Sports sponsors and advertisers invest millions of dollars to associate with a team, player, or event in order to achieve a multitude of possible business objectives. Assuring the right fit is absolutely crucial in order to see a return on those dollars spent. Depending on the nature of a brand, associating with controversial players or topics in sports can sometimes bode well.

For example, world-renown 1990’s tennis player, Andre Agassi, was seen as a deviant in the sport of tennis. However, brands such as Canon, leveraged his rebel reputation and used him to promote their, at the time, new Canon EOS Rebel camera with tagline “image is everything.” While associating with a reputable figure such as Agassi with his rebellious attitude may have not been beneficial for numerous brands, Canon saw utilizing Agassi’s image as a great opportunity and fit. 

When aligning with a rather controversial figure, it is crucial for brands to perform proper front-end risk assessments before executing any kind of endorsement. Nothing would be worse than going into an endorsement deal with the hopes of enhancing your brand to only get burned by illegal or immoral actions of the chosen figure. 

Today, there have been numerous controversies in associating with controversial sports figures including Adrian Petersen, Alex Rodriguez, and Johnny Manziel. Alex Rodriguez has experienced numerous boos by his own fans due to PED usage. Adrian Petersen lost his endorsement of Nike due to violent behaviors involving his child. While the controversy is quite obvious in terms of people’s reactions to these issues, sponsors and advertisers focus and concern is how these controversies are affecting consumers’ views on their brands and, ultimately, consumers’ behaviors. 

At Navigate Research, we help brands measure the impact of their partnerships across a variety of different metrics. All brands have unique business objectives and at Navigate, we are here to help understand how to achieve those objectives, as well as, effectively utilize research and data relating to your investment.