THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
When the NCAA changed its name-image-likeness rule in 2021, the doors to influencer status flew open for student-athletes across the country. Big-name brands quickly capitalized on this change, lining up to sign these popular public figures to their brand ambassador programs. And to no one’s surprise, this marketing tactic worked wonders, turning huge profits and making college athletes overnight celebrities.
But one trend was unexpected. . . while most might’ve guessed top male quarterbacks and point guards would garner the largest deals and the most social media attention, brand ambassador deals seemed to favor female athletes across a wide variety of sports.
College athletes are highly respected for their dedication, perseverance, and the pride they bring to their school and local community when they lead their teams to championship status. Inspiring voices are exactly who you want to amplify your brand message.
Collegiate athletes make for great brand ambassadors because of the constant media storm already surrounding college athletics. With all of the sports marketing efforts highlighting the great things your athlete brand ambassadors achieve throughout their seasons, their audience will continually grow and your brand awareness will grow along with it.
College athletes are natural-born influencers in the truest sense of the word. People look up to them for their talent, hard work, and ability to overcome obstacles. This admiration and respect for athletes, when translated to social media, tends to create highly engaged, loyal audiences which can make these athletes key players in your social media influencer programs and overall social media presence.
Student-athletes are also typically well-known popular figures within their university communities as well as conference rival communities. This instant recognition amongst a young, engaged audience of college students will only serve to benefit your social media campaign efforts.
It’s quite common for followers to look to athletes for health, fitness, and recovery tips to help them achieve their own health-related goals. While professional athletes are further removed from the average person’s health journey, college-level athletes hold the unique position to inspire people toward health and wellness while still maintaining a sense of believability.
If a professional athlete promotes a greens powder, the average Instagram follower might look at that and think, there is no amount of greens powder that will help me achieve the health and fitness of a professional athlete. But when that same greens powder is touted by a collegiate athlete, there is a level of attainability that drives consumers to buy that product in hopes to move toward their health and wellness goals.
People tend to associate the foods, products, and services these athletes use with an elevated lifestyle, optimal health, and high achievement which are all strong motivators for a wide variety of audiences.
Sports have the tendency to unite people from every walk of life. So if reach is your goal, college athletes are the perfect partners for your brand ambassador program. College athlete influencers don’t have to niche down to gain an organic following so their audience base tends to be highly diverse, offering you the opportunity to reach new consumers you wouldn’t normally with your typical marketing materials.
One of the biggest advantages to partnering with female athletes in specific is that they do big numbers on TikTok. At the time of this article, the top ten leading college athletes on Instagram included five males and five females. All five females are also active on TikTok, with sizable followings. Of the five males, only one, Shareef O’neal, uses the platform (1.5M).
Another advantage is increased social engagement. Popular women’s college sports — like volleyball, softball, and soccer — tend to have higher social engagement rates than popular sports dominated by men — such as football, baseball, and men’s basketball — according to data analysis by Out of Bounds.
Olivia is considered the queen of brand ambassador sponsorships for collegiate athletes. And it’s easy to see why! Her sponsored posts — like her doing warm-up stretches in a pair of Vuori joggers, sharing her relationship green flags in casual sportswear, or kissing a laptop running the Bartleby tutoring app — have garnered impressive results, averaging anywhere from 500K to 6M+ views per post.
With over 4M total followers, these twin sister basketball players have rolled out successful branded content for their partners, most notably, a collaboration with PSD Underwear, who created a collection specifically for the TikTok rising stars. Just one of their sponsored posts for PSD underwear was viewed by over 1.6M people, making it one of the brand’s most successful collabs on the platform to date.
Eight-time National Champion in Track and Field, Masai Russell, has partnered with multiple well-known brands including Hulu, Betterment, and Cocokind Skincare to create a social media stir with successful campaigns and sponsored posts.
Female gymnasts continue to gain followers on social channels, basking in the afterglow of a successful performance by Team USA at the Tokyo Olympics. Chief among them, Jordan Chiles (441K on Instagram, 239K on TikTok) heads off to school with substantial endorsement deals in tow after winning Silver in the Women’s Team All-around alongside “Dancing with the Stars” sensation Suni Lee. She’s partnered with Crocs footwear, Curls organic hair products, and Aritzia fashion boutique, among others.
In the past, many Olympic gymnasts elected to forgo their college careers, as NCAA rules prohibited them from profiting off of their inevitable celebrity status. But with the new legislation, stars like Chiles and Lee are opting to honor their college commitments.
As a result, the sport is practically guaranteed to see a surge in popularity. Shrewd brands would be savvy to team up with prominent competitors before the season begins, and many are doing just that. Michael Kors has teamed up with LSU’s Elena Arenas (56K on Instagram), and Third Love is partnering with Norah Flatley of UCLA (83K), for instance.
Halfway into the season, brands have rallied behind female college volleyball players in a big way. Some brands maneuvering in this space include Degree antiperspirant, healthy beverage brands, and body-hugging D2C clothing brands that celebrate bodies of all shapes and sizes.
University of Virginia’s premier spike blocker Alana Walker (194K on Instagram; 208K on TikTok) is a great example of what volleyball players have to offer as ambassadors. She has teamed up with Bo+Tee active apparel, Harmless Harvest organic coconut water, and helped promote the Lollapalooza music festival. Other examples of viable mid-tier volleyball influencers include Oregon’s Brooke Nuneviller and Natalie Smith of San Diego State.
Female sports played on the pitch, such as soccer and field hockey, likewise present solid partnership opportunities. In the soccer world, Brooke Roberts is a standout midfielder for the Arkansas Razorbacks, and she has worked with brands including Amazon Prime and Gen Z eco-friendly water. Eco-friendly, organic, and otherwise all-natural brands really resonate well with female college athletes and their audiences.
As for field hockey, the sport is more popular on social media than you might think, with top players well-positioned for brand partnerships. University of Maryland’s Julianna Tornetta (116K on TikTok), for instance, has done content for Alo Yoga , while UNC’s Cassie Sumfest (50K on TikTok) is a Fabletics partner — the activewear brand founded by actress Kate Hudson.
In addition to more traditional marketing methods like promoting new products at trade shows and building audiences through PPC, brand ambassador programs allow you to launch highly targeted social media initiatives through partnerships with athletes whose story aligns with your brand message. Their loyal audiences and elevated social influence in their communities are great tools to help brands reach new consumers and build a positive reputation with their target market.
While these are the current trends as of the writing of this article, you know as well as we do that trends tend to change in the blink of an eye. That’s why at The Social Standard, we help connect you with the most relevant athlete influencers to communicate your brand values in a way that speaks volumes to your target audience.
