Elements of marketing value for athlete endorsements

As a marketer and cross country skier, I should be able to offer a reasonably objective view on this.  At the highest level, there are four key elements:
1. Target audience reach of the sport (local/regional/global) relative to the brand's audience
2. Brand fit of the athlete (and sport)
3. Profile of the athlete (quantitative/qualitative factors)
4. The intangibles that make a good partnership better than the sum of its parts.
The really successful brand partnerships deliver on all four criteria relative to specific budget parameters.  The first of these effectively drives the dollar value (e.g. David Beckham, probably the world's most recognizable athlete globally vs. Bjorn Daehlie, the most successful cross country skier of all time and little known outside his home country of Norway).  Different absolute value, but both can deliver success.
As a reference point, look at this map of most popular sports by country.  Football (Soccer) dominates, Cricket is top in India and Australia, Rugby in New Zealand.  Football (Soccer) even beats skiing in Norway.  Happy to note that skiing is the most popular sport in Estonia!

Advertising campaign examples

There does seem to be a dearth of campaign examples that are not ski equipment or clothing related.  Here are a few of note I have found so far.  The first, a magazine ad (for Oral-B) featuring the Swedish Olympic medalist Charlotte Kalla, and the second a TV ad (for Kashi breakfast cereal) featuring US Olympian Kikkan Randall.  One is from a country where cross-country skiing rules, the other from a country where marketing rules.  Both are in firmly in the "healthy lifestyle" category.  The sport's higher profile in Sweden does allow for broader product associations, further illustrated by the additional examples featuring Kalla for VW and Randall for Alaska Salmon.
Kashi Go Lean Crunch TV ad featuring Kikkan Randall

The use of cross-country ski images in advertising

Googling the title to this post unearths an award winning promotional campaign for cross country ski Canada.  This certainly captures many of the branding elements put forward in my earlier post.  See a selection of the print ads below.  Some nice executions.  TV time outs, of course, have nothing to do with the athletes and everything to do with the advertisers.  Don't let that minor quibble get in the way of a good campaign (Yes, I know it addresses the endurance part of the sport).
Brief article about the campaign here:  Article on ad campaign for XC Ski Canada
Will obviously need to dig deeper to find examples relating to specific brands?  Surely in Norway.

Brand thoughts

What springs to mind when you think of cross-country skiing?  Endurance, the outdoors, nature, mountains, snow, winter, health, fitness, fun, gliding, balance, skill... Scandinavia.  It is something for everyone (all ages, skill and fitness levels) and yet does not have a mass following (with the exception of Norway and Sweden).  Overall, though somewhat niche in appeal, it suggests a healthy outdoor Scandinavian lifestyle.  What can we do with that?  Surely the world needs more Scandinavia!

High intensity vs. Low intensity

A good quick read here on the balance between low and high intensity training.  80 low/20 high is optimal apparently.  As the article suggests, it is easy to default to mid-intensity.  It does seem counter intuitive to take it easier in order to go faster.  Will give this a try.  Article here:
Go slower to get faster - article

Revisiting the Vasaloppet

Arguably the mother of (and inspiration for) all Loppets.  Back in 2010 I experienced the Vasaloppet.  And I say "experienced" because it is unique in it's history, scale and significance in Sweden.  The other reason I say "experienced" is that I was struggling with the flu at the time.  So I can tick the Vasaloppet box, but would really like to do it again to fully enjoy it.  You can read the story here:

My Vasaloppet story

Road trip!

Looking at the Loppet locations and the routes between them, it would be fun to turn this into an epic road trip (see Google maps routes attached).  There are only 3 long legs (over 18 hours!), the others are all very comfortable day drives.  Some fantastic scenery to take in while criss-crossing Europe.  Love the idea.

Eureka moments - coffee vs beer for inspiring creativity

The bottom line is this:  if you need to flesh out the execution - go for coffee.  If you need a creative spark, go for beer - all in moderation of course.  There is science behind this...
(see more detail in this article - http://tnw.co/YUF7cP ).  Per my earlier post, sustained thinking and creative thinking are not mutually exclusive.  Although, must confess that I am still on the beer side of the Eureka moment right now.

Marketing and marketability

Is there something marketable in my personal story?  Not on the face of it, such a common story.  Maybe that's the point, it is an everyman type of story.  Perhaps it is how the story is told that makes it special.  After all, isn't that what marketing is?  Good, or successful, marketing involves telling (and presenting) your story better than the competition.  Perhaps Fischer, Salomon, Swix, et al could use a (well told) story of a regular recreational skier completing the 10 Loppet challenge using their equipment.  Is this a good juxtaposition against elite athlete sponsorship, or not aspirational enough?  Certainly "authentic", isn't that what marketers are striving for these days?  There must be a "branded content" or "content marketing" angle here.  In the meantime, I would be happy to sell you some space on my shirt...at the right price of course.

Money, thinking, and quotes from famous men

So, the real reason for all this is that I need to figure out a way to support this project/habit.  As Churchill once said..."Gentlemen, we have run out of money, now we have to think"...and in the words of Voltaire, some optimism..."no problem can withstand the onslaught of sustained thinking".  Sustained thinking it is then.

Nice day for a roller-ski

 Yesterday was the first time out on roller-skis this season for me.  Beautiful cool autumnal day for it.  It isn't really possible to simulate skiing in snow but this is the next best thing.  At least you are using the right muscles, although the "perfect grip" of roller skis can make you a little lazy on weight transfer between strides.  Did a gentle 14km to ease back into it.  All good.

OK, so let's think about this a little

There is definitely something old world romantic (or crazy) about visiting (and skiing a significant distance) in 10 European countries in the space of 10 weeks.  I have done the Gatineau Loppet (52km) a couple of times, a good part of the Lake Louise to Banff Loppet (around 70km), and the Vasaloppet (90km), so I know what I am letting myself in for.  In reality, that is the easy part.  Well, easy in the sense that all you have to do is sign up, turn up, strap your skis on and follow the tracks for 50km or so.  The hard part is the marketing piece.  As a "nobody" in a sea of technical cross country ski gear, there is no marketing value to a logo on my outfit or skis, and this is certainly not going to be the next Terry Fox run.  There must be something else...but what?

I have an idea...

I have an idea.  Let me share it with you.
I would like to participate in (and finish) 10 European Loppets (ski marathons) in 2014.  That is, one per week, over a 10 week period,  between January 11 and March 21.  Each Loppet is between 42 and 90 km in length and each is in a different European country.  I am sure this has been done before, but I would like to approach the task a little differently.
Well, when I say a little differently, I mean a lot differently.
As a marketer/advertising man by "trade", I believe (or suffer from the delusion) that there is a way to effectively combine this personal feat and some creative marketing concepts.  That is partly because I have some time on my hands right now, and partly because I think there is an opportunity to turn a wonderful experience into something more.  Exactly how this will happen, I'm not sure as yet.  However, I will record my progress in this blog.