Athlete activism may come at a high cost for athletes that support controversial issues. They face public scrutiny and possible financial backlash as they lose endorsement deals, contracts, their jobs, and even public humiliation. Still, some athletes are risking it all and supporting Black Lives Matter in light of the recent social developments and injustices the Black community in America faces.
Recent research by Schmidt et al. (2018) studied the effect of the type and effort exerted by the athlete in their activism on an endorsed product's brand image and purchase intention. They surveyed 305 people. Most of them were men and most of them were White.
They found brand image and purchase intentions were not impacted by athletes activist effort. Namely, it made no difference if the athletes just posted on social media occasionally or were as invested as creating local chapters for the organization they support. Brand image and product purchase intentions remained intact. On the other hand, more controversial issues, what they called risky activism (i.e. social equality), impacted brand image and purchase intentions differently than safe activism, such as childhood obesity (Schmidt et al., 2018).
However, even though there were statistically significant differences between safe and risky activism, the brand image perceptions and purchase intentions under risky activism conditions were still positive, and possibly better than not having an endorser. This is important for marketing departments to keep in mind. As for athletes, how much effort they put into their activism did not make a difference, what makes mattered was controversial causes, such as racial equity (Schmidt et al., 2018).
So, athletes currently trying to support Black Lives Matter with the occasional twitter post will have similar effects on endorsed brands than athletes leading protests, opening local chapters, and making physical displays of support. More importantly, those out in the streets may send a stronger message to their fan base and the movement as a whole, making the best use of their influence and platform to advance social reform (Matt 25:28).
The authors pose important questions in their discussion. First, what is the impact that organizations' goodwill has on their brand image perceptions and purchase intentions? They present the NBA and Adidas not penalizing players wearing "I can't breathe" shirts during warm ups instead of their official Adidas issued warm up gear. This is a wonderful Sport Marketing research question to address. They also present the question of society's views and behaviors towards athletes using their platform for political protests. This is a great Sport Sociology research question (Schmidt et al., 2018).
I challenge you to think above and beyond what they have proposed and come up with your own questions. For example, from a Sports Communications perspective, we could research the ways athletes are using their influence for political protests on and off the field, and what types of causes athletes are most vocal about. Now, a high order thinking question for my students. Do you see a practical scenario where a good endorsement fit and a great marketing team can leverage an endorsement deal into a win-win-win? This win-win-win scenario will be one where the social movement is advanced, the athlete gains contracts and visibility, and the brand image and purchase intention increase. Leave your research or scenarios ideas in the comments.
Schmidt, S. H., Shreffler, M. B., Hambrick, M. E., & Gordon, B. S. (2018). An experimental examination of activist type and effort on brand image and purchase intentions.
Sport Marketing Quarterly, 27(1), 31-43.
