Marketers are looking for relatable figures

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Good morning, Marketers, and what do you think about the opportunities student-athletes are getting under new Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) agreements?

As we’ve been covering recently, brands are taking this opportunity to throw attention on important causes and to shine a light on athletes that so many sports fans love to watch compete. 

For any marketers paying attention to the kinds of stories being told with these talented and inspiring people, these aren’t your typical highlight-driven sneaker and sports drinks ads. That’s because the stars aren’t professional athletes. So far, more attention has been paid to the full student-athlete, giving education and life after sports an important role in the narrative. 

This makes student-athletes more relatable to a brand’s audience, and taps into what younger consumers value in a well-rounded brand message. They aren’t just buying your product, they want to make sure they align with your brand’s values.

Chris Wood,

Editor

Quote of the day: “Marketing operations is responsible for opening the box and showing everyone what’s behind the curtains. Doing this is the only way to earn the trust and support necessary for sustainable, predictable growth.” Tim Parkin, marketing consult

About The Author

Kim Davis is the Editorial Director of MarTech. Born in London, but a New Yorker for over two decades, Kim started covering enterprise software ten years ago. His experience encompasses SaaS for the enterprise, digital- ad data-driven urban planning, and applications of SaaS, digital technology, and data in the marketing space. He first wrote about marketing technology as editor of Haymarket’s The Hub, a dedicated marketing tech website, which subsequently became a channel on the established direct marketing brand DMN. Kim joined DMN proper in 2016, as a senior editor, becoming Executive Editor, then Editor-in-Chief a position he held until January 2020. Prior to working in tech journalism, Kim was Associate Editor at a New York Times hyper-local news site, The Local: East Village, and has previously worked as an editor of an academic publication, and as a music journalist. He has written hundreds of New York restaurant reviews for a personal blog, and has been an occasional guest contributor to Eater.