athlete’s social channels. With many brands gearing up to spend as much as 25% of their marketing budget on the Winter Holidays alone, OpenSponsorship is a cost effective way to drastically increase your brand’s reach at this pivotal time of the year when consumer spending is about to skyrocket.

To learn more about how we can help, reach out to a member of our team today or send us an email at info@opensponsorship.com.

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