How to choose an athlete endorser for your brand

A typical consumer will see or hear an advertisement that has some kind of sports athlete endorsement. What advertisers need to know is what athletes are the best endorsers for a certain product or service. According to MediaPost, Nielsen and E-Poll Market Research recently gave out a list of the athletes that were deemed to have the best “endorsement potential.” Together, they created an N-score metric system to measure an athletes’ appeal to a certain category.

If an advertiser would like to reach teenagers, then locking down gymnast Gabby Douglas, swimmer Michael Phelps, gymnast Aly Raisman, basketball player LeBron James, or soccer player David Beckham as an endorser may help. These athletes rounded out the top five in the teenager category.

Michael Phelps, Gabby Douglas, David Beckham, Aly Raisman, and quarterback Tim Tebow can help advertisers reach the mom category.

In reaching dads, it is best to look at quarterback Peyton Manning, race car driver Danica Patrick, Gabby Douglas, baseball player Derek Jeter, or quarterback Aaron Rodgers for support.

According to the list, if an advertiser’s target audience is people 65+, Gabby Douglas, Tim Tebow or golfer Phil Mickelson may flatter the brand.

It’s interesting to note Gabby Douglas is the only athlete that ranks top five amongst the teenager, mom, dad, and people 65+ categories.

Overall, this just proves one of the most important points in advertising- know your audience. Choosing someone who is well-liked by teenagers and having them endorse a product for a person 65+ may not make sense for the product, the athlete, and most importantly, the audience.