According to marketers who participated in the survey - conducted by US lifestyle and sports public relations agency, Alan Taylor Communications, Inc. - athletes in individual sports such as Woods, Williams, Lance Armstrong and Oscar de la Hoya are often more desirable than those athletes participating in team sports.
Public relations and marketing executives from various sports leagues and leading companies were asked to select which athletes would best represent their company if they were launching a new product or service in 2005.
Woods, despite failing to win one of the four major golf tournaments in 2004, received a convincing 23 per cent of the vote among male spokespersons. Lance Armstrong, coming off an historic sixth consecutive Tour de France victory, finished second (18 per cent) while Daytona 500 champion Dale Earnhardt Jr. rounded out the top three (9 per cent).
Williams, who like Woods did not win a major tournament in 2004, received 18 per cent of the female vote and edged out pro golfer Annika Sorenstam (16 per cent). Maria Sharapova (15 per cent) came in third.
The survey also asked the same executives which athletes they believed were over-exposed and under-exposed. Tiger Woods and Kobe Bryant tied for the top spot as most over-exposed athletes. This may be in part due to Woods’ high profile marriage in 2004 and Bryant’s much-publicised off-the-court troubles which were splashed across the news for much of last year.
Conversely, being a two-time Super Bowl or NBA Finals MVP is no guarantee of high marketability as Tom Brady of the New England Patriots and Tim Duncan of the San Antonio Spurs were selected among the most under-exposed athletes.
“The rise of Maria Sharapova shows how quickly new heroes can emerge in the world of sports marketing,” said Tony Signore, CEO of Alan Taylor Communications. “In a quickly changing landscape it is essential for marketers to have an understanding of not only who is hot now, but how they can effectively leverage an athlete spokesperson for a maximum return on their investment.”
