Who's Hot? Australia's Most Marketable Athletes

These days more and more companies are paying athletes to promote their brand, and for a good reason too.

The marketing power of athletes is huge, especially as the power of social media continues to grow. Social media platforms are the fastest, most direct way to reach your target audience – partnering with elite athletes, and leveraging their social media and personal brand influence, can be the best way to do it.

Here are just five of the most marketable Australian athletes right now.

At just 17, Rio 2016 gold medallist Kyle Chalmers became the most marketable young star in Australia when he scored a lucrative long-term deal with Adidas. And with the Commonwealth Games and Tokyo Olympics coming up, there will be ample opportunities for brands and partners to leverage an association with him over the next four-year period.

Like many elite athletes, his high performance and success, along with his leadership and inspiration are what appeals to sponsors (and/or maybe his fifty thousand Instagram following).

With the success of the women’s league, and the marketing power of the AFL, Erin Phillips is looking to receive a six-figure pay check both on and off the field next season. Marketing expert Con Stavros told the Herald Sun that Erin could claim four or five endorsement deals with major companies after becoming the face of Women’s AFL in 2016. The key is to pick the right mix of brands and make long-term arrangements, he says.

Being an Olympic basketballer, AFL premiership player and mother of twins is giving Erin Phillips a superstar reputation – she has a 25,000+ following on Instagram.

As the lead driver for Red Bull Racing, Daniel Ricciardo has been named one of the top ten most marketable Formula 1 drivers by Repucom. Success on the track in recent years has increased his global media coverage and exposure on social media. Among his sponsors are RedBull, Foxtel and CarSales and he has over one million followers on Twitter and 800,000+ on Instagram.

Playing for Australia in both Soccer and Cricket has led Ellyse Perry to become the poster girl for women’s sport. She has long term deals with brands like Adidas and Red Bull and in 2013 she was the only Australian to make the top 50 of SportsPro Magazine’s annual list of the world’s most marketable athletes. In that same year, she was named Australia’s most marketable athlete, male or female. Dominating in her field and being a crowd favourite has given Ellyse a generous Instagram following of 80,000+.

He has been called the “walking, talking marketing dream” and that is why Adam Scott has an estimated personal worth of $45 million. After becoming the first Aussie to claim the famous ‘Green Jacket’, Scott is now sponsored by brands such as Rolex, Mercedes Benz and Titleist. Using Titleist clubs and balls in his US Masters win netted more that $14 million dollars in media value for the brand. Scott does not have Instagram account, but he does have 200,000+ fans on Facebook!

Want a sports star to be the face of your brand?

The first step is to get to build your plan and pitch for the athlete. Read our guide

What makes a sports star say “yes” or “no” to a commercial opportunity?

It’s not just about the budget, there are four factors that influence an athlete’s decision. Read more

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