SPONSORSHIP: a reality check
Player sponsorship is a stock standard marketing strategy for hockey brands as a means of powering word of mouth referrals and validations.Sports-specific media tactics including saturating a raft of social platforms and loading up with traditional advertising is the de rigeur framework for hockey marketing. where companies provide financial support or products to athletes in exchange for advertising their brand. This support, varying as it does from materiel in the form of gratis and discounted products, through to financial backing as stipends or retainers, can help enhance an athlete's career and in the case of junior players reduce the financial burden on parents. The major incumbent brands are heavily dependent upon this method along with saturation print advertising in the few viable hockey-specific journals. These predictable albeit expensive mechanisms dovetail into their traditional retail distribution and cosy relationships with organising bodies. VOITTO supports a small group of players across age groups in NZ and moving forward in Australia and the UK. This is the only marketing activity where our business models intersect with incumbents.
What are the pros and cons of investng time and materiel into players particularly in these times of spinning moral compasses and random dischordant geopolitical and economic events?
Attitude is Becoming a Detractor for Brands
Contemporary behaviors among younger athletes—such as rusted-on levels of entitlement and lack of gratitude have raised valid concerns about continuiing player support among many companies. Let's explore these behaviors, their root causes, and their implications, supported as ever by evidence.
Player Sponsorship Defined
This is intended as a symbiotic relationship between brands and athletes premised on reciprocity and designed to enhance brand visibility while providing support to the athlete. Sponsorship deals can include cash product, endorsements, merchandise sales, and for larger brands, media appearances, allowing athletes to monetize their talent (Filo et al., 2015). Historically, sponsoring athletes has been perceived as a way of promoting both the sport and the athlete while also generating goodwill.
Here & Now Behaviors: Entitlement and Lack of Gratitude
Entitlement
Many ( not all) younger athletes may display feelings of entitlement, believing that sponsorship is their due rather than a privilege. This attitude can manifest in demanding higher sponsorship amounts or exclusive terms without regard for the brand's investment. It also shows itself in unreasonable equipment demands. Research shows that younger generations, often referred to as "millennials" and "Generation Z," are characterized by a strong belief that they deserve recognition and rewards (Twenge & Campbell, 2009). This generational shift could be attributed to several factors:
Increased Access to Resources
The rise of social media and digital video platforms allows young athletes to showcase their talents and achievements more readily than previous generations. This visibility may foster a belief that they are entitled to sponsorship opportunities due to their online presence, regardless of their actual performance (Baker & Michie, 2017). Too many rate themselves as influencers where in reality few have the necessary reach and draw power to posture along so deludely and in so doing blithely front up to sponsors with unrealistic demands.
Cultural Shifts
Societal changes that emphasize individualism and self-promotion may contribute to entitlement among younger athletes. The expectation of constant feedback, validation, and instant success fostered by platforms like Instagram and TikTok creates a milieu of self-entitlement (Twenge et al., 2019). There is a tight loop between display and recognition in social media that triggers the dopamine fix and feeds the hyper posting habit and ego boosting. Individuals often curate their social media profiles to showcase ideal versions of themselves, which can lead to a skewed perception of reality (Chou & Edge, 2012). This idealization fosters a disconnect between how they see themselves offline versus online, contributing to anxiety issues, particularly among younger players. The distorted self worth driving entitlement runs contrary to the culture of the team-first credo in a sport like hockey and in businesses that are likewise team-driven.
Lack of Gratitude
Many young athletes exhibit a lack of gratitude towards their sponsors, often taking the financial support and products for granted. Gratitude in sponsorship is crucial as it influences long-term relationships between athletes and brands. Basic good manners are mandatory including but not restricted to:
A simple please and thanks
Punctuality of both communciation and attendance
Weating branded clothing at agreed events & activities.
The decline of gratitude may be attributed to:
The Proliferation of Sponsorships
As sponsorship deals become more common, the unique value of each relationship tends to diminish. Athletes may feel less pressured to show appreciation when they perceive that brands are simply part of a larger corporate machine—leading to disconnects in personal relationships (Smith et al., 2015). In smaller companies with a distinct set of driving values that foster not only excellence but collaboration, learning, empathy and self determination there is increased possibility for loyalty and mutual growth and development. The onus is also on the brands to have a distinct position, values and mission that the would-be sponsored player can relate and contribute to.
Short-Term Focus
Many young players prioritize immediate gains—payments, cool gear, latest equipment, a spike in social media followers, and recognition over and above long-term relationship building. Studies indicate that this focus on immediate rewards can impair the ability to foster gratitude and appreciation for existing opportunities (Schmitt et al., 2011). Discernment when recruiting younger players also relies on assessment of their family and coaching environments are they grounded, pragmatic, respectful and realistic? If not, jog on.
implications of these behaviors
The trends of entitlement and lack of gratitude can have detrimental effects on the hockey ecosystem i.e. it can poison the well.
Brand Relationships
Brands may withdraw sponsorship if they feel that athletes display inappropriate behaviors, which can jeopardize the athletes' long-term financial security and brand loyalty (Filo et al., 2015). We have had one disappointing experience but there is no point in punishing the rest of the roster, becoming paranoid or commenting on the aberrent behavior of an individual as it will be their undoing in the long run. The onus is on the brand to do its homework on the player more thoroughly.
Cultural Reputation
Ongoing negative behaviors can contribute to a broader stereotype of some players as ungrateful or demanding, which may deter potential sponsors from investing in others. Certainly, in NZ where the playing pool is small it is bemusing and at times a little sad to see how many up and coming players have an oversized view of their importance and relative talent. You can go to any of the top 6 hockey countries in the world and see for every one of our junior standouts some 8-12 of equal and greater talent. When, as a sponsor you do encounter an individual with a glaring deficit in respect and gratitude in such a goldfish bowl of talent and market size you need to learn fast and move on.
Athlete Development
Young players who foster entitlement and lack of gratitude may struggle to build meaningful relationships with coaches, sponsors, and peers, affecting their personal and professional growth (Smith et al., 2015). A positive, equitable sposnorship relationship should help impart importnat life skills and personal develoment opportunities to players and brands need to be more aware of this.
It's important the players who seek sponsored support learn more about the brand they are reaching out to and ask some pertinent questions:
What are the values of the brand?
Who owns-runs the brand - what motivates these people and what are their expectations and constraints?
What exactly do I need form this relationship and why; what are your real motivations?
What value do I bring this brand? what can I do to improve the reach of the brand?
Naturally, the company will ask the same questions. For there to be mutual benefit, goals have to align, values must be compatible and expectations managed within the context of company constraints of resources, finance and time.
Put more simply if you have not done your due diligence, lack basic manners, have an overactive ego not grounded by a realistic and dispassionate comparison of abilities at a national and international level, do not understand or display gratitude, empathy and respect then it is probably best you fuck off and take a good look at yourself.
At VOITTO we have a full roster of players & coaches we actively support that understand our values, goals, expectations and restraints and like a majority of Kiwi players are good people with manners. Our team is reasonably minded and respectful with a great love for the game and a realistic assessment of their place in it.
References
Baker, L., & Michie, S. (2017). Young People in Sports Marketing: The Role of Celebrity Athlete Endorsements. *International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship*, 18(4), 329-344.
Filo, K., Karge, T., & Funk, D. C. (2015). An athlete's brand: An exploration of athlete sponsorship and endorsement strategies. *Sport, Business and Management: An International Journal*, 5(3), 237-256.
Schmitt, M. T., et al. (2011). The role of gratitude in the social and emotional behaviors of sports teams. *International Journal of Sports Psychology , 42(5), 353-366.
Smith, A. C. T., & Stewart, B. (2015). The influence of sponsorship on the sports consumer's perceptions and behaviors. *Sport Management Review*, 18(2), 211-223.
Twenge, J. M., & Campbell, W. K. (2009). The narcissism epidemic: Living in the age of entitlement. *Free Press*.
Twenge, J. M., et al. (2019). Increases in young people's emphasis on personal achievement: The influence of social media. *Journal of Personality and Social Psychology*, 117(3), 579-591.
