Endorsement Marketplace Alive And Well In COVID-19 With Release Of Gemba Power Asset Rankings
The sports endorsement sector is happy and healthy despite a COVID-19 affected 2020, with Gemba Asset Power Rankings confirming tried and tested athletes are the way to go for ambassadors and sponsorship opportunities.
2020 Grand finalists Cameron Smith and Dustin Martin have topped Gemba’s NRL and AFL Gemba Asset Power Rankings for 2020, positioning them as the most marketable players in their respective leagues.
Other top-ranking athletes include Nathan Fyfe (Fremantle), Nic Naitanui (West Coast) and Trent Cotchin (Richmond) from the AFL and with James Tedesco (Roosters), Josh Addo-Carr (Storm), Kalyn Ponga (Knights) and Jason Taumalolo (Cowboys) round out the NRL top five.
Gemba is a leading sports and entertainment insights, strategy and communications agency, delivering proprietary and customised market research across the sport and entertainment landscape.
The Asset Power Score is a measure of the relative marketability of an athlete and is a key indicator of an athlete’s ability to engage Australian sports fans.
The score is calculated based on a combination of awareness and likeability of an athlete within the community.
Gemba, Head of Strategy and Insights, Craig Roberts told Ministry of Sport there’s been no reduction to the endorsement and sponsorship sector, with a new trend emerging among the athletes.
“In the past, there’s been a sense of the team comes first,” Roberts says.
“Players are becoming more aware and more comfortable with building a profile for themselves and achieving that through brand ambassadorships and sponsorships.
“Players who have long careers and build that profile tend to sit at the top of the rankings,” he says.
Trends show as young talented athletes rise through the ranks and build their profile beyond the boundaries of the sport, they become more desirable to brands.
With top-ranking players of this year’s AFL and NFL Gemba Asset Power Rankings rumoured to be playing their last games over the weekend, next year’s results may look very different.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
