Star Power and Endorsements

[Skater Boy]

Mao and in particular Yuna are in a different stratosphere campred to Kwan but she is no slouch making six million us a year. I wonder what the Russian girls make or are doing. Ie. Yulia, Radinova, Sotnikova, Evgenia and Alina or say like Irina or Maria B?

 

[Fool]

From the article kiara_bleu posted, Yuna made over $16 million in one year. She made the Forbes list. She had her own skating show. She even had her own TV show at one point. Money wise, Michelle does not come anywhere close to all that.

Yeah, it's also more about Yuna's role in Korea and the fact that she was the first and so succesful and the One for them, so her role as a celebrity and sponsor fills a completely different role than MIchelle ever did in the US which had many famous star figure skaters before and after her (NOT denying her starpower at all, she was the one who brought me - a Korean - into the sport!) as well as many other domestic celebrity sports stars in general.

 

[SnowWhite]

Does Kaetlyn have much in endorsements/sponsors? Seems like she would be marketable and she has already won quite a few major medals.

She has a few. Nothing too big I think. Nulo Pet Food is one and Mayfield Toyoto gave her a car after the Olympics. I think another one is Bliss Yoga Spa. There may be a couple more.

 

[Sportfan]

Yuzuru is doing so many commercials every year, i've lost count But everyone has to see his Xylitol white commercials, they are gold

 

[mrrice]

I still believe that Peggy Fleming was the most successful US Lady when it comes to US endorsements. It was a different era but, she was the Leggs Pantyhose Lady, The Trident Lady, Campbell Soup, and she also had TV Specials. She was constantly on Talk Shows and was a real star in her prime.

She even had her own TV Special......Here's Peggy Fleming....https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnyVYYFfMmk

 

[frida80]

Sorry to get your knickers in a knot. What I meant when I read in one of the athelte reviews was that though Nathan had great sponsorships he did not rate strongly on a recognizaeable personality and skating was also not a top glamour marketing sport. But Nike and the likes want a wide audience thankfully including sports and cultures. He is going to do way better than Kaetlyn who has an individual oly medal and oly team gold.

Lol. You think Nathan doesn’t have a strong presence when even Stephen Curry knows who he is. That’s not how these things work for endorsements, but I can assure you he’s recognizable enough. In fact, this isn’t about how recognizable he is before the Olympics. The Olympics are extremely popular and make the most invisible person a super star over night. It’s not about presence, it’s all about potential.

Endorsements for the Olympics are always decided well in advance and have less to do with fame or medals as they do with potential at the Olympics. In the Olympics only a few sports are promoted. Figure skating is the most promoted with ladies figure skating at the top. After the GPF 2016, Nathan was out on short list of Athletes that had potential of medaling at the Olympics. After he landed five quads in nationals and beat nearly all the best skaters at 4CC, he became a potential gold favorite and someone who was highly marketable. Not to mention historically landing five quads, which is an easy selling point.

With all athletes, it’s hard to know who will make it big at the Olympics or even who will make it. So companies make educated guesses based on the past season. Clearly they thought Ashley would make it to thr Olympics. But by October, if a company hasn’t signed an endorsement deal with a figure skater, they’ve lost the chance to make commercials and advertisements with the skater, because they’re so busy competing. Since the US market is so big, and US athletes are heavily promoted, it’s very important they pick their athletes early and hope for the best. Which is why Nathan, Ashley, and the Shibsibs got the most endorsements, but Adam who’s incredible popular after the Olympics hasn’t gotten signed on.

I think Nathan has plenty of presence and fits the company brands well. Nike could not be a better fit. He’s the perfect age and represents the brand image perfectly. Not to mention 90% of what he wears is athletic gear. Going by comments on Twitter, YouTube, Tumblr, and even here Nathan is considered very physically attractive, making him even more marketable to the coveted 18-34 market.

Besides, being not being a mainstream sport never stopped them before. Nike paid millions to Tiger Woods in golf endorsements.

Kaetlyn is has the bad luck of being over shadowed by popular vets. For Canada, it felt like the Olympic were more about Patrick, Tessa and Scott. It makes sense, since they have such huge reputations and made such an impact on the sport. However, it doesn’t mean that Kaetlyn won’t gain popularity in the future.

 

[cruzceleste]

Yuzuru is doing so many commercials every year, i've lost count But everyone has to see his Xylitol white commercials, they are gold

Don´t watch them it will let you scared for life...

The Lotte and ANA ones are pretty normal...

The one with the white and gold can´t be unseen...

 

[charlotte14]

Wow, that's ... a lot of money :shocked: Nearly 7 figures for 1 ad (and probably 7 figures now that he is 2x OGM & World Champ).

I did remember he shot quite a few advertisments for P&G too, and he basically has an invitation to any ice shows in Japan. I'm sure he values his privacy, but I'll be very interested to know his and the other top men's net worth

Someone said the price for Hanyu to do a CM might have gone up to 150 million yen.
However, someone in the marketing and PR field also told me, the price is set up too high so he would get less invitations. It’s a method for him to get less distractions.
And btw, why are people say they see Hanyu in a lot of CM? He technically didn’t appear much, They use his images, yes. But he didn’t do many CM shootings (compared to Mao Asada for example, she did much more). Hanyu technically did CM with just several companies, not above 5.

 

[oatmella]

Lol. You think Nathan doesn’t have a strong presence when even Stephen Curry knows who he is. That’s not how these things work for endorsements, but I can assure you he’s recognizable enough. In fact, this isn’t about how recognizable he is before the Olympics. The Olympics are extremely popular and make the most invisible person a super star over night. It’s not about presence, it’s all about potential.

Endorsements for the Olympics are always decided well in advance and have less to do with fame or medals as they do with potential at the Olympics. In the Olympics only a few sports are promoted. Figure skating is the most promoted with ladies figure skating at the top. After the GPF 2016, Nathan was out on short list of Athletes that had potential of medaling at the Olympics. After he landed five quads in nationals and beat nearly all the best skaters at 4CC, he became a potential gold favorite and someone who was highly marketable. Not to mention historically landing five quads, which is an easy selling point.

With all athletes, it’s hard to know who will make it big at the Olympics or even who will make it. So companies make educated guesses based on the past season. Clearly they thought Ashley would make it to thr Olympics. But by October, if a company hasn’t signed an endorsement deal with a figure skater, they’ve lost the chance to make commercials and advertisements with the skater, because they’re so busy competing. Since the US market is so big, and US athletes are heavily promoted, it’s very important they pick their athletes early and hope for the best. Which is why Nathan, Ashley, and the Shibsibs got the most endorsements, but Adam who’s incredible popular after the Olympics hasn’t gotten signed on.

I think Nathan has plenty of presence and fits the company brands well. Nike could not be a better fit. He’s the perfect age and represents the brand image perfectly. Not to mention 90% of what he wears is athletic gear. Going by comments on Twitter, YouTube, Tumblr, and even here Nathan is considered very physically attractive, making him even more marketable to the coveted 18-34 market.

Besides, being not being a mainstream sport never stopped them before. Nike paid millions to Tiger Woods in golf endorsements.

Kaetlyn is has the bad luck of being over shadowed by popular vets. For Canada, it felt like the Olympic were more about Patrick, Tessa and Scott. It makes sense, since they have such huge reputations and made such an impact on the sport. However, it doesn’t mean that Kaetlyn won’t gain popularity in the future.

I agree about Nathan!
Though to be fair - the golf market is pretty big, and there are multiple golfers who are earning in the 8-figures annually from endorsements.

 

[charlotte14]

I find golf the most boring sport ever... but rich people play golf so...

 

[Sportfan]

Don´t watch them it will let you scared for life...

The Lotte and ANA ones are pretty normal...

The one with the white and gold can´t be unseen...

But this one is adorable

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqbLIZhQB4A

 

[yume]

From the article kiara_bleu posted, Yuna made over $16 million in one year. She made the Forbes list. She had her own skating show. She even had her own TV show at one point. Money wise, Michelle does not come anywhere close to all that.

Aside from money (cause her main sponsors were not that big and famous around the world), i think that Mao come close to that. she has her own skating show since 10 years and many tv specials over the years. She's the one who got the most media coverage though she is from a country who have several famous skaters before and after her.

The difference was that Yuna Kim had an international big media coverage. Even before Vancouver. Which is weird.

 

[cruzceleste]

But this one is adorable

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqbLIZhQB4A

You asked for it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ezv9Iex644

 

[yume]

Yuzuru is doing so many commercials every year, i've lost count But everyone has to see his Xylitol white commercials, they are gold

I think that usually female skaters are the most bankables. But nowadays i can't think of one skater, male or female, who is more bankable than Yuzuru

 

[mrrice]

I think Yuna is in a different and higher category because she is multi talented. She a real singing voice and with her looks and talent, she could become a chart topping singer and video star....

 

[kiara_bleu]

Aside from money (cause her main sponsors were not that big and famous around the world), i think that Mao come close to that. she has her own skating show since 10 years and many tv specials over the years. She's the one who got the most media coverage though she is from a country who have several famous skaters before and after her.

The difference was that Yuna Kim had an international big media coverage. Even before Vancouver. Which is weird.

She won the world championship in a decisive victory and getting a world record score leading up to the Olympics. And world championships was in Los Angeles, a media haven. Media and brands are starting to look for the narratives that they can "sell" for the Olympics a year or so before. And that season, Yuna was not only consistently winning but she had that iconic "Danse Macabre" program and even her whole "look" that helped create buzz around her.

 

[Sportfan]

You asked for it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ezv9Iex644

 

[yume]

She won the world championship in a decisive victory and getting a world record score leading up to the Olympics. And world championships was in Los Angeles, a media haven. Media and brands are starting to look for the narratives that they can "sell" for the Olympics a year or so before. And that season, Yuna was not only consistently winning but she had that iconic "Danse Macabre" program and even her whole "look" that helped create buzz around her.

Yes the timing and the look were perfects.

 

[lovaticcanada]

Well, Kaetlyn will make her share but its been mostly focused on Tessa (and sometimes Tessa & Scott together).

Now, Marin is still popular despite having a poor season.

 

[cruzceleste]

Well, Kaetlyn will make her share but its been mostly focused on Tessa (and sometimes Tessa & Scott together).

Now, Marin is still popular despite having a poor season.

Looks to me that Japanese (Asia?) audience are more loyal... results would attract more endorsement but once a skater has a little recognition it would get an agent and endorsement.

By example Kaori and Mai got signed to IMG. Kanako got lots of sponsor even Adidas at some point...

The only top skater with out an agent is Yuzuru (does he still not have one?)