Have you heard about Burgergate? Phil Mickelson has apparently been frequenting 5 Guys Burgers and Fries quite often recently, and the former In-N-Out diehard has now switched his allegiance. The skepticism comes with the knowledge that he owns the right to a Southern California 5 Guys franchise, causing one to wonder whether this sudden fascination with the burger joint is more about his wallet than his gullet. Either way, we know Phil likes his hamburgers.
So that got me thinking about other partnerships that would make perfect sense:
- LeBron James (Cleveland Cavaliers) – King’s Dominion amusement parks
- Darnell McDonald (Boston Red Sox) - McDonald’s
- Bryan Namoff (DC United) – Goo Gone (Get it? Name. Off.)
- Nick Hennessey (Buffalo Bills) - Hennessy Cognac
Why don’t more athletes take advantage of these kinds of endorsements? They are better fits than one of your local MLB players shilling for a furniture warehouse or jewelry store. The key to a good celebrity/athlete endorsement is a realistic association between the two. For the brand/company, hiring an athlete to endorse their product or service creates a stronger awareness. People are more likely to pay attention to a TV commercial if one of their favorite players are talking, than they would be if the owner of the company was the star.
I think we can all remember Rod Tidwell shilling for Waterbed Warehouse in ‘Jerry Maguire.’ Not exactly the perfect match of celebrity to product/service. The key is to find a link between the two that is natural, either because the player truly patronizes that place of business – Chad Ocho Cinco and McDonald’s is a good example because he eats there all the time and constantly tweets about it – or because there is some other link such as similar names, where they are from, or an off-the-field incident (like Mickelson being photographed at Krispy Kreme). The link needs to be real and obvious enough that consumers can make the connection in just a few moments. Otherwise, the endorsement comes across as insincere and will not reach its full potential.
The allure of hiring a celebrity endorser can be strong, but before reaching out to the star player make sure of two things:
- The association makes sense – Do people have to read the copy or listen to the whole commercial for them to understand why the athlete is endorsing the product? If so, it may not be a good fit.
- The athlete can be trusted – We have numerous examples of athletes that have embarrassed the companies that they endorse. The largest and most recent is Tiger, but even mom-and-pop stores need to do their due diligence before they sign an endorser. Nike could sit back and weather the storm, but smaller companies might not be able to. So before they sign on the dotted line, a (thorough) background check might not be a bad idea.
What athlete endorsement did you think was the best fit? Was it a locally relevant one or an ad we saw on the national stage?
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Yes, this post has to do with Tiger Woods, but not in the same manner as most of the other stories circulating out on the Internet. I want to quickly address the unique opportunity that Tiger’s absence is creating in the business landscape for golf. Beyond the basic idea that other golfers will have a better chance of winning and building up their own brand, this is an incredible chance for equipment manufacturers that are NOT endorsed by Tiger to step up and gain market share.
Michelle Wie won her first LPGA tournament this past Sunday when she outlasted Paula Creamer to claim the Lorena Ochoa Invitational in Guadalajara, Mexico. I’m sure I wasn’t the only one who was shocked to read in subsequent news articles that she is only 20 years old. She fell out of the limelight so long ago that I had assumed she was completely washed up. The only time I recently remember hearing her name was when she missed a cut.
I’ve written about how the economy is impacting some of the major and minor professional sports leagues, but what about sport at a participation level? I don’t think the economy is keeping kids and adults from playing basketball, football, or baseball/softball. However, the one participation sport that seems most vulnerable is golf. Let’s think about some of the attributes that fit with golf:

