Athlete endorsements are hugely common among professional sports, but aren’t allowed on the collegiate level. While this will keep you from obtaining contracts and licenses with student athletes on campus, you should know that there are other cheaper and simpler ways to engage with college sports stars to capture the attention of the student body.
One company that is a great example of a business making it big in football, without engaging in contracted athlete endorsement, is Under Armour. Kevin Plank, founder and CEO of Under Armour, started the company in 1996. He was fresh out of college and looking for ways to spread the word about a product he really believed in. Plank used his football connections from high school and college who made it to the NFL to get the word out to other athletes.
Plank made sure to orient his pitch to the players as a cool product that would help improve their performance, rather than a favor to his brand. Remember, these are people he probably hadn’t seen or talked to in years. He sent the players two free samples of his product and encouraged them to give the second sample away if they liked it enough. Once a few players began wearing his shirts and talking about them, others on the team wanted the same gear and Plank started receiving full team orders.
As the company grew, Under Armour did start paying athletes to wear their products, but that’s simply not a possibility at the collegiate level. However, if a product is truly worth an athlete’s time, it will market itself. Under Armour’s story is testament that small companies can get a foothold with help from athletes.
The way you get the attention of student athletes will vary depending on your business. If your business is a restaurant, consider offering celebratory deals the day after a win, or ask a popular athlete who happens to visit if you can post a photo of him enjoying his meal on social media. If you can make your spot attractive to the athletes on campus or show that it is frequented by certain individuals, the rest of the student body will follow.
For other businesses, collegiate athlete “endorsement” has much to do with getting your product into the athlete’s hands. If they like it, they’ll use it, and they’ll spread the word to other athletes and friends around campus.
