Athletes aren’t just sports stars anymore – they’re some of the most influential voices in advertising. In 2023 alone, sports sponsorships were worth over $90 billion globally, with athletes at the heart of some of the most impactful campaigns.
Their popularity positions them perfectly to promote brands that align with strength, courage and skill. So, sports advertising is increasingly focused on athlete-driven campaigns, aligning with these individuals to tell their impactful and aspirational stories.
But the industry is changing. Athletes are now brands in and of themselves, representing far more than just the sports they play. Customer expectations are also changing, as over 60% of global consumers in 2024 saying they want to connect to a brand first, before considering purchase.
What will athlete-driven advertising look like in the future? And how can sporting brands think differently about their campaigns to keep up with the demand for a greater connection to consumers?
Athlete-centric storytelling
The demand for purpose-driven campaigns has risen from 50% to 66% in the past eight years, according to Highly Digital. This demand for deeper storytelling is an opportunity to let athlete stories be the centre of the campaign, letting individual products come later.
Take Luke Littler. Last year, Luke ‘The Nuke’ Littler stepped up and wiped out some of the best darts players on the planet. At just 16, it was a true underdog story of talent, determination, and just a bit of bravado. But long before his meteoric rise, Target Darts had already backed his potential. Recognising his talent at just 12 years old, they took a gamble – launching his own personal dart range and giving him a bespoke shirt as a complete unknown. That early belief paid off in spectacular fashion, and as Littler’s star soared, Target Darts was right there with him. The brand created content that placed him at the heart of their latest video campaign aligning with his growing fan base while also featuring darts legend Phil ‘The Power’ Taylor to connect with more traditional fans.
Nike’s most recent So Win campaign works with top female athletes such as Jordan Chiles, standing up for female athletes tackling the insane public criticism women in sports face. The power of the message outweighs the promotion of product to focus on an important cause.
As we move forward, brands will work a lot closer with athletes for long term partnerships that promote more than just products, but use celebrities to align with the wider values and goals of a brand.
Bought-in ambassadors
With athletes getting involved in purpose driven messages, they’re going to expect deeper relationships with the brands they work with. Lioness Lucy Bronze not only partnered with Soccer Supplement but invested in the company. By investing, this partnership shows more than an alignment with the brand’s purpose – it shows she is quite literally bought in to the mission of the company.
In the future, you can expect to see athletes getting more serious about the brands they support, from investments to taking up an advisory role in the company. As athletes further entangle their reputations with brands in this way, brands will be able to secure greater trust and loyalty among their dedicated fan base.
Personalised fan engagement
Brands also need to cater to the demands of consumers. The potential for personalisation is far higher through the use of advanced technologies, and we know this potential is only going to grow.
What if your favourite athlete said your name in a TV ad? We can expect technologies such as deepfakes and voice AI to become ubiquitous, meaning athletes can sign on to partnerships that demand far less time from them, giving brands permission to use their face and voice to tailor messages to specific audiences, or even individual consumers. These technologies are currently not without issue, but as regulations and safety around the use is increased, advertisers will become empowered to play with the technology available.
Custom shoutouts, easily-produced reactive content and a demand for real-time personalisation will drive this change, directly reaching out to consumers to build brand affinity. Right now, this reality may seem far away, but the rapid advancement of this tech could happen sooner than we all think.
With products taking a backseat to branding, and reputations on the line, sporting ads will need to adapt to the personalisation consumers will not only delight in, but expect.
So, to stay ahead as athlete-driven advertising evolves, brands must think strategically about how they capture authentic stories, deepen athlete involvement in their brand, and leverage technology to create deep connections with fans.
The next era of sports advertising will be less about endorsements and more about shared values, authenticity, and innovation. Brands that adapt will not only remain relevant but will build lasting, loyal communities around their partnerships.
